Recent Photo

While I'm thinking about it, I am posting a recent photo. His eye (left eye) is looking good. As you can see, at the primary position (that is, looking straight ahead) his two eyes are almost symmetrical. Will post again soon.

3 months post-surgery pic

3 months post surgery. His left eye is the ptosis eye. Everything healed. Some scars remain above the brow.

Post Surgery Update

3 days post surgery

10 days post surgery

 

Lane had a second surgery on March 28, 2013 (4.5 years old). The method was the frontalis sling using fascia lata. As can be seen from the photos above, the surgery is being deemed successful at raising the lid so his vision is no longer obscured. In terms of the surgery itself, he was given general anesthesia and a local block to numb the area of the leg from which the fascia was harvested. The whole procedure took ~4 hours. When we got to him in the recovery area, he was still asleep. He slowly awoke, and wasn't too ornery as he came to awareness. His left eye was covered with a large bandage, as we knew it would be until the following day. His leg was sutured with a bandage as well. We stayed in the hospital an additional 1.5 hours, while he had some juice, goldfish, and popsicles. That night he was tired, but did not complain of any pain or discomfort. We carried him around due to the numbness and stiffness of his leg. We did give him Tylenol that night, and again the next morning, but nothing thereafter and he never had any pain whatsoever. The next morning we went back to the hospital to have the bandage over his eye removed. Upon removal, he was swollen, but not too badly, and had no bruising. We could not tell immediately if his lid was indeed raised due to the stitches (3 incision points over his brow) and swelling, but the doctor assured us that his looked as it should post-surgery and it should have a positive outcome in due time. They conducted a vision test on both eyes and his left eye's vision was equal to that of his right eye. We were given a topical antibiotic to place on his incision points and eye lids for the next ~10 days. Basically, we were told to wait and watch, and that it would take as long as 30 days to see the final result. That day, one day after surgery, his leg was still stiff so he limped a bit, but overall played and acted normally. His eye does not close completely when he is sleeping, but this has not been problematic in any way. He doesn't even notice. The stitches in his eye and leg are self-dissolving. We are now at 3 weeks post surgery, and the stitches in his eye have dissolved/fell out, and he has only one small scab left above his eye. The stitches in his leg are still present, and the tape covering them is just starting to fall off. In summary, so far so good! We are thankful!

 



Post Surgery Update

Lane had surgery on Feb. 7 due to his eyelid drooping again since his original surgery in 2009. The plan for the surgery was to try to tighten the knot on the existing silicone rod (frontalis sling) to pull-up the eyelid again so it was not impairing his vision and would hopefully hold-up for a year(s) to come. In the operating room, the surgeon was able to quickly locate the rod, tighten the knot, and indeed Lane's eyelid raised in the operating room. After the surgery, we were told the surgery was successful, easy, and minimally invasive.  Lane came out of surgery with a huge bandage over that eye and underneath the bandage his lid was sutured closed. We were so relieved the surger way over, and Lane was doing fantastic. The next day we went to his post-op appointment to have his bandage and the suture removed. Upon removal, my  husband and I could immediately see that his eyelid was not at all raised, but in fact, drooping to an almost closed state. We knew immediately that something went wrong. My heart and my stomach dropped. Two doctors examined him and communicated to us that the rod must have snapped under tension after the tightening procedure, and that he would need another frontalis sling surgery with fascia lata as soon as it could be scheduled. We were devastated for a day or so, but now we realize that we are lucky our son doesn't have anything life threatening, he can endure another surgery, and the frontalis sling with fascia should be successful (we pray). So, another surgery for us on March 28! In the meantime we are patching his good eye for one hour a day to keep the other working (for at least an hour a day).  Attached is a photo of Lane 4 days post-surgery. 

Getting ready for surgery again

We visited Lane's eye doctor/surgeon on December 26, had his vision checked (which is perfect) and scheduled his next surgery. The main objective of this next surgery is to lift his lid again with the hope it will carry him over for ~two years (but who knows). The surgery is scheduled for Feb. 7. During the surgery, the plan is for his surgeon to first try to tighten the current rod/sling that is there which should thereby raise his lid (we are hoping for 2mm). This option will be minimally invasive, but has a less certain positive end result. If he is unable to tighten the current structure due to tissue and such that has developed around the rod, then he will remove the current sling from his brow,  take Lane's own fascia from his thigh, and replace the sling in his brow with Lane's own fascia. This will be a more involved procedure, but could have a more certain positive result and possibly and longer effect of holding the lid up.Unfortunately, nothing is certain in terms of how good the end result will look or how long it will last, but we have had excellent luck so far so we are optimistic. Will let you know how it goes after Feb. 7!