Dressing change, glimps of new big ear

Our second post op appointment where they did a dressing change, removed stitches on the ear cup and sponge and washed his hair. Trey is such a good patient. Nothing has bothered him, while the doctor and assistant did their thing he watch Cars and ate raisins so he was happy. He got to pick out a new arm bandage since that was replaced too, he had a tough time selecting a color since he had several to pick from but in the end he went with the yellow bee wrap, surprised mommy since he loves red but I think since Dr. Lewin talked about the bee's he instinctively picked that one. The ear looks good at least Dr. Lewin told us so. She said she had no worries at this point and was pleasantly surprised to how well his little lobe was doing. She told us she was worried how his little ear would do since she had to move it so far back and she feels it looks better then she expected. Good news in the end. Trey still is wearing the cap to keep his ears a little more protected. He is doing well not touching his head except he is scratching the back of the cap a lot now so we have to watch him more. He is almost back to his old self, not getting as tired as easily but doesn't have the stamina to go all day without a nap, last part is good for mommy and daddy. We will post pictures next Monday hoping Dr. Lewin sends us the pictures she took today. It's hard to believe he has 2 big ears now and he still looks like Trey. :) Stage 2 is scheduled for December of this year. At least that will be only 4 hours and not 12.... hopefully.

pictures from Dr. Lewin of Trey's new Big Ear

Just some pictures that Dr. Lewin took during surgery. You can see the new big ear with all the skin grafts, Trey's bunny bear keeping watch for mommy and daddy and Trey with the anesthesiologist who was really great with him. Trey is doing really good, almost 100%, I would say the only difference is he doesn't have as much energy as usual but getting to have a little to much for our comfort. He also woke up a few times last night looking for his daddy even though daddy was sleeping in the bed next to Trey's bed. We all took a walk to the local farmers market to keep him busy without risking hitting his head, unfortunately I think Daddy and Mommy got worn out and not the kids. But life is starting to feel a little normal but I do have some anxiety that he is going to bump his ear before it's healed. We get the first dressing change on Monday and then we start to learn how we have to care for it while it heals.

Drains are OUT....

We finally got the drains out. They are not to bad to deal with but the more active he got, the more his younger brother wanted to pull on them. They look like a cool toy to a 1 year old who has no idea what he is playing with. There was absolutely no pain in the removal. We did give him regular Tylenol before we left but not sure if it was needed at all. He is eating more and more and has more energy. We took a walk as a family down by the beach, Trey wanted to ride in the stroller instead of walking which is not like him so we are not yet 100% but very close. Now we need to make sure he doesn't play to hard so keep his ear safe.

Day 2 Post Surgery

Day 2 and things are still getting better. Trey has said his arm hurts so last night he got his pain meds and he slept until 7:30am this morning. He is really shaky but I think it is a combination of not eating any real food and anesthesia. He did eat some ice cream, grapes and cheese, he still has a very low appetite but this is all to be expected. His eye is starting to swell which is expected and very normal. You can tell his energy level is slowly picking up, he is moving around more but then quickly goes back to sitting in his chair to watch a movie. We plan on keeping him inside until he starts to eat a little more which we hope will be tomorrow. So now its Disney movie marathon day 2. We bought more movies for him to watch because mommy and daddy needed some variety. So far so good, we get the drainage tubes out tomorrow and I guess that can be a tough time because it is probably the most painful of all this. I am planning on making sure he has some Tylenol in his system before the appointment. He has left his hat alone and doesn't like it when we touch it so he knows it is to be left on and this is a huge relief for us. He tried to rip off his hat and bandages during recovery and he ripped the hat of his bunny bear the nurses put on it so we were very worried. On cute quote from Trey when mommy asked him what movie he wanted this morning " I want to start with Cars" so I think he totally understands he gets to watch lots of movies today, not sure when mommy and daddy will start to ween him from the movies probably when we stop feeling bad for him.

picture of Dr. Lewin with Trey

Just before surgery we got a picture of Dr. Lewin with Trey. Trey is playing with the syringes that had is Versed. He drank it like it tasted good which surprised the nurses. Dr. Lewin is amazing with kids, Trey kept asking to leave the pre op area until she arrived and before the versed when he became really relaxed. I Only wished they gave us parents some of those calming meds too. Oh and for the sentimental part, it was the last pictures of his little ear. Can't wait to start up with pictures of his 2 bigger ears.

