Stage 2 surgery decisions

Some good news to post...

Jack has been wearing his plug in his left ear pretty much all the time. We take it out about twice a week to clean it. It usually has a bit of wax and gunk in it, but has been doing its job very nicely. It does not bother Jack and we have been able to move up to the largest plug with no problems.


This week we went to see Dr. Roberson and have a hearing test. Dr. Roberson cleaned Jack's ears first and said that his ears look great. Even his left ear, the middle ear bones are touching the ear drum just as they are supposed to and the canal is looking great.

Other good news is that just in time for this hearing test, Jack's allergy problems have diminished significantly. His nose was clear, he seemed to be hearing well and his speech has been great. This was really great as we expected to use this hearing test to determine whether Jack's left ear needed a revision to improve his hearing.

As far as the hearing test, Jack's left ear tested slightly lower than his first hearing test in March. He is about 40-50 dB across frequencies, which is good, but not quite as good as the March test. His right ear is about the same, in the 40-50 dB range. This is good, given that his ear drum is using only the stapes. The great news is that given his hearing and how everything looks, Dr. Roberson feels that there is no need for a revision for his hearing or his ear canal. He also feels hopeful that his hearing will improve over time. I asked Dr. Roberson if he would recommend aiding Jack's hearing if it doesn't improve and he said it was borderline. So, we will pray for improvement and wait and see.

So, this all means that we will have Jack's third and hopefully final surgery with Dr. Reinisch on Dec. 10 at Cedar's Sinai in Los Angeles. We have not started to talk to Jack about the next surgery. I am wondering if he will remember all this, hoevever, it should be much easier this time around. In trading emails with Dr. Reinisch and observing Jack's ear, I think Jack will need some additional skin grafts. Jack has unfortunately had a lot of shrinkage of the split thickness skin grafts (from the scalp) and I think Dr. Reinisch may use a full thickness skin graft from Jack's tummy to replace the wrinkled spots that are scarring. Jack will also have the scar spots on his scalp removed and closed, hair removed from his ears and his right earlobe adjusted. I also think Dr. Reinisch will improve the projection of the left ear, which is very close to Jack's head.

Though I am anxious to have another surgery, I will be relieved to have this one behind us. I will post regularly again post surgery (as much as I can).

Please keep Mr. Jack in your prayers.