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Preemies
Update on Aubrey's hips
Aubrey's first official road trip is complete. We made the 6 hour trip to St. Paul
Thursday evening (actually 7.5 hours considering we had to stop and feed A and give her a break). Her appointment at the Gillette Children's Hospital
was Friday morning and we arrived back in home late Friday night. The
kid is a trooper. She sparked a little 'tude here and there, but we
avoided any major meltdowns through our karaoke skills. My sing-a-long
to 'Jack and Diane' was particularly riveting for her. What can I say?
The girl has taste!
On to the important stuff. Yes, Aubrey will need to have surgery to help her hips. However, it is not an emergency; therefore, it will be done in about 2-3 months. We met with Dr. Q ? a very nice lady who has been specializing in pediatric orthopedics for 18 years. She was so kind, thorough, and didn't try to impress us with big, fancy words. We are very comfortable with her.
Dr. Q believes that simply putting Aubrey in a harness for her hip dysplasia will not be beneficial to her as she also has extremely tight muscles in her legs. This enhanced muscle tone, as they call it, is a result of her brain bleed and hydrocephalus. She may have been born with a little dysplasia (common to twins due to the lack of space in the womb), but the tight muscles are the real culprit making things worse. The surgery will consist of a small incision on either side of the groin to snip Aubrey's groin tendons. This will make the tendons regrow and lengthen, releasing some of the tightness. While Aubrey is sedated and fully relaxed, after the tendon snipping, Dr. Q will then see if she can get Aubrey's hips to fall into place. This is called a 'closed reduction' surgery. They will also give her Botox injections in various areas in her legs to help relax the muscles. If Aubrey's hips move into place, then she will be put in a cast from her waist to her ankles, in a 'frog leg' position for up to 3 months. (I can safely say that will suck.) After surgery she will be in the hospital for 3-4 days. This will have to be done in St. Paul.
IF for some reason Aubrey's hips do not go into place through that procedure, then she will have another procedure a few weeks after the initial snipping of the tendons. This procedure is called an 'open reduction' surgery and is more invasive. Dr. Q would cut into the hips, clear out any tissue that may be in the hip sockets and MAYBE even have to cut the femur bone to rotate the ball into the socket. Dr. Q feels this scenario is unlikely being Aubrey is so young and hasn't had time for that much damage to have occurred.
Having this done will keep Aubrey from having pain in her hips as she grows older and help prevent the early onset of arthritis. We can only imagine that this will help her leg movements and ability to walk too. There is the possibility that Aubrey may need repeat Botox injections to keep the muscles loose and she could even need her groin tendons snipped again as she gets older.
We keep reminding ourselves that we got through multiple brain surgeries, we can get through this. It's still tough though. We just want to be 'normal' parents and hate to see our sweet baby girl go through so many 'abnormal' events. I tell you what, I had my first 'normal' public mom moment when I got to push Aubrey in her stroller through the lobby of the hotel, and I reveled in it! Other than taking her to the hospital, I have not got to go out and strut around like a proud new mom. It was a very gratifying feeling.
On to the important stuff. Yes, Aubrey will need to have surgery to help her hips. However, it is not an emergency; therefore, it will be done in about 2-3 months. We met with Dr. Q ? a very nice lady who has been specializing in pediatric orthopedics for 18 years. She was so kind, thorough, and didn't try to impress us with big, fancy words. We are very comfortable with her.
Dr. Q believes that simply putting Aubrey in a harness for her hip dysplasia will not be beneficial to her as she also has extremely tight muscles in her legs. This enhanced muscle tone, as they call it, is a result of her brain bleed and hydrocephalus. She may have been born with a little dysplasia (common to twins due to the lack of space in the womb), but the tight muscles are the real culprit making things worse. The surgery will consist of a small incision on either side of the groin to snip Aubrey's groin tendons. This will make the tendons regrow and lengthen, releasing some of the tightness. While Aubrey is sedated and fully relaxed, after the tendon snipping, Dr. Q will then see if she can get Aubrey's hips to fall into place. This is called a 'closed reduction' surgery. They will also give her Botox injections in various areas in her legs to help relax the muscles. If Aubrey's hips move into place, then she will be put in a cast from her waist to her ankles, in a 'frog leg' position for up to 3 months. (I can safely say that will suck.) After surgery she will be in the hospital for 3-4 days. This will have to be done in St. Paul.
IF for some reason Aubrey's hips do not go into place through that procedure, then she will have another procedure a few weeks after the initial snipping of the tendons. This procedure is called an 'open reduction' surgery and is more invasive. Dr. Q would cut into the hips, clear out any tissue that may be in the hip sockets and MAYBE even have to cut the femur bone to rotate the ball into the socket. Dr. Q feels this scenario is unlikely being Aubrey is so young and hasn't had time for that much damage to have occurred.
Having this done will keep Aubrey from having pain in her hips as she grows older and help prevent the early onset of arthritis. We can only imagine that this will help her leg movements and ability to walk too. There is the possibility that Aubrey may need repeat Botox injections to keep the muscles loose and she could even need her groin tendons snipped again as she gets older.
We keep reminding ourselves that we got through multiple brain surgeries, we can get through this. It's still tough though. We just want to be 'normal' parents and hate to see our sweet baby girl go through so many 'abnormal' events. I tell you what, I had my first 'normal' public mom moment when I got to push Aubrey in her stroller through the lobby of the hotel, and I reveled in it! Other than taking her to the hospital, I have not got to go out and strut around like a proud new mom. It was a very gratifying feeling.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Update on Aubrey's hips
I'm sorry that she has to have surgery, but it sounds like a relatively simple one and it sounds like this doc knows what she's doing
Congrats on surviving the road trip AND getting to show off your beautiful girl
Need help with high fat food ideas? Chunky Monkey
Poor little thing. It's just so heart-breaking seeing them go through everything, isn't it? But I always tell myself that these babies are much stronger than us (I should say ME), and will not remember a thing. We, of course, will remember it forever. But what a tough little cookie you have!
Aubrey is such a beautiful girl - I'm glad you got to show her off.
Sorry to hear about the surgery. It sounds like you have found a really good surgeon though so that is good.