Andrew's Surgery

With a little extra time on my hands these days, we are catching up on some overdue blog posts! 

Last month Andrew had Surgery on his legs. This was a surgery that had been recommended to us and there are only two doctors in the country who perform this specific surgery on kids with CP. One doctor is in New Jersey and the other is in Galveston, Texas. We were hoping that we could get in and do it before we moved, so we could just make the 6 hour drive to Galveston.... But no such luck! 

This surgery was an optional surgery, one that we didn't need to do. It was tough to try and decide whether or not this was the best thing for Andrew. After tons of research, consulting with different doctors and therapists, and much prayer we decided to go for it. Here's a little bit about what Stephen and I had been contemplating as parents. [taken from an email written to our family]

We are grateful that Andrew was approved and is a candidate for this procedure. Stephen will be flying with him to a doctor we were referred to down in Galveston, TX on Wednesday. The surgery he'll be having on Friday is a SPML (Selective Percutaneous Myofascial Lengthening) Surgery. Most kids with CP have to go through numerous tendon lengthenings surgeries throughout their life. Their muscles (because of the spasticity and tightness) cannot keep up with the growth of their bones and if not taken care of can cause bone growth deformities. The reason we are flying back to Texas for this procedure is because this specific doctor, Dr. Yngve uses a unique approach (less time under anesthesia, 2-3mm incisions, less scarring and has a longer lasting impact) He will be having it done in four different places on each leg from his hips to his ankles. Then it will be a 4-6 weeks of recovery.  We are praying and hoping this will help him in the long run with his bone growth as well as helping him be more independent with walking and other activities. 

We had only consulted with Dr. Yngve over the phone and he explained that Andrew would have the procedure done in four different places. His inner thighs, hamstrings, calves and ankles.  But after his actual consult in person before the surgery the doctor didn't feel that Andrew needed the whole procedure in all the areas. So they ended up just doing the calves and the ankles. In some ways this is good....in that he's not as severe as the doctor originally thought,  But half of our issues is that Andrew is really still really struggling sitting on his bottom because he is so tight in his hamstrings. We have mixed emotions that the doctor didn't just do everything. But maybe next time around. 

Stephen was a trooper to take this on himself and let me rest at home. He flew with Andrew by himself and did everything. To buy some time the day before the surgery, they found the NASA space center just outside of Houston and walked around some of the exhibits. Andrew of course LOVED this.

The first few days post-surgery Andrew was in a lot of pain and wanted to walk. He couldn't walk because of the pain, so he'd just stand and cry. Since it was a same-day surgery, they pretty much hung out in the hotel room ordered pizza and watched movies on the iPad for a few days. Stephen tried to venture to the Houston Zoo one day as a distraction, but that pretty much backfired. Andrew just wasn't himself. They came home a few days later and he did just fine. 

He can walk if he holds your hand and hasn't been bothered by the casts at all. The are pretty similar to his regular braces. So he's adapted pretty well.


Here's a little before surgery walking taken at the NASA space center

Life in bed in the hotel room. 

Those are some BRIGHT green casts!

He tried really hard to ride his new trike, but it was pretty tricky with casts. 

Four weeks later his casts are now off. He was fitted for new braces and we are crossing our fingers that we can see a difference in his ability to walk and keep his balance.