One of the reasons why we did not want to jump into doing the surgery was because of our concern about exposing Ben to anesthesia multiple times at such a young age. We were concerned about the potential effects on learning and mental development. After asking nearly every doctor and surgeon we encounter about the long term adverse effects of surgery on a child, it sounds like nearly everyone agrees that it's not ideal (due to the anesthesia) and that's one of the factors you need to weigh into the decision process.
This article summarizing a Mayo Clinic study suggests that more than one surgery on a young child with general anesthesia more than doubles the chance that a child will develop learning disabilities. This is another article on the topic suggests that the anesthetic, ketamine, in particular may be associated with a higher risk of having future learning disabilities. One doctor said: "It's not until you get to around four surgeries that there seems to be an effect..." I was thinking that we'd probably have around four (with the potential revisions, etc.) so this was not very reassuring!
List of good articles:
Anesthesia Exposure Linked To Learning Disabilities In Children (2009)
Concerns over Anesthesia Effects on Children’s Brains Prompts FDA Panel (2011)
F.D.A. to Study Whether Anesthesia Poses Cognitive Risks in Young Children (2011)
