Happy Birthday Left Ear

February 2, 2014

1 year post-op Left Ear

It's hard to believe it's been 1 year since we started this ear reconstruction journey.   Samantha couldn't be happier and wanted to mark this milestone with a party for her ear!   Any excuse to have friends come over and eat some treats!  We invited over her close friends and had a fun play date.

Before and After - Pretty amazing!

Group pic of the girls, Sam's "Deaf friends" as we call them.  Two girls wear Cochlear Implants, 1 wears hearing aids and Sam with her Baha.  We met this wonderful group of friends through Sam's Auditory Oral school when the girls were all about 6 months old.  It's so amazing to see how far they've all come.  Sweet little girls!

Sam and her chocolate "ear".  Dr. Roberson so kindly gave us a few chocolate "ears" to share at the party.  I couldn't decide if they were creepy or fun.  The kids seemed to love them, so I guess it was ok!

Right Ear Adjustment

12/23/2013

Right Ear Adjustment

I haven't blogged in a bit, so I'm going to play a little catch up, so please bare with me.   We ended 2013 with another ear surgery for Sam.  On 12/23/13, Dr. Reinisch did an adjustment on her right ear.  It was sitting a little lower than the left on and was projected out much further as well.  It didn't "settle" in as much as the left on, most likely due to the different bone structure on the right side of her face.  We were pretty happy with the left one so we asked him not to touch that one in surgery.  

Just as Dr. Reinisch said this surgery was pretty short compared to the others.  It only took about 2.5 hours.  No skin grafts were taken so the recovery was pretty minimal as well.  She also didn't have to wear a protective cup over it either.  Right away, we could notice a difference in the ear placement, so we were excited to see how it heals over the next few months. 

You can see that there is minimal swelling 2 days after surgery.  This will continue to get better over time.

3 month old right ear/ 8 month old left ear

October 1, 2013

3 months post-op right ear

8 months post-op left ear

Dr. Reinisch is still happy with the healing progress of the ears. 

Left ear - 8 months old

Right ear - 3 months old

8 week old ear

Tuesday September 3, 2013

8 weeks post-op Right ear

7 months post-op Left ear

Today we are 8 weeks post-op for the right ear and 7 months post-op for the left ear. Hopefully Dr. Reinisch will think the ears are still healing nicely! 

right ear

right ear

 

 

 

right ear

left ear

7 week old Right ear

Tuesday August 27, 2013

7 weeks post-op Right ear

We are 7 weeks out and we saw Dr. Reinisch in Palo Alto today.  We so fortunate to be able to see him in person so often.  Even though the appointments are 5 minutes long it makes me feel so much better for him to see her ears in person.  

6 week old Right Ear

August 20, 2013

6 weeks post -op Right Ear

Here we are 6 weeks post-op and the ear is looking good.  Dr. Reinisch is happy with the healing thus far.  The ear still appears to be a bit more projected than the left side, so most likely Dr. R will do an adjustment in the Spring.  This can happen when doing both ears.  

6 month old ear (left ear)

August 1, 2013

6 months post-op (left ear)

I thought I'd post some pictures of Samantha's ear 6 months post-op.  It looks great! 

3 week Right Ear

Tuesday July 30, 2013

3 weeks post-op Right Ear

Today we saw Dr. Reinisch in Palo Alto at California Ear Institute.  We are so lucky that Dr. Reinisch is up our way at least once a month and he can check on Sam's ears in person!  

Here are some pictures of Sam's ear 3 weeks post-op.  Dr. Reinisch is pleased with the healing so far. 

In the picture, you can see some of the "dead" skin starting to scab and peel off.  Between week 2 and 3 (the week immediately following the dressing coming off), you are asked to just gently wash the ear with soap and water with your hands.  It's hard to get some of that "stuff" off with just your hands.  I was waiting for Dr. R to give the "ok" to start washing the ear gently with a cloth.  In the bath later that night, I was able to get most of that off.  

 

 

In this view, you can see how Sam's face is asymmetrical.  The right ear looks a little bigger, but we are still in the healing phase, so it will settle down in a few months.

In this shot, you can see that the skin graft taken from the back of her head is healing nicely and the hair is already growing back.

Big Ear Reveal (right side)

Tuesday July 23, 2013

2 weeks post-op

2 Big Ears! It's still hard to believe. 

This ear is a bit more swollen than the first one was 2 weeks out.  It's totally normal though.  Sam's first ear had the least amount of swelling of any ear he has done that early on.  I'll be honest, it's harder for me this time around because the ear looks so different than the first one.  I know it takes approximately 6 months for the ear to heal, but of course, I want results now!

17 week ear

May 31, 2013

17 weeks post-op

I've been putting on the RetinA cream for a couple weeks now.  I don't think I see any difference yet, but I really don't know what I'm looking for.  Dr. Reinisch said it would take a few weeks anyway.   The ear looks good to me! 

