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View Full Version : Pics from our ptosis repair (not for the faint of heart)


Satori
04-22-2008, 04:17 AM
Along the lines of my other post, there are no pics out there of what to expect with ptosis repairs! So here's our experience.

This is Lilly's 2nd repair, the 1st was done last Feb with a silicone rod and the thing broke either at or within 2 weeks of surgery but the plastic surgeon swore it wasn't. We lost a year of progress in her vision because of it. This time we used a different plastic surgeon and had to use the fascia (sp?) as they were unable to repair the rod and the rod seemed to really irritate her anyway. Tomorrow I will try getting up pic's from the first surgery and its pretty obvious it failed from the start.

anyway, this is pre op about 2-3 hours before surgery at the hospital

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/preop.jpg



This is the big bandage that was on her when she came out of surgery, now this time they did something different to keep the packing from going directly into her eye like last time. They stitched it shut, the photo below this one is not for the faint of heart and I would have had a cow had I seen this. I didn't know thats how they did it until about 1 minute before it was removed 24 hours later when they took the bandage off.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/recovery.jpg


I warned you...












http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/stitch1.jpg





About 15 minutes later in the car, she was happy until I decided to take a picture, she HATES the camera flash.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/24hours.jpg




then the infection started to set in...

48 hours after surgery
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/48hours.jpg




I forgot to take a pic on day 3 but here's day 4, its getting worse

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/day4.jpg


and this is what it looked like this morning day 5

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/day5.jpg


its bleeding and oozing pus out of the incision BUT the redness is less and the swelling is going down so the antibiotics are starting to work. It reminds me of an abscess that burst and now is draining We have to go back in Thursday for a check up, hoping it looks a lot better then. Now in my defense I did keep the site clean but Lilly is suspected of having CVID (severe immune deficiency) like her big sister and should have been started on antibiotics at surgery and she wasn't until infection set in. I warned the Dr she had multiple infections last time from the sutures and he needed to use glue this time but did he listen? Noo.... because lid infections are really rare! umm, yeah, but not when your kid is immune deficient..


Day 6
Its oozing blood and pus still but the swelling is down a lot. Its literally like an abscess draining. I can tell looking at the stitch site above the eye brow that the stitch on the left is going to need lancing in 1-2 days because infection is bubbling up from an internal stitch. Anyway, swelling is down but the lid tone is darker, more reddish purplish and kinda bruised looking which I'm guessing is a good thing because it means the pressure is relived a bit inside so were seeing the bruising now. oops, I was wrong, applied a warm wash cloth to the stitch site and it came to a head today and ruptured, amazing amount of pus for something so small.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/day6.jpg




Day 7 We had lots of oozing and bleeding yesterday, she even ripped out a stitch so we had to go see the Dr. Today how ever the redness/purple has decreased by 40-50%, swelling is way down and no oozing! She's even touching the eye today which she hasn't done since surgery. I think its safe to say were on the mend! The abscesses have drained and things are healing:)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a355/boredtech/day7.jpg
Janet
04-22-2008, 08:42 AM
OMG, the poor little peanut, how is she doing now?
jennifer kichar
04-22-2008, 08:47 AM
It breaks my heart.How is she feeling?Is there alot of pain involved?
mrs j
04-22-2008, 09:08 AM
Oh jee wizz, that looks terribly painful, did she complain a lot, how is she doing now.xx
cheryl2
04-22-2008, 11:19 AM
I hope she is doing much better. Such a shame that after all that this surgery wasn't successful. She's been through a lot. I had 4 ptosis surgeries. I have records that I have to sift through to get a better idea of the story. On my first surgery at age 4, they used some sort of substance in my eye I was allergic to. I developed a granuloma above my right eye. You can see it in my Kindergarten picture. They removed whatever it was I was reacting to, then did another surgery, which did not work for some reason. Finally my parents switched to another doctor who was able to fix the mess the first doctor made and repair the ptosis with fascia. My surgeon is famous in the field, and Clara's surgeon studied under him. He's probably about ready to retire now.

I find that the specialists don't pay attention if you bring up other issues that may affect surgery that are out of their area. Doctors can be impossible.
Satori
04-22-2008, 02:30 PM
I'm not sure what to make of this morning, its oozing blood and pus still but the swelling is down a lot. Its literally like an abscess draining. I can tell looking at the stitch site above the eye brow that the stitch on the left is going to need lancing in 1-2 days because infection is bubbling up from an internal stitch. Anyway, swelling is down but the lid tone is darker, more reddish purplish and kinda bruised looking which I'm guessing is a good thing because it means the pressure is relived a bit inside so were seeing the bruising now. Updating with a day 6 pic in a minute.
Wyatt's Mom
04-22-2008, 02:45 PM
Aww, poor thing. I hope it gets better and she heals quickly. Maybe they will actually listen to you next time with regards to antibiotics and such.
She is such a doll. Is this the last surgery for her eye or will she need more?
three.little.boys
04-22-2008, 02:58 PM
poor baby...she is a trooper. Hope it gets better soon!
Candice
04-22-2008, 04:13 PM
Awww poor little Lilly!!! What a trooper! (She has the most GORGEOUS eyes!!!!) Don't you wish that Dr.'s would suck it up and listen to us Mom's once in a while. We may not be DOCTORS, but we know our children!!!!!!!! :hugg 's to you, I hope the infection goes away and she can get on with healing properly!
charliesmummy
04-22-2008, 04:34 PM
Oh my god poor little Lilly it's just not fair.....fingers crossed the infection goes really quickly xx
Satori
04-22-2008, 06:16 PM
Aww, poor thing. I hope it gets better and she heals quickly. Maybe they will actually listen to you next time with regards to antibiotics and such.
She is such a doll. Is this the last surgery for her eye or will she need more?


We don't know, there hope is that her body will form scar tissue where the fascia is as its reabsorbed by her body and create her own lift. If it doesn't she will need to have surgery a couple times over the next few years. I'm betting it will, the surgery took 2x as long because she had so much scar tissue to get though to remove the old rod.
KALEMSMOM
04-22-2008, 07:44 PM
Awwww poor little peanut, It looks so painful. I hope she starts feeling better soon.
beccad
04-23-2008, 11:15 AM
Wow you must be just beside yourself. I'm so sorry that she is having to go through all of this. I saw that you are a single mom and I don't know how to even imagine doing this on my own. You are a strong woman. You hang in there and we are here for you. Good luck with you cutie pie, she is just adorable. I'm lifting you and your girls up in my prayers.
Elizabeth
04-25-2008, 10:50 AM
Lilly is SUCH a cutie!! Adorable. I hope that her eye will continue to improve and pray that she will not need any more surgeries! I think you have BOTH been through enough!