Day 1 after surgery

Trey is doing really well, better then I expected. He is tired, has had some pain last night but easily controlled with the pain meds they gave us. He hasn't asked for pain meds since this morning so that is a great sign. He so far has not touched his cap and drains which we were nervous about. Thankfully though the drains will be removed on Friday. He has been watching movies since 4am and is still not steady on his feet but over all no pain or discomfort just recovering from anesthesia. As you can see in the picture he is watching his videos but you can also see he is wearing a cap and 2 drains are coming out. His left arm he has a bandage where they took the full thickness skin graft. His other ear also has sponge in the back because they took a skin graft from behind it and replaced the skin with graft from his arm.

TREY IS OUT OF SURGERY AND HOME

We are finally home, Trey is really sleepy, not really with us and we expect that for a few more hours but he may also sleep through the night. In regards to the ear the pictures we saw look great and we can't wait to see it for ourselves. It was technically more difficult for Dr. Lewin but she said she was able to do what she wanted just took piecing his skin on his ear like a puzzle. Now we just have to keep him from grabbing at his hat, he did that as he was waking up but I am hoping he knows it has to stay on for long time. Let the healing begin.

Dr. Lewin update number 2

Dr. Lewin called at 3:45pm which is so nice to actually get to talk to her rather then the nurse. She wanted to make sure we knew that everything was okay but it was taking longer then expected. His hemifacial microsomia made placement of the ear difficult but she is happy with how its turning out. She got a large membrane flap that was so big it also filled in his cheek which is better then fat injections. She unfortunately could not use his little bit of ear cartilage to create a tragus because an artery was directly below it so it was safer to remove it completely then to move it. He also got a face lift. Yes that is correct my 3 year old had a face lift in Beverly Hills, CA. Sometimes you just have to laugh at these things. So we are looking at 12 hours of surgery for Trey today. I expected 8-10 but I know he is in good hands. Actually Dr. Reinish her partner and creator of the medpor ear reconstruction said the ear looks good. Not sure how he saw it since he was in surgery during the same time but then again you just assume he would check on her. I do know she tends to take longer with her surgeries then Dr. R but he has had more years of practice but I like to think that she is that more of a perfectionist.

Dr. Lewin calls from OR

I LOVE Dr. Lewin. She called from the OR, its about 11:30, the surgery started at 7ish. She said he is doing great, that she was a little nervous about his facial nerve but it wasn't an issue which is excellent to hear. She said everything is going well that Trey is doing his part with good anatomy. She said the stressful part for her is over and now its about putting him back together. Okay not the phrase any parent wants to hear but I was able to joke about it with the doctor. I love Dr. Lewin. At least he is half way done. Now if I could finally stomach some food I might start to feel better.

BIG DAY TREY GETS HIS BIG EAR

We arrived at the outpatient surgical center at Cedars an early 6am this morning with a very sleepy little boy. He was a trouper and only started to get nervous was when they called us to go back to the pre op area like a cattle herd of people and it the pre op room was set up for well for the nurses but scary for a 3 year old. Our pre op nurse didn't have the greatest gift of working with kids but after they gave him Versed with made him very loopy he seemed to not care, well enough he seemed happy but still refused to take off his shoes and put on the hospital pajamas. Dr. Lewin was great, Trey really liked her and he was happy to see her again. She was happy to have her favorite anesthesiologist today which is always a good thing to hear. The anesthesiologist was great with Trey, she carried him to the OR since he wouldn't lay down on the bed and gave him cookies that he could hold until after the surgery. Of course I assume he won't be holding it the whole time but to him he will be. We bought a new bunnybear, Trey's favorite teddy bear that he chews on and has eaten the ear off of each one of them. Yes we have 3 because we have to wash them all time because it just smells. They will give it to him with a bandage on it like him and then he will see his bunnybear will get a new bigger ear as well. It was one of the few things we could do for him. It was really hard to kiss him goodbye but I know it will be worth it in the end for him. We will be waiting during the surgery in the waiting room that isn't really set up for long waits but at least I have company of parents whose son is going through the same surgery as Trey. Unfortunately for them it is not the first time through this but we are hoping both boys now will have wonderful outcomes.