16 week ear

Friday May 24, 2013

16 weeks post-op

Wow, I can't believe it's been 16 weeks already.  Sam says her ear still feels sensitive to the touch when I am washing it, but Dr. Reinisch said that is very normal.  

15 week ear

Friday May 17, 2013

15 week post-op

This week we saw Dr. Reinisch in Palo Alto.  He was just checking on Sam's ear in person and wanted to give us some RetinA cream to use that will help to thicken the ear skin.  He says the ear looks great! 

12 week Ear

Friday April 28, 2013

12 weeks post-op

I really can't believe it's been 12 weeks!  Sam's ear looks great.  In fact, she was at her Opthamology appoint at Stanford and her doctor who has followed her since she was 4 months old couldn't believe it.  She brought in a Resident to see Sam, like she always does and was shocked with amazement!   I know bilateral Microtia Atresia is not that common, so in a teaching facility such as Stanford University, doctors often like to "take a look".   Sam and I don't mind because we know they are learning and if we can help in any way, that's great!  Anyway,  I showed this young Resident before pictures and he couldn't believe it.  He said if we hadn't said anything to him, he wouldn't have guessed it was a reconstructed ear.  

11 week old ear

Friday April 19, 2013

11 weeks post-op

Samantha's ear is still healing nicely.  Thank goodness!  Now that she just had the canal closed on the right side, we are getting closer and closer to the end.  Here are some pictures of her 11 week old ear.  

10 week old ear

Friday April 12, 2013

10 week old ear

Well, Dr. Reinisch is very pleased with how Sam's ear is healing.  Each week he asks you to send pictures so he can follow the healing process.  I always get a little nervous awaiting his comments each week.  I think it's looking good, but he is the expert!   He asks for different angles.  Here is a snapshot of what we sent him.

9 week old ear

Friday April 5, 2013

9 weeks post-op (original)

4.5 weeks post-op (fix)

Dr. Reinisch was right (of course), the scab I was worried about last week came off.  I also worked harder on getting the stitches out and I'm pretty certain they are almost all out.  We also got Sam a new battery door.  She has been asking for a purple one since last summer when she saw them at the AG Bell Conference as well as the Atresia Microtia Conference.  So, since she was due for me to change it, I thought I'd surprise her with a purple one!  She added a little decoration to it as well.  :)

We just heard from Dr. Reinisch and he said Sam's ear "looks great!".  I'm so happy he feels good about the healing. 

8 week old ear

Friday March 29, 2013

8 weeks post-op (original)

3.5 weeks post-op (fix)

Wow, I really can't believe it's been 8 weeks since Sam received her ear.  I love catching her looking at it in the mirror and listening to her talk about how she will soon be able to wear fun sunglasses like her little sister.  The gift Dr. Reinisch has given my little girl is truly amazing!  

Dr. Reinisch is happy with the way the ear is looking.  I questioned the scab on the back, but he said that it should come off.  He also told me to start working a little bit harder on getting the stitches out from the "fix" surgery.  I have been cleaning it every day, but the ear is still a bit sensitive, so I'm probably not rubbing as hard as I need to be. 

7 week old ear

Friday March 22, 2013

7 weeks post-op (original surgery)

16 days post-op (exposure fix)

Dr. Reinisch reviewed the pictures of Sam's ear this weekend and feels good about the way things are looking and healing.  Yay!

Samantha is becoming more and more confident about her ear and is excited to show it off to people.  Today she was at the park with a friend and wanted to show it off.  

She pulled her hair back and said, "Do you want to see something?"

Her friend replied, "sure...looks cute!"

Now, I'm pretty certain her friend was commenting on the sticker she has on her Baha instead of her ear, but it didn't matter.  The friendly exchange was so sweet and I'm proud that Sam was so confident in showing off her ear.  

The Mom of the friend said to me, I honestly don't think Meghan has ever noticed that Sam didn't have ears.  I don't think she did either.

I love the sweet innocence of young children! 

 7 weeks post-op

6 week old ear

March 15, 2013

6 weeks post-op (original surgery)

10 days post-op (exposure fix)

I really can't believe it's been 6 weeks since Sam got her left big ear.  It's amazing! We sent pictures to Dr. Reinisch this weekend and just heard back that he is pleased with the way things are looking.  Yay!

The color of the ear is really looking better.  When Dr. Reinisch did the exposure fix last week he told me that there was a layer of "dead" skin on the ear that he took off.  I had been washing it diligently every day, but didn't realize this.  So, I'm not sure if the color looks better because that skin was taken off or because it's just looking better and better each week.  Either way, I'll take it! 

The bottom part that looks pink is where the area of the small exposure.  Dr. Reinish made an incision at the back of the ear, took some muscle to cover the implant and then a small skin graft from the groin/leg area to put on top.  It looks a little swollen right now, but that will go down with time.  

I also took a picture of the back of the head where a graft was taken 6 weeks ago.  As you can see it is healing very nicely and there is already a lot of hair growth.  At least fast hair growth comes in handy in this situation!