Yesterday I met with a craniofacial surgeon at our city's top hospital (the craniofacial center is world-renowned..thank you God!) about Elizabeth. Back in January, Elizabeth was evaluated by several specialists and the main doctor wanted to continue to see Elizabeth 1-2 times/year just to keep tabs on her. This doctor will be doing the first of many surgeries on our baby. Thankfully, the first surgery won't happen until Elizabeth is closer to 5 years old! That's a huge praise!!!
What will her first surgery be? Distraction Osteogenesis of the Jaw. In total layman's terms, Elizabeth will have a metal piece placed into her lower jaw past her last molar (does that make sense?)...there will be a "turn key" for lack of a better term, that will extend out of her jaw. Every day for 2-4 weeks, we will have to give that key a turn. This will cause a small space in her jaw bone (one turn is 1/2 mm) each day..and our hope and prayer is that her body will fill in that space by generating new bone. If it does not, then bone will have to be harvested from her ribs. The spacing will only be done for 2-4 weeks, then allowed to heal, and then several months later the metal will be removed.
This surgery will be to lengthen her jaw so that her face will be more symmetrical.
The surgeon was so very nice. She said that usually she isn't able to decipher whether kids will need more than one of these surgeries, but unfortunately, with Elizabeth, she could say with certainty that she would. So Elizabeth is looking at jaw lengthening surgery around the age of 5, probably again around 12-13, and then lastly -when she stops growing -around age 18-20.
And that's just for her jaw.
Her ear reconstruction surgeries will begin around the age of 7. We are currently trying to get Elizabeth signed on as a patient of the top ear reconstruction surgeon in the country, maybe even the world -he is based out of CA. Thankfully, we have a few years before the ear surgeries start! Those will take 1-3 years to complete -in what we think will be 3 stages.
6 comments:
It will be a lot to go through but it is a wonderful thing that she will have the help she needs. THAT is good news.
I'm so glad that she won't have to have any surgery soon. That IS a praise!!
Sweet baby, she is so beautiful!!
Thanks for the info! I'm so glad you have highly skilled (and nice!) professionals to help you through this process.
I'm so sorry Elizabeth will have to endure these things but what a blessing that you have such skilled surgeons fairly close to make things possible (through God's grace of course) !! :0)
Hope all is well friend. I've been missing my bloggy friends of late.
Can you e-mail me the name of the ear doc? I knew the #1 was in CA, but I'm not sure of the name. I'd like to take Silas there as well when we get to that point. It's a lot farther for us though!!
I'm Glad she has to wait.
She still a Baby Doll! ;)
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