Historical Info to Start the Blog.

Presley was born on September 3, 2006. Immediately, we noticed something different about his right eye. It appeared to be swollen, or not open as much as the left side. We asked the doctors about it, and they all told us that it was probably due to the birthing process.

At about 6 weeks, we did some research and his appearance seemed to match many children with craniosynostosis. After a visit with Dana's midwife, she suggested we visit the pediatrician to have another look. If the facial issues were caused by the birthing process, they would have resolved themselves by 6 weeks. So, we got in to see the physician the next day, and he sent us for a CT scan. As we had thought, he did in fact have a premature closing of the left coronal suture. The sutures are the flexible connections which keep the pieces of the skull together, while them to move around enough to help the birthing process, as well as allowing expansion of the skull for the growth of the brain.

Once diagnosed, the pediatrician referred us to Shands Hospital at University of Florida in Gainesville. We were extremely fortunate to get into Shands within a day of the referral. We met with a neurosurgeon who was very knowledgeable on the condition and had performed many surguries to repair the skull.

There are two methods to the repair. The first is a traditional procedure in which an incision is made across the head from ear to ear. The neurogsurgeon cuts the fused bone and then removes the front skull bones, as well as the bones that make up the structure above the eyes (think of this as the eyebrow bones). The procedure is invasive, and the chance of a blood transfusion is relatively high. As the child grows older, the costmetics are evaluated to determine if a second surgery is required. The chances of this are relatively low.

The second method is an endoscopic procedure. A small incision is made between the ear and the "soft spot" on the affected side of the head. The neurosurgeon cuts the bone as far up to the "soft spot" as possible, and as far down towards the ear as possible. The procedure is less invasive, and the chance of a blood transfusion is significantly lower. The child is then required to wear a corrective helmet, for up to a year, to help shape the head. Should the helmet not acheive satisfactory results, a second surgery might be possible. The possibilities of multiple surgeries is greater in this method.

After some diliberation, we decided to go with the tradional surgery. While more invasive, and increased possibility of a transfusion, we felt that the increased possibility of a second surgery, as well as the necessity to wear a helmet, overshadowed the benefits of a quicker, less invasive surgery.

Late in October, we scheduled the surgery for January 15, 2007. We anxiously waited for the surgery date.