It has been six weeks since our son had his strabismus surgery on his left eye to correct his 4th Cranial Nerve Palsy. We saw our doctor on Tuesday and it went so well I keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming!
His doctor checked out his eyes and measured the alignment and declared, "Man, I am good". We agreed! The surgeon did a wonderful job and the issue has been fixed. My son no longer has to tilt his head to keep from seeing double! He stopped tilting pretty much within 24 hours of his surgery and hasn't reverted at all. Now, sometimes he does still tilt, but we have noticed that it is when he is tired or looking at something in his lap and we believe that it is merely muscle memory/habit rather than a need to do it because he can stay midline in the same position.
So, thank God for our wonderful doctor and for getting us over this hurdle! Now our son can proceed with his head straight and eyes aligned...much easier to get through life if you don't start out tilted! ;)
Showing posts with label ocular. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ocular. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Ocular Tort Surgery follow-up - one week later
So, it has been a week since my son had surgery and I am still staring at him all the time! He is completely midline all the time now and I can hardly believe it. I mean, he has been tilted for as long as he has been able to hold up his head and now....straight. It is strange and exciting all in one. I was really nervous about the surgery and anxious about the results, but seeing him now with his head held straight, it shows me that we made the right decision for him. The tilt was kind of cute and didn't seem to bother him...now. But, think about being a growing child and trying to play ball or run around the yard or swim with your head always tilted. Not to mention that torticollis can cause other muscular issues and bone issues later on in life if left untreated.
So, we will go back in 6 weeks to determine the final "result" of the surgery, but for now, we are all more than pleased and he has been healing well and doing great!
So, we will go back in 6 weeks to determine the final "result" of the surgery, but for now, we are all more than pleased and he has been healing well and doing great!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Ocular Tort Surgery
So, on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, our son had strabismus surgery on his left eye to correct his 4th Cranial Nerve Palsy. This condition caused his eyes to be aligned improperly and he had to tilt his head to the right to avoid double vision. It has been a long road, but we are finally seeing the finish line!
We were up early to head to the surgery center and were checked in and ready to go by 7:30 am. Our pediatric ophthalmologist came in for one final look before surgery and just a chance to speak with us again. Then I carried our son back to the OR and they put a mask on him to put him to sleep. He was out in less than 30 seconds. I was in the waiting room at around 7:40 and at 8:05, our doctor was chatting with us about how well the surgery had gone. We waited another ten minutes maximum and then went to the recovery area. Our son was very sleepy...they gave him a little extra sedative to keep him calm so that he wouldn't scratch or rub his eye too much. So, we just sat and held him until he started to get a little more alert. We gave him some juice and water and he drank it down fast and then was sleeping on and off. By 9:00, we were dressed and heading out the door to go home. He slept on the way home (about an hour) and then when we got home and saw his sister and his grandparents waiting for us, he jumped out of my arms and started playing.
He did develop a fever in the afternoon, but he also has had a cough and some congestion, so I think that it was viral and not surgery related (his sister had a fever today). His eye is red in the outer corner and it is swollen under his eye, but otherwise, you would never know!
We did a post-op appointment today and the doctor said that he looked about as good as it can get and that he felt like the results were excellent and he was pretty well "fixed".
We will do another follow-up on June 7 to see how well it looks after it is completely healed.
We were up early to head to the surgery center and were checked in and ready to go by 7:30 am. Our pediatric ophthalmologist came in for one final look before surgery and just a chance to speak with us again. Then I carried our son back to the OR and they put a mask on him to put him to sleep. He was out in less than 30 seconds. I was in the waiting room at around 7:40 and at 8:05, our doctor was chatting with us about how well the surgery had gone. We waited another ten minutes maximum and then went to the recovery area. Our son was very sleepy...they gave him a little extra sedative to keep him calm so that he wouldn't scratch or rub his eye too much. So, we just sat and held him until he started to get a little more alert. We gave him some juice and water and he drank it down fast and then was sleeping on and off. By 9:00, we were dressed and heading out the door to go home. He slept on the way home (about an hour) and then when we got home and saw his sister and his grandparents waiting for us, he jumped out of my arms and started playing.
He did develop a fever in the afternoon, but he also has had a cough and some congestion, so I think that it was viral and not surgery related (his sister had a fever today). His eye is red in the outer corner and it is swollen under his eye, but otherwise, you would never know!
We did a post-op appointment today and the doctor said that he looked about as good as it can get and that he felt like the results were excellent and he was pretty well "fixed".
We will do another follow-up on June 7 to see how well it looks after it is completely healed.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Pre-Op appointment
Today was our pre-op appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist that will be doing our son's surgery for 4CNP - 4th Cranial Nerve Palsy. His left eye is affected and they will be moving one of the bottom muscles that control the placement of the eye to another spot on the eye to help it align properly. Right now, his eyes are not aligned, which causes him to tilt his head to the right to compensate....when he doesn't tilt his head, he has double vision. So, the tilt eliminates the double vision. If the surgery is successful, then it will also eliminate the double vision.
