Rua - medical update

Since the last time I posted about Rua's ectrodactyly, we've met with the orthopedic surgeon again. We were definitely curious to see Rua's xray images and hear what the doctor had to say. We had gone in previously to get the xrays done, but unfortunately we had to redo them the day of our appointment as well. Rua did not like it either time at all. It's no wonder they weren't able to get good enough pictures the first time around.

However it was definitely fascinating to see the images and see how her little bones are formed. Some of her fingers have fused bones, some are side by side bones, but with fused skin. One particularly interesting thing was that her left foot has polydactyly - an extra toe!  Or at least the bones inside for an extra toe that never emerged. This extra bone is slanted though and pushing on her big toe, which already sticks out pretty far on the side.

Rua's feet

Rua's left hand

Rua's right hand (couldn't get this picture to upload the rotated version). Her fingers are overlapping so it's hard to really see them.

Which leads to the doctor's plan of action. He suggested that we have surgery done to remove this extra bone so that it won't continue to push on her big toe and push it even further to the side. He also said another optional surgery would be to remove her little finger on her right hand. This finger comes off of one of her other two fingers on that hand. It has a bone inside but is a floppy, useless finger. He said that there is a possibility that it could get in her way as she continues to grow and use her hands. But he left that completely up to us.

We agreed on the surgery for her foot, that seemed to be a no-brainer. But that cute little finger! We haven't really decided on that yet. It doesn't seem to bother her at all now, and I hate the thought of removing any part of her.

So we went ahead and scheduled surgery for October 15. Soon, I know!  We wouldn't have done it for several months probably if we hadn't found out that she has a hernia that will need surgery to repair. This needed to be done in the next month or two and we figured that we would prefer to cut down on the general anesthesia that she has to get if possible. The surgeries will be done right after the other and will be outpatient. Recovery is supposed to be pretty easy, here's hoping.

Although these are minor surgeries and needed ones, it is still a scary thing to think of sending your child off alone to have surgery. What if something went wrong? What if she is scared when they take her away from me? What if she is in a ton of pain afterwards (they tell me it won't be too bad)?

I will be glad when Oct 15 is come and gone for sure.