We had a long day of pre-op and doctor appointments today, but the good news is that Eloise was cleared for surgery tomorrow. Surgery will probably begin around 8:30 am. Dr. Paley will be correcting Eloise's ankle and straightening her tibia. The ankle procedure, called superankle, will be similar to the procedure that was done on her left ankle. However, the right ankle is in better shape than the left so as Dr. Paley said, "it will be an easy one." We were happy to hear that!
Dr. Paley did want to go ahead with another procedure that we were not expected to have tomorrow. Her tibia in her right leg is a few degrees off center causing her knee to be in a valgus position (knock-kneed as opposed to bow-legged). This is a simple fix and is done by inserting an eight-plate in her tibial growth plate in the knee area. This eight-plate (called that because it looks like the number 8) helps the tibia to grow straight and corrects and prevents further knee issues. It was a surprise but not a concern as it is a relatively mild procedure. The eight-plate stays in her leg for about a year.
The ankle procedure will require Eloise to be in a cast for 8-12 weeks. The unsettling part of this is that they probably will have to put her in a hard cast up to the thigh. They are concerned that a cast just below the knee will come off too easily since her foot is so small. This means no knee bending for 2-3 months!! Not sure she will be too happy about this!
The good news we got today was that her left leg growth is progressing as scheduled. So far, she has over 2 cm of length in both the tibia and the fibula. She only has 6 more weeks of lengthening to go!!
We will update the blog tomorrow after the surgery. Stay tuned!
Dr. Paley did want to go ahead with another procedure that we were not expected to have tomorrow. Her tibia in her right leg is a few degrees off center causing her knee to be in a valgus position (knock-kneed as opposed to bow-legged). This is a simple fix and is done by inserting an eight-plate in her tibial growth plate in the knee area. This eight-plate (called that because it looks like the number 8) helps the tibia to grow straight and corrects and prevents further knee issues. It was a surprise but not a concern as it is a relatively mild procedure. The eight-plate stays in her leg for about a year.
The ankle procedure will require Eloise to be in a cast for 8-12 weeks. The unsettling part of this is that they probably will have to put her in a hard cast up to the thigh. They are concerned that a cast just below the knee will come off too easily since her foot is so small. This means no knee bending for 2-3 months!! Not sure she will be too happy about this!
The good news we got today was that her left leg growth is progressing as scheduled. So far, she has over 2 cm of length in both the tibia and the fibula. She only has 6 more weeks of lengthening to go!!
We will update the blog tomorrow after the surgery. Stay tuned!
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