New ear 2 1/2 weeks post op, looking good :)

Smile says it all. He is very happy about his ear.

Opps, that doesn't look good (for now)

This is what happens to a medpor ear shortly after surgery when a little brother lands on it. We did check with Dr. Lewin and she said it happens. Good news it that less then a week later it looks amazing and better then before the accident. Luckily I know that this doesn't happen each time it gets hit, just when it is still healing.

New ear cup

This is a picture of the new ear cup Dr. Lewin is using, it has 4 straps and stays a lot better then the old ones. No need for skull cap now :)

Pictures of Trey's medpor revision surgery

These are pictures from the morning of Trey's surgery with Dr. Lewin. He really was excited about it, the first picture was taken before the versed, not sure he really needed it but it does help once they go into the or. Aaron who probably won't be happy that I posted his picture, lol.. was able to go back into the or with Trey. The last picture is Trey 5 days post op with Dr. Lewin. The ear is swollen but will be great once it goes down, she made some improvements and lifted the ear so now glasses will fit behind the ear rather then resting on top so in a way this surgery was needed for more then one reason. Trey is happy with his new big ear, had little pain afterwards just a day or so which Tylenol worked well. We went to Disneyland the next day. Trey did well but was in the stroller most of the day which was expected but really he was back to normal by Sunday.

medpor revision surgery

So Trey had his surgery with Dr. Lewin on Wednesday. Yes the medpor was broken, though she thought it was subtle I thought it was more and more obvious since it didn't look the same. It seems it might be a mixed blessing that we had this surgery. His ear dropped more then Dr. Lewin liked and by raising it, it might give it more space behind the ear for glasses or sun glasses. His HFM makes it hard to keep the ear up where is should be so she added a medpor block to help give it a lift. Trey has a lack of bone structure on his affected side so any ear is like placing it on a cliff with nothing under it to hold it in place. Though we were happy with the ear before but this might make it even better plus she raised the tragus and fixed other stuff on his ear. Oh and the best news regarding the surgery so far is that she put the incision behind the ear instead of in front, something she never has done with replacing a medpor but I love it so no new scaring in the front. YEAH...

Trey is doing well, he was able to spend the day at Disneyland the day after surgery, he just rode in the stroller most of the time. He is not in a lot of pain except when the ear cup gets knocked around or mommy tries to see if it needs to be lifted since it looks like it lowered. Mommy has learned to not touch it. .

I am going to write about the surgical experience as experienced by us parents. I am in love with her new surgical center. WOW was it friendly to families. Matthew was able to stay with us the entire time though Aaron stayed with him after Trey was out of surgery, just too much going on that isn't necessarily good for 3 year olds to see and too much for 3 year olds to want to touch. The nurses were so good, the front desk people were so friendly and even changed to waiting area tv for us without us asking or saying anything. It really was a 100% more positive experience and I think for Trey as well. We had a private pre op room with a tv playing Finding Nemo, No cattle herding that always seems to be the point that Trey would start to get nervous. We saw none of that this time. Aaron was able to go with Trey to the OR and he said Trey did great until the mask was put on him but he was out in 5 seconds at that point. Yes I was given the option to go with Trey but seeing him at 18months under anesthesia for his ABR test I was like no way never again so I elected Aaron. Of course he said it wasn't that bad. Funny part is Dr. Lewin was taking pictures for his website or other info about the surgery so Trey was her model and so was Aaron, the person who hates to do that sort of thing had too. So even better. I will add pictures once they get off the camera and hopefully pictures of his new new ear.

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.

One year post medpor surgery number 2

WOW I can't believe it has been a year from Trey's last surgery. What a year it has been for us. New jobs, new home, new state and new schools. As for Trey's ear it has so far stood up to the activities of a very active 4 year old. The ear has been bit by a bug but no swelling just a red spot, and hit by metal gates with no damage. He plays soccer and participated in gymnastics with no injuries to his ear which we hope this all continues to be the case. I will say his ear is very sensitive and when it does get hit it he does cry but he gets over it rather quick with a miracle kiss from me. Moms kisses are amazing at healing bumps and bruises :).

We are more then happy and so is Trey with his new big ear. The nice part is when he just said today "everyone is born with 2 ears" and he started naming animals and cartoon characters and then pointed to his two ears. Yes I have always told him he had 2 ears just one was smaller then the other one but I don't think he would have made such a comment as he did today since he does notice differences now. No I did not correct him because I know he knows that one day he will understand that not everyone is born with 2 of everything but it was a nice moment nonetheless. Trey has been wearing sunglasses all the time with no problems. The sunglasses have become important to him because of the electricity that is in his eyes from his battle with Darth Vader. Got to love 4 year old's imaginations. His sunglasses even helped him swim for the first time. For some reason they gave him power to put his head underwater and start swimming something that his swim goggles have yet to achieve. Before his surgery we were never able to find sunglasses that worked including one with the strap that work so well for others. So you can say we are happy with the choice we made. Do I sometimes think otherwise yes. I met a family at a museum that had ribgraft surgery with Dr. Brent and the boy's ear looked amazing but I also know that it might not have been as good for Trey do to his anatomy and we did what our hearts told us would be best for him. What is best for one child might not be best for the other. I am just thankful we have choices even though it would be a lot easier to not have any since I hate making decisions but as a parent I have learned to make many decisions without guarantee of positive outcomes. I just hope for the best each time and try to stay as informed as I can and I except that I will have always a little doubt in my mind yet I wouldn't do anything different.