Our Doctor Visit

This past Thursday was our long-awaited visit with Ella's plastic surgeon to start the process of the tissue-expansion. We weren't sure exactly what to expect, but knew that they were going to get all of the measurements they needed and get the tissue expanders figured out and ordered. The doctor had told us to tell Ella that we'd be doing "arts and crafts." And we knew to prepare a bit of time, as the process may take awhile. So in our minds we envisioned having clay molds and plaster of paris out or whatever else in order to get all of the measurements they would need. But, thankfully, it ended up being much more simple than that.

"I got my new George blanket, my new kitty-cat hat, mama kitty, and my cup. I ready to go to the doctor now mom!"

Our appointment was at 10:00, the first hour of which was spent in the waiting room, listening for Ella's name to be called. Ella got a new box of crayons from the receptionist and found two new coloring books about hospital stays - so this kept here occupied for a while. Then, she found some sort of pink brochure. I told her that she should put it back, to which her reply was "I need this mom." I looked at it and it was called "Understanding Your Hysterectomy." Dave and I shared a smile over that one. But then she decided that I needed to have it, since it was pink and I was a girl, and then found a different brochure that she said was for Dave, since it was blue and he was a boy. It was titled "Disorders of the Pelvic Floor" or something like that. Yikes, I hope Dave's uterus isn't falling out! Finally, Ella's name was called and back to the examining room we went.


We were up on the twelth floor, so had a pretty neat view of some of the downtown buildings. Here is what our view was like. Ella tried to tell us that all of the buildings were garages, and just wouldn't believe when we said they weren't.



Finally Jim, the physician extender (the doctor's right-hand man, or "Tonto" as we like to call him), arrived and started by showing us a couple of samples of what tissue expanders looked like. They were a lot thicker and bigger than we had imagined. The two samples we saw were both oval, one was about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide, and the other about 4 inches by 2 inches. Each had a small tube running from it - they kind of reminded me of a computer mouse. And he also showed us what the port (where the solution would be injected) looked like. Ella really enjoyed playing with these and seemed rather excited that these "balloons" were going to go on her head to make it bigger.

When the doctor came in, he chatted with us about what we could expect over the next few months, and about tissue expanders, and answered all of the questions we had. Then they went through the templates they had and decided how best to maximize using her scalp to end up with the skin needed to cover the injury area. Two of the templates were chosen as the right size and shape for the expanders in the back of her head and on the left side, just above her ear. They decided to create a custom-designed expander that would cover the entire right side of her head. So there was a lot of holding plastic films up to her head and checking to see if the fit was accurate, as well as tracing onto a clear film to create the custom-shaped template. Ella was very cooperative through the whole process, and provided us plenty of entertainment as she excitedly talked about her balloons and how they were going to be on her head and filled with water. In fact, when we left "empty-handed" - she wanted to know when we were going back to get her new balloons.

So the plan is to have three total expanders implanted - two smaller ones and the large custom-designed one. They will create a mold of the custom one, have us back in to make sure it is accurate, and then will send it in to have expanders that shape and size made. So it will take a few weeks before all of the expanders are here and ready to be implanted. Right now we are thinking early December for this surgery.

Once they are in place, it will be an overnight hospital stay, and then she will be able to go home, as long as everything is feeling and looking okay. We will be able to do the injections from home - after watching it be done a couple of times in the office. The plan is to inject a very small amount every day for about two months, or until the skin has expanded enough - maybe more and maybe less. Then they will do the surgery to replace the graft with all of the new-grown skin, and we will be done! I SOOOOO can't wait for that day to be here!