The Tale of Two Preemies: Ear Surgery #1

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Ear Surgery #1

I have about 30 minutes before the kids get off the bus. I should probably be folding the gobbs of laundry, but instead I will enlighten you all on ear cysts instead.

Cole had his surgery about 2 1/2 weeks ago. It went well. It did not go as they had hoped. They hoped for one large mass that could easily be scooped out. What they got was a large mass that had grown into all the nooks and crannies in his ear. It took a full 4 hours to remove it.

He was a little nervous this time. Thankfully, we had just gotten an ipad so Bad Piggies was a great way to keep his mind off of it. He was the second surgery of the morning so he went back around 8:30/8:45 and they came to get us at about 12:45. The doctor gave us lots of info, but I didn't retain much of it as my thought was "when can I see him?"

The cyst did not erode any of the bones, which was good, but they did have to remove at least one of the ear bones (I believe it was the incus). They also had to cut around his ear lobe and go in through the bone behind his ear. That incision is where he had the most pain. It still looks painful, but as long as you don't jab a clippers into it, he doesn't complain. Yes, that was a brilliant mommy moment.

He had to wear a cuff for 2 days, then a cotton ball in his ear for a week. He slept on the couch for a full day before he felt ready to get up and move around. He was very dizzy when we brought him home. By Saturday evening he was up and moving and by Sunday he was his normal self. He went back to school the following Monday.

The first smile after surgery.

He sees the ENT in a couple of weeks and will have to have a second surgery sometime this summer. The second surgery will be to remove any regrowth and rebuild his ear. Cole claims he can hear better now, but I'm not sure if that's actually true. Hopefully when it's all said and done that will be true!

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Cole's Story

Cole was born at 30 weeks 3 days, much to our surprise, in 2006. I went in to the hospital because I wasn't feeling well and was afraid I'd get dehydrated. I ended up being air lifted to a larger hospital where Cole was born 24 hours later. He weighed in at 4 lbs. 2 oz. and was 17" long. He had some developmental delays, mostly due to acid reflux. He also had positional plagiocephaly and was in a remolding helmet for 6 weeks. At 14 months he underwent a cardiac catheter procedure to close his PDA. At 25 months he tripped getting out of his kiddie pool and broke his femur. He was in a cast from his hips to his toes for 4 long weeks. He also broke his shoulder at age 5 1/2. His latest medical drama has been a cyst in his left ear. He's had his adenoids removed and another surgery to remove the cyst. He'll have a second surgery in August. He's been through the ringer, but you'd never know it. He just rolls with the punches. He's 100% farm boy. He wants to know how everything works and why. He loves the farm. Farming is definitely in his blood.

Tate's Story

Tate was born at 34 weeks 2 days in 2008. Since I had a previous premature delivery, I was on high alert for another one. It didn't help. We had ultrasound after ultrasound and everything looked great. Tate, however, was not patient. I was admitted to the hospital with preterm labor. He held off for a couple of days, but was still born early. He weighed 5 and a half pounds and was 19" long. Fortunately he had no problems and was released from the hospital 3 days after he was born. He was born the middle child. He desperately wants to do what his big brother does, but has his own interests and wants Cole do to those with him. He's my trouble-maker, fit-thrower, and snuggle bug.