When we went to Dr. Roberson's office the third time (March 31, 2011), and he had a temperature again, we decided to go ahead with the canalplasty.
We arrived at the Waverly Surgery Center in downtown Palo Alto. There is good free parking under the building. It was definitely one of the most heart breaking experiences seeing the OR doors close behind your little kid on the gurney. Thinking about what he's about to go through is quite emotional. Because Ben is a minor, either parent had to be in the building throughout the surgery, which lasted from about 7:30 AM - 11:00 AM. The doctors called us or came to give us an update at least twice during the surgery, which was very reassuring.
After the surgery, when Ben was still in the OR but the surgery was over, Dr. Roberson came out and told us that everything went well and that Ben's anatomy was good because they were able to make a nice big canal. He said that there was little to no risk of stenosis (narrowing/closing of the canal). Some people who are familiar with this surgery will ask, when Ben got his cat scan, what was his rating. He was an 8 out of 10.
One thing was because he had a cold and his ear anatomy was swollen, it sounded like they did not do everything that they might have to his three little bones. Therefore, they said that they might have to do a revision on them.
Can't express how relieved we were to have that part of the experience "over." We were so concerned about the canalplasty because of the risks of surgery in general and because of its proximity to the facial nerve and because of the risk of affecting the cochlea.
Long term effects of multiple surgeries and exposure to anesthesia. One of the reasons why we did not want to jump into doing the surgery was because of our concern about multiple exposures to anesthesia and the potential effects on mental development. After asking nearly every doctor and surgeon we encounter about the long term adverse effects of surgery on a child, it sounds like nearly everyone agrees that it's not ideal (due to the anesthesia) and that's part of the decision you need to weigh. This article summarizing a Mayo Clinic study suggests that more than one surgery with general anesthesia more than doubles the changes that a child will develop learning disabilities. This is another article on the topic suggests that the anesthetic, ketamine, in particular may be associated with a higher risk of having future learning disabilities. One doctor said: "It's not until you get to around 4 surgeries that there seems to be an effect..." I was thinking that we'd probably have around 4 (with the potential revisions, etc.) so this was not very reassuring!
Long term effects of multiple surgeries and exposure to anesthesia. One of the reasons why we did not want to jump into doing the surgery was because of our concern about multiple exposures to anesthesia and the potential effects on mental development. After asking nearly every doctor and surgeon we encounter about the long term adverse effects of surgery on a child, it sounds like nearly everyone agrees that it's not ideal (due to the anesthesia) and that's part of the decision you need to weigh. This article summarizing a Mayo Clinic study suggests that more than one surgery with general anesthesia more than doubles the changes that a child will develop learning disabilities. This is another article on the topic suggests that the anesthetic, ketamine, in particular may be associated with a higher risk of having future learning disabilities. One doctor said: "It's not until you get to around 4 surgeries that there seems to be an effect..." I was thinking that we'd probably have around 4 (with the potential revisions, etc.) so this was not very reassuring!
Above is a pic of Ben in the surgery center while still asleep from the anesthesia. One other note is that they said it was fairly common for children to have a "bad" experience while coming out of the anesthesia. We definitely experienced that. Ben is strong willed to begin with, but when he came out of the fog of the anesthesia with the residual drugs in his body, the IV in his hand and the huge bandage on his head, he was a bit out of sorts.
Doctor's orders:
- No jumping, running, wrestling, etc.
- No holding in sneezes (puts pressure on the ear drum) - just let it go
- No blowing nose - just wipe runny nose
- No swimming, bathing under water, getting ear or head wet
- No drinking from a sippy cup or drinking from a straw
- No sleeping on the operated side
- No aspirin or Motrin (Tylenol only)
- Flying in an airplane was OK after 2 weeks!
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