What happens immediately after the Kasai operation?
Your baby will return to the ward, usually with Oxygen hood box over the upper part of your baby’s body and head. This enables the nurse to control the amount of oxygen and water vapour in the air your baby breathes. This allows your baby to breathe more easily and to prevent chest infections

Sometimes the babies have to be kept in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for a few days before shifting them to the ward.

There will be a tube running up your baby’s nose and down into the stomach, this is called a naso-gastric tube. This usually drains into a clear bag or small pot and keeps the stomach empty which helps to prevent vomiting.

There will also be an intravenous infusion or "drip" into a vein usually in the back of the baby’s hand.

This is used to give:

• Fluids, which are given in order to maintain the correct sugar, salt and water level in the body. Daily blood tests will be carried out in order to check these levels so that they can be adjusted accordingly. All fluid required by your baby will be given through the drip until feeding is re-established.
• Pain relieving drugs are often given through the drip or as suppositories.
• Antibiotics will be given immediately after the operation and for at least 48 hours. If your baby does not develop a high temperature and once oral feeds are started these will be often be given orally rather than through the drip.

A dressing will cover the wound on your baby’s abdomen. A thin, soft rubber drain may have been inserted below the stitch line during the operation and this stays in for a few days to allow excess fluid to drain away- a bag may be put over this to measure the amount of fluid lost. The dressing will be changed as necessary and the stitch(es) removed, if necessary, when the wound has healed – usually about 2 weeks after the operation.

By the following day it may be possible for you to hold your baby, the nurse will help you.

The Doctors will listen to the tummy with a stethoscope for sound of the bowel starting to work normally again after the operation. Once this happens, usually about the third day the baby’s feeds will be restarted with frequent small amounts of sugar water (dextrose) which are slowly increased. When these are tolerated, diluted milk feeds will be given and the strength of these will be slowly increased until full strength feeds are resumed. If your baby was being breast fed before diagnosis at least a partial return to this method may be possible. It is important that the milk supply has been maintained by " expressing" the milk while your baby is unable to feed. The ward staff will help and advise you this.