After measurements was our appointment with Dr A. It might be easiest to list our questions and attempt to recreate the answers -
#1 How long will the surgery take?
We knew this would be an approximate answer. Dr A said the surgery wouldn't be in the 4-5 hour range. He guestimated it would be more like 1-2 hours.
#2 What are you anticipating to occur during the surgery?
Dr A thinks that part of the bowel might be attached to the skin over the omphalocele. If this is the case, he might have to resect a portion of the bowel. He expects the rest of the intestines and liver to be okay. If Dr A was more concerned about the bowel then Willa would be admitted to the hospital 1-2 days prior to the surgery for bowel prep.
#3 Will you be using a mesh?
Willa might not have enough muscle to pull everything together for the closure. One of two things could happen - the use of a patch made of natural material which would be absorbed or the use of a mesh to be removed during a later surgery. Dr A would like to use a patch. The use of the patch would cause a hernia that would be repaired when Willa is 2-3 years of age. I'm really hoping she has enough abdominal muscles and we can be done with surgeries.
#4 Will you create a belly button for Willa?
Yup and it better be an innie.
#5 What will you use to close?
Dr A said he would probably use stitches which will need to be removed at a later time.
#6 Where will the recovery take place?
Originally we were told Willa would be in the PICU. If everything goes smoothly, Willa's recovery will be on the 7th floor - I believe that is the general peds floor.
#7 How will Willa feed after surgery?
Dr A thinks Willa should be taking a bottle shortly after surgery and won't need a feeding tube.
Dr A also said that Willa could stop wearing the brace for the final days prior to the surgery. The omphalocele has shrunk as much as it going to.
We also had our last visit with the guys from prosthetics. We only needed to take some final pictures since Willa was done wearing the brace. You could tell how proud the guys were for the amazing progress of the omphalocele. It was even mentioned they would publish a study since there is so little research material on the bracing/compression of an omphalocele. We of course are supporting this whole heartedly and are happy to let them use our pictures if necessary.
Oh and no brace means Willa finally gets to wear separates! Her outfit on Friday (Daren says she will never wear these "skinny jeans" again) was super cute. Those darn socks make her feet look a little big. Oh, and the close shot is the under-onsie. My daughter is so smart.
#1 How long will the surgery take?
We knew this would be an approximate answer. Dr A said the surgery wouldn't be in the 4-5 hour range. He guestimated it would be more like 1-2 hours.
#2 What are you anticipating to occur during the surgery?
Dr A thinks that part of the bowel might be attached to the skin over the omphalocele. If this is the case, he might have to resect a portion of the bowel. He expects the rest of the intestines and liver to be okay. If Dr A was more concerned about the bowel then Willa would be admitted to the hospital 1-2 days prior to the surgery for bowel prep.
#3 Will you be using a mesh?
Willa might not have enough muscle to pull everything together for the closure. One of two things could happen - the use of a patch made of natural material which would be absorbed or the use of a mesh to be removed during a later surgery. Dr A would like to use a patch. The use of the patch would cause a hernia that would be repaired when Willa is 2-3 years of age. I'm really hoping she has enough abdominal muscles and we can be done with surgeries.
#4 Will you create a belly button for Willa?
Yup and it better be an innie.
#5 What will you use to close?
Dr A said he would probably use stitches which will need to be removed at a later time.
#6 Where will the recovery take place?
Originally we were told Willa would be in the PICU. If everything goes smoothly, Willa's recovery will be on the 7th floor - I believe that is the general peds floor.
#7 How will Willa feed after surgery?
Dr A thinks Willa should be taking a bottle shortly after surgery and won't need a feeding tube.
Dr A also said that Willa could stop wearing the brace for the final days prior to the surgery. The omphalocele has shrunk as much as it going to.
We also had our last visit with the guys from prosthetics. We only needed to take some final pictures since Willa was done wearing the brace. You could tell how proud the guys were for the amazing progress of the omphalocele. It was even mentioned they would publish a study since there is so little research material on the bracing/compression of an omphalocele. We of course are supporting this whole heartedly and are happy to let them use our pictures if necessary.
Oh and no brace means Willa finally gets to wear separates! Her outfit on Friday (Daren says she will never wear these "skinny jeans" again) was super cute. Those darn socks make her feet look a little big. Oh, and the close shot is the under-onsie. My daughter is so smart.
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