Done!

We are just back from meeting with Dr. Taylor, and the appointment could not have gone better. He took an x-ray, which told him that Leah was done with the "activation phase," meaning that we don't have to turn the distractor any more. We haven't made any turns since last Thursday night, when we were unable to connect the device to what was left of the distractor. In all, we turned it 30.5 mm, or 1.2". During the office visit, Dr. Taylor used a similar device to pull a pin at the end of the distractor. When the pin was pulled, the joint holding the two parts of the distractor together released, and the part that was external to her skull came out. Leah didn't enjoy that part, obviously, because a good part of it was beneath the skin, but she recovered pretty quickly. Dr. Taylor asked us if we were ok as well, since it's always hard to see your child in pain, but at this point, we are pretty resilient, and this procedure was nothing compared to what we dealt with a month ago!

So, now we are left with a little hole in her skull, which he says should close over in about 48 hours or so. Of course, the main part of the distractor is still in place, and will be until the next surgery, which will take place in about 8 weeks. We are hoping to get a call back from the doctor's scheduler today so we know when that will be, but it will most likely be the end of January or the beginning of February. That surgery will be similar to the first, but less invasive, as he will just be removing the distractor rather than installing it. He told us to expect that surgery to last no more than an hour (plus anesthesia and prep time), and that she will probably be in the hospital for only one night. Plus, while the incision will be along the same line as this one, and will be the same length, we probably won't need to shave her head, which is good because her hair is growing back pretty quickly!

That main distractor is still pretty pronounced, and we will need to be careful that she doesn't bump it on something, but now that the external part is out, it's going to be much easier to take care...no more turning, cleaning, worrying! That also means she can go back to day care, and back out into the world...good news for the whole family!

Here's a picture of the part of the distractor that he removed in the office today:

We did ask about the shape of her forehead, which is still not perfectly symmetrical. He said that with the additional space in her skull, her brain will now start to grow in the right direction, and will likely fill in that part of her forehead on its own. He said we may not see those results for six months or so, and if it turns out that there's still a flat spot in the front, we can discuss helmet therapy to shape her skull. We are obviously hoping that won't be necessary, but are just going to put that worry aside for now, and see how the next several months go before we start to think about that!