Traction

Well, we have been E-mailing Dr. Muhonen with questions about Emma's upcoming surgery. He E-mailed us back saying that he would like to try traction. We had talked to him, and other doctors, about this procedure and while they all said you can try it but it has a very low success rate. Even at our last visit Dr. Muhonen said it's not likely to work. But in his E-mail he said if we wanted to try it we had to come in on Thur before surgery! So we made an appointment to see why he Was for it now. He simply said if it was his daughter (he has 3!) He would try it.

Well that would put her going in on her Birthday. He felt bad about that. So He is seeing if he can schedule her traction day the next week.

Traction will involve 2 pins in her head with weights stretching her cervical vertebra's She will be awake, but on valium she will be like that for 2 or 3 days. Then they will take her to get a

C-scan and see if enough pressure is removed from her brainstem. If it is they will just have to do decompression surgery and a cervical fusion. Basically if it works we won't have to do the Trans-Oral. Which he says is the hardest surgery for a neurosurgeon to do.

If we could avoid the trans-oral that would be AMaZiNG!

If it doesn't work then they will have to go in and do the trans-oral. then after that they will do the decompression and cervical fusion a day or two later.

There is also a chance we could do the traction, decompression, and the fusion. But over the next year or so it may not have been enough (mostly if the syrinxs in her spine doesn't go away.) and we might still have to go back in and do the trans-oral.

He told us to mentally prepare for the trans-oral. But it is for darn sure we are hoping and praying that the traction works!

Thank You friends and family for your prayers and support.

SURGERY

The date has been set for June 11. I know this is what needs to happen, but i am also freaked out.

Her surgery will be done at Choc Hospitol. (which is an amazing hospital)

Her neurosurgeon is Dr Muhonen (Who is an amazing Neurosurgeon)

There will also be an ENT involved in the 1st surgery, who we saw last week, but i can't remember his name!

She will be having 2 surgeries. The first will take about 8 hours. They will go in thru her mouth and remove the odontoid bone that is putting pressure on her brain stem. They will pack the open space with fat from her thigh. Then they will close her up. She will have a breathing tube in and will remain mostly drugged till the second surgery. That will take place a day or so later. During this surgery they will do a decompression, he won't know how much he will have to decompress till he gets in their and she will have an MRI in between the surgeries to help decide things. Then they will go in and fuse her cervical spine, using some hardware.

We will be in the hospital for at best 10 days.

Her surgery has some risks of infection and spinal fluid leaks, that are not uncommon. These are the things we will be watching for during those 10 days. If any develop we will remain in the hospital longer.