Days Immediately Following Canalplasty with Dr. Roberson

The most amazing thing was that Ben appeared to hear us from the start from his right ear.  While lying on a pillow on his left ("big") ear, we could whisper into his new canal and he could hear what we were saying.

There was an antibiotic-infused plug (looked like a regular foam ear plug from Walgreens but ~$20,000) put in Ben's new ear canal.  The key was making sure that the ear plug stayed moistened by Tobramycin drops twice a day and that the plug didn't come out.  So no running, jumping, fighting, wrestling... all of those things 5 year old boys love to do!

Also, part of the skin on his head was used to line the new canal.  That area from which they grafted is the part that would give him the most discomfort, they said.  They also said that the actual ear canal would not hurt because there aren't nerves there!

After the surgery, Ben got a brightly-colored purple head bandage which he definitely did not like when he came out of the anesthesia fog.  They indicated that kids frequently come "out of it" in a very bad mood -and we definitely experienced that.  Ben was thrashing around not liking the IV in his hand nor the wrap on his head.  (Not surprising, huh?)

We stayed in Palo Alto for a few days so that Ben could "chill out" san temptations of rowdy brothers.  In the days immediately following the surgery, we tried to rest a bit (wake up late, take mid-day naps) and have one fun outing.  We colored, cooked and played with some new toys.  Ben was a little embarrassed about his head wrap...

To the left is a photo of Ben the afternoon after the surgery.

April 1, 2011.  A day after the surgery, Dr. Jennifer Grady, an ENT fellow with Dr. Roberson, removed the head bandages.  Ben liked that a lot.  Cheryl Medina, Dr. Roberson's Surgery Coordinator, is standing to the left.  There was a scabby and shaved square on his scalp whence the graft had come.  Ben was really careful of his head and seemed unfazed by the recent surgery.