February 17, 2012

Not the news you want to hear



So when you have your child go through an elective surgery you are told of the risks and odds of something going wrong and as we neared 2 years post his first surgery I was starting to forget those problems. Then the odds of something going wrong suddenly reappear and now you are back feeling like where you just began in the process. Trey has a fracture in his ear. This means he will need another surgery to replace the implant. This is not the same as the first first surgery but not as simple as the second surgery. Of course we are not 100% sure it is fractured but I think I am 99% sure. I have noticed his ear looked a little different, that there was a new bump that was not there before. I ignored it at first because there is no problem until you prove it to yourself that there is a problem so why in the world would I try to prove to myself that yes something is different. One night I finally felt it and it felt really bumpy and it felt like it was weak and moved but then by the 100th time I touched the worrisome spot it felt okay but then it didn't look okay but not obviously broken. I looked at old pictures and realized it does look different and I sent the comparison pictures to Dr. Lewin. We spoke on the phone and at first she thought it was fine until I sent her other pictures that better show the worrisome spot. We discussed having her see it but that we can schedule surgery for the next day so we wouldn't have to take 2 trips if we did need surgery. But I am sure it isn't fine. I am just being realistic. However if it is not broken then we will celebrate by spending our days at Disneyland for a few days. Don't worry the boys won't know of our backup plan. Though we will at least spend another day at Disneyland before the surgery as we did before so he has something really positive to look forward too. I asked Trey if he wanted a birthday party with gifts with his friends or a day at Disneyland. At first he wanted the gifts but then decided Disneyland. Good choice if you ask me. :) I have told him he is going to have another surgery. He didn't get upset or anything just asked what Dr. Lewin would do and I just said that while he was asleep she would take out the medpor and put in another one. He is like okay and went off the play. I wonder if he isn't anxious because he knows he had surgery before but little memory of it, not sure but I will take it. I am nervous only for the fact that I am hoping that the breaking of the medpor just doesn't happen again. I know there is always a chance but we were told how durable the medpor implant is and that it takes a lot to break it. Hopefully it is just a one time thing but I am aware of a little boy who has a fractured medpor for the second time. So I am aware it can happen. Though we don't have any good options any more. We can ignore the break but that would risk it harming the skin the flap which supplies the blood to the tissues which isn't good, or we can take it out and later do a prosthesis. I don't like either option so we will go with surgery and hope for the best. Dr. Lewin has been great and now we get to see her in her own private practice and surgical center.

Now I just need a dose of Trey's calmness and things will be good.

2 comments:

  1. Stephanie,

    I know how you feel. When we went for Aydens stage 2 Dr Reinisch noticed that Aydens implant was also broken, they replaced the medpor but now heres to hoping it doesnt happen again.
    email me if you need lgiurdanella@hotmail.com

    Lisa

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  2. Hi, I am a mother of a ten months old baby boy with Microtia on his right ear. We are still going through all the tests that are needed to provide a certain overall picture about his state. For now we know that he has stenosis on his right kidney and a minor problem with his heart(fortunatelly not life threatening). This month we need to have the audio test, but he is hearing everything and seems there is not a major problem with hearing. I am perplexed by the whole situation and I am glad that i' ve found this blog and we can share information. I want to ask you abou how many surgeries are needed to complete the reconstruction of the ear, as I can see that Tray went through a surgery when he was three for the first time. I thought that there is only one surgery at the age of six. I can see on the picture that you have another boy Matthew and I wonder if he has the same problem since this is our first child and we have a concern with the hereditary thing.

    I hope we will share our stories.
    Thank you.
    All the best for Trey and you.
    Mima

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