We popped into Sick Kids yesterday so Jon could get checked over by Dr. Unni.
Jon’s right leg has healed nicely. Both the break and the “stress fracture” — the hole where the old bottom screw was — are mere wisps on an x-ray.
So we moved on to planning for the next surgery, the left hip, in the spring. Everything from potential blood loss (low risk) to post-op casting (none, but he will have a knee immobilizer and some kind of removable foam wedge to keep his legs spread).
We had talked about removing the hardware from his right leg, but Dr. Unni now thinks it’d be best not to. From my perspective, this would make him more portable, since I have to carry him Gone with the Wind style; if both hips were done at the same time, how would I carry him?
It does mean that we carry the same risk as before: if the hardware moves, we could have another break. So it will have to be watched. I understand the doctor’s concerns: an extra surgical procedure, extra source of infection, extra bleeding (scar tissue bleeds more than “fresh” tissue). And maybe for nothing. He reiterated that in most kids, the hardware does not migrate to a bad place. So we’ll watch and wait.
And in the meantime, we fix the other hip this spring. Lately, in our physiotherapy, Jon’s left leg has been disengaging, dropping him to the floor. We’re not surgery junkies. It needs to be done.
Extra info: The upcoming surgery—sometime between January and May—is estimated to take around six hours, one hour longer than his 2001 surgery (epidural placement can take up to one hour on its own). That’s a lot of time in the room.
I can only speak for myself, but as we went through the surgery details with the doctor and then the nurse, it was kind of unnverving to find that my general sense about this upcoming major operation was the feeling of déja vu—been there done that. When ennui trumps worry you’ve officially spent too much time in hospitals!
if you don’t mind my asking, what is causing the bone trouble? fibrous dysplasia? my 4 yr. old was diagnosed with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia about 2 months ago and we are looking at years and years of femur/hip surgeries.
Nope, I’m sorry, nothing that exotic. This operation happened because the hardware from his 2001 operation grew out of position and his bone fractured. (Blow-by-blow history of that fracture here.) Because of his cerebral palsy Jon doesn’t walk, so his hips never got shaped properly (you literally pound the pelvis/leg bones into proper configuration when you toddle around as a young child). Go to this page (scroll all the way to the bottom) for the relevant background about his first operation in 2001. We were told that his left leg might need to be operated on by the time he turned 10, to fix that ball and socket, and whaddya know, that’s happening next year. My very best regards to you and your four year old, Catherine, and good luck!