A little boost (I hope) for nervous parents:)

[brynnsmom]

My daughter Brynn just had surgery for left coronal cranio almost 2 weeks ago. I was so... nervous to be doing this to her. Especially those last weeks before surgery. Whenever I saw her happy, I kept thinking should I really do this to her. I knew the surgery would help with her looks but was terrified what could happen to her brain. Brynn was mostly on track with her development before surgery. And the thought of doing this for looks just seemed very selfish of me. Although I knew down the road, this could impact her development, at the time it didn't seem to be impacting her.
Brynn did so well with her surgery. Better than I imagined. She was of course in pain. But even during the pain she managed to grab toys and want to play. When we brought her home, she began to perk up more and more each day.
Now that almost two weeks have passed Brynn is doing things she never did before surgery. She has started turning in a 180 degree circle on her tummy to get toys, she wants to grab at everything (cats, remotes, toys) she rarely did this before. She tried to pull off her clothes and diaper all of the time. While this is annoying sometimes, it is a developmental milestone she was not doing before. When she eats, she moves towards her food now and chews better. When she babbles, she is suddenly using consonants and vowels, before she would just squeal. She is even smiling more now and laughing. She never laughed before. It is absolutely amazing.
Brynn's surgeons said there was a lot of pressure on her brain. They didn't know how much pressure until they tried to take her skull off the brain and it was very hard to pull off. Her surgeon thinks she may have been having headaches as well.
I have not a single regret doing this for Brynn seeing how her development is progressing so quickly after surgery. She is doing so well, I am just totally amazed. So to all the parents out there, worried if you are making the right decision, know that you are!

[SummerEhmann]

I'm going to second that. Brentley is 2 mo post op and is 1 month older than Brynn. He too has been doing so much more since surgery and we're so happy we had the surgery. Wouldn't change our decision at all.

[tracy_girl05]

yay for Brynn! that is so wonderful and I am so glad that you have share dthis with scared mommas!

Hailey was a left coronal baby and prior to her operation she did not babble or smile--- after her operation she was like a different baby! And now I am proud to say that Hailey is waaayyyyy above her peers when it comes to communication. The girl would blow your mind with all the things she can say and knows.

I have not regreted the operation even for one minute. It terrifies me to think how our baby girl would be if we didnt do it.

[jjmc123]

I'm agreeing with you all! I love these left coronal cuties. My son is one of them Before his 1st surgery he was reaching all his milestones, but his head shape was so severe it was so worth it. We just had to go through it again when he was 4 and was so much better than I ever could have imagined. He had fantastic friends that never questioned his head or his super wide scar. Soon we're changing schools and he'll meet all new friends. His scar width, his facial features, etc are so good now that once the stitches are desolved I don't think anyone will know he has cranio unless we told them.

[angieo]

Thank you for your post! My son is in surgery right now as I'm typing this, and this definitely makes me feel more calm about the whole thing :).

[AddiesGramma]

so glad she is doing so well But I am wondering why you said the surgery was ONLY for looks?
... from everything I have learned and read it seems like at least in my opinion that in most of these surgeries it is NOT just for looks. It seems to me that if the brain doesn't have room to grow or is being squished in one area or more that it could cause delays in development. I am just wondering if your Dr or someone else had told you it was just for looks.

once again so happy your little one is doing so well ... kids are amazing how they deal with this surgery stuff.

[brynnsmom]

What I meant to say was, I didn't see any delays in her at the time of surgery. So the thought that maybe she wouldn't have delays or brain damage even without surgery and I was just doing this for looks seemed selfish. Now I know that there was something going on with her brain, although they would not have shown up on a developmental screening. I did a 6 month ASQ screening on her and she passed, but since surgery she is a completely different little girl.
And to be honest, while her head shape has changed a little, what I notice more is the change in her personality and curiosity.
Her doctors did say that the primary purpose of surgery was to protect her brain. But since I didn't see any issues with her brain before surgery, doing the surgery seemed so scary if the only reason I may be doing it was to help with her symmetry. Knowing what I know now, I would recommend surgery to anyone who is deciding whether or not they should make such a huge decision for their child.

[AddiesGramma]

thanks, I was hoping no one had told you that surgery for Cranio was just for looks.
I am so happy she is doing well and especially that it has maybe helped in her development. Also glad that it eased your mind as to was the surgery worth it.