His mum Tracey Vine, of Tallangatta, said it was all thanks to a visit from the 'Clown Doctors'.

"He's having a great time - distraction is a good tool," she said.

"He was born with intestinal malrotation and had preventative surgery on Monday to stop him having any complications later in life.

"Hopefully there will be no more visits in the near future."

'Dr Popoff', otherwise known as Nicci Wilks - who is from Albury originally - and Dr Okey Dokey (Phoebe Mason) were at the children's ward as part of a tour of regional Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

They kicked off on June 17 and are stopping in at Wangaratta on Friday.

Renea McCallum of Tocumwal said their Albury visit had put a big smile on the face of her daughter Macey, 12.

"We've been in here for nearly a week with Macey and we have had lots of information to learn, so it's been nice to have a break from all the new medical things, and just have a laugh," she said.

"Macey has type 1 diabetes and it has to be managed with daily injections and multiple finger-pricks to check the blood glucose level.

"It's been nearly a week since she's had a good giggle - today has been great."

IN OTHER NEWS

Ms McCallum was already familiar with the Clown Doctors' work, her son Dylan having been visited by them in the Royal Children's Hospital.

"He was born missing the left side of his heart, so we've been down there quite a lot in the last 11 years with him," she said.

"The clown doctors regularly do the rounds of the cardiac and other wards in the hospital there.

"It's a very worthy service and if people can, they should donate to help keep it going."

The Clown Doctor program was established in 1997 by The Humour Foundation, and support from Moose Toys enabled the current regional tour.

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