The appointment today was quick. The doctor just needed to check him again to make sure that his original measurement was still accurate. Basically there are three approaches to the condition. One is to move the muscle just a short distance, the other is a medium distance, and the third option is to remove the muscle completely. As you can see, these are mild, moderate and severe approaches to the issue. Based on his measurements, our son will need the moderate approach. They never start with the severe approach and only use it when nothing else has worked and there is still a major issue. So, our doctor feels that the alignment issue is moderate and that surgical strategy should work best for our son. I am confident in his measurements and skill. He does this surgery over 10 times a week! So, I know our son is in good hands.
I will update next week after the surgery. We also have a pre-op appointment with our pediatrician for his pre-op physical assessment. This is where we were in January and got stopped when the pediatrician deemed his cold too severe to proceed. It was inconvenient to reschedule, but it really was best for him...he was pretty sick. This time around he appears to have seasonal allergies, so he is sneezing and congested, but not the same as a cold. So, we should be good to go next week!
The appointment today was quick. The doctor just needed to check him again to make sure that his original measurement was still accurate. Basically there are three approaches to the condition. One is to move the muscle just a short distance, the other is a medium distance, and the third option is to remove the muscle completely. As you can see, these are mild, moderate and severe approaches to the issue. Based on his measurements, our son will need the moderate approach. They never start with the severe approach and only use it when nothing else has worked and there is still a major issue. So, our doctor feels that the alignment issue is moderate and that surgical strategy should work best for our son. I am confident in his measurements and skill. He does this surgery over 10 times a week! So, I know our son is in good hands.
I will update next week after the surgery. We also have a pre-op appointment with our pediatrician for his pre-op physical assessment. This is where we were in January and got stopped when the pediatrician deemed his cold too severe to proceed. It was inconvenient to reschedule, but it really was best for him...he was pretty sick. This time around he appears to have seasonal allergies, so he is sneezing and congested, but not the same as a cold. So, we should be good to go next week!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Our Torticollis Adventure....
When my son was around 2 months old, I noticed that he seemed to always tilt his head to the right. I tried repositioning him and making him look the other direction, etc., but nothing seemed to really stick with him and he always tilted. The tilting caused his head to start to flatten out in the back on the right side too.
So, at our next appointment, I spoke with the pediatrician and she said to keep repositioning and we would check again. That was when she first mentioned tort to me.
At his 4 month appointment, it was clear he had tort. So, we got an evaluation with our local early intervention program and they diagnosed him with torticollis and we started physical therapy with him. From the beginning, he had a full range of motion, but tilted. So, our exercises focused on getting his left ear toward his left shoulder. He was able to do it, although he fought it. He was able to be stretched easily in his sleep though.
At 7 months, we determined after a visit to the neurologist that his plagiocephaly (flat head) wasn't going to get better because of the tort, so we started cranial remolding therapy...aka a helmet! It really wasn't that bad and he adjusted quickly.
I decided in August at 8 months, to call a pediatric ophthalmologist to get his eyes checked. I had read more about ocular torticollis and though it was worth getting him checked out. The appointment was made for October. We continued to do PT and the helmet and then met with the ophthalmologist in October.
Suddenly, the rug was pulled out when it was determined that yes, he probably did have ocular torticollis. Which means he has a form of strabismus (lazy eye) called 4th Cranial Nerve Palsy. The only fix....surgery. Ugh.
He was scheduled for surgery in January 2011 at 13 months, but he was too sick with cold/cough to do it, so we rescheduled for April 2011. He will be 16 months. The prognosis is good though and we are hoping to just have to have one surgery and call it a day!
Some clues that tort is ocular and not muscular -
So, at our next appointment, I spoke with the pediatrician and she said to keep repositioning and we would check again. That was when she first mentioned tort to me.
At his 4 month appointment, it was clear he had tort. So, we got an evaluation with our local early intervention program and they diagnosed him with torticollis and we started physical therapy with him. From the beginning, he had a full range of motion, but tilted. So, our exercises focused on getting his left ear toward his left shoulder. He was able to do it, although he fought it. He was able to be stretched easily in his sleep though.
At 7 months, we determined after a visit to the neurologist that his plagiocephaly (flat head) wasn't going to get better because of the tort, so we started cranial remolding therapy...aka a helmet! It really wasn't that bad and he adjusted quickly.
I decided in August at 8 months, to call a pediatric ophthalmologist to get his eyes checked. I had read more about ocular torticollis and though it was worth getting him checked out. The appointment was made for October. We continued to do PT and the helmet and then met with the ophthalmologist in October.
Suddenly, the rug was pulled out when it was determined that yes, he probably did have ocular torticollis. Which means he has a form of strabismus (lazy eye) called 4th Cranial Nerve Palsy. The only fix....surgery. Ugh.
He was scheduled for surgery in January 2011 at 13 months, but he was too sick with cold/cough to do it, so we rescheduled for April 2011. He will be 16 months. The prognosis is good though and we are hoping to just have to have one surgery and call it a day!
Some clues that tort is ocular and not muscular -
- it appeared around the time when the eyes begin to work together 6-8 weeks
- full range of motion
- able to stretch fully without any tightness when asleep
- when one eye is patched, the head is midline (this should only be done at the direction of an ophthalmologist)
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