Good Evening to all! I know a lot of you have been emailing and texting to find out all the details of the doctors visit and upcoming surgery. I figured that I would do a blog post so I could capture all the details in one place.
The Pre-Op appointment started at 10am with a visit to see the surgeon. We talked through all of the possible complications of the surgery and the steps of the surgery. I would have to admit the complications are super scary and we had to sign our lives away on the consent forms. I don't know about you but watching TV and listening to the commercials for new pharmaceutical drugs and the complication that may result of rectal bleeding is scary too. (Don't believe me about the above pay attention to the commercial next time!)
The surgeon will take approximately a hour for the surgery once the anesthesia kicks in. He will do a small insertion behind her ear, yes they will have to shave her hair around her ear a little bit but nothing drastic. From there he will insert the electrode (the tail looking piece) through her cochlea. You and I have hair follicles in our cochlea that captures the sounds. Kylie's are damaged. It is too hard to see in this picture but at the end of the electrode there is electrons that support Kylie with sound. The other part which acts as part of the processor and has a magnet will be under her skin on her head and attaches to the external processor part (which will be applied in about a month). As you can see this is the size of a nickel.
The sutures that Kylie will receive will be dissolvable. Her head will be wrapped and she will have to wear the dressing for up to 48 hours. The doctor indicated that she will experience some swelling of her head / ear area after the insertion as her body wants to fight this foreign matter. They expect her to bounce back after a few days but can experience been dizzy and unstable for a little bit. They would like her to stay out of school for about a weeks time.
After a very thorough explanation from the surgeon offices we made our way over to the hospital to do our pre-op visit there. At the hospital they walked us through the procedure in massive detail, walked through the day of surgery and we met with admission, nurses and the anesthesiologist. Of course they had to make sure our money was good too! Love Insurance!
Kylie was quite the trooper as she has had her blood pressure checked multiple times and was poked and prodded everywhere but she checks out as in great health and can proceed with surgery. She of course in true Kylie style thanked every nurse, doctor and person we came across and said, "Have a Nice Day!"
Best case scenario she will just have to go through general anesthesia but they will be prepared for anything that she may require. The Anesthesiologist was calling Kylie's Cardiologist as we left to just review her heart condition and the anesthesia. We left the hospital around 1:30.
Everything seems to be set, we don't have a time frame for the surgery yet they will call us the night before. Most likely 7 or 8am on Friday morning and they anticipate we won't leave until the afternoon as she has to recoup etc at the hospital. I know I know yes day surgery and they are cutting into her head. She may come home but I may still be in a straight jacket somewhere!
We haven't really told her what is going on as I am not sure she will understand the complexity of it. I think telling her closer to the surgery that the doctor is going to give her a new princess ear is the best that we can do. Just saying doctor right now she gets a little nervous as she thinks she is going to get a shot or blood taken. Less is more I believe in this scenario.
Thank you again to all for your kind words, thoughts and prayers for our family we are so full of appreciation and love. Kylie's future is so bright she has to wear cochlear implants. (I hope some of this made sense I am exhausted!)
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