Rylen's Sagittal Cranial Vault Reconstruction Surgery Recap

Yay! Today, May 20th marks one week since Rylen had surgery to correct her skull. I wanted to write this for us to remember, for other cranio families who want to know what to expect and for RyK if she wants to know what her surgery was like.

On Tuesday May 13th  we arrived at Oakland Kaiser at 6am. We were checked in and sent to pre-op. There they gave her some "happy juice" and daddy turned into the funniest guy around. We handed her off to a  nurse about 8am. Then we waited for our first phone call. At 10:20 her nurse called to tell us they had made the first cut, at 12:45 he called again to say she was doing well and they would begin to close. At 2:20 he called and told us to be waiting in the lobby for the surgeons to arrive. Finally around 3:00pm Dr. Pang and Dr. Zovickian came walking towards us. Everything went well and we could go to the PICU and see her!

When we walked in we could hear her crying, we knew she woke up fighting mad. She was turning her self around and kicking and throwing her arms up and down. Her poor nurse was so nice, she said it was totally alright and RyK could kick her all she wanted. They gave her some medicine and she calmed down. From that point on she didn't do too much moving unless we made her.  Then the swelling started. The day of surgery she looked like herself until around 8pm when I could see her eyes slowly getting more and more bruised. By the time morning came her eyes had swollen shut and her face was very puffy. The nurses said from the 24 hour to the 48 hour mark her swelling would be the worst. I would say from the 18hr to 40 hr her swelling went from just puffy to totally unrecognizable. After that it was amazing as the hours went by to see her looking more and more normal.  Friday, day 4 her eyes opened. Wahoo!!!!!!!! Our baby could see again! Everyone was happier, and that meant that if everything came back as normal we could go home! After waiting for what seemed like a very long time to get her blood work back, we were released! Now, today is one week post-op and even though she isn't eating or sleeping like she used to, she is doing great! Crawling, playing, walking with help and trying to get back to her normal routine.

If you have any questions, I would love to answer them. Please ask!
                        For more pictures of her please click here

  This is RyK the day of her surgery.
                                                                    








 For more info and updated pictures of her please click here
You can e-mail me if you have any questions or if you just need someone to talk to at     BeautyAfterBaby@gmail.com
                       Learn more about craniosynostosis at www.craniocarebears.org 
To view all my blog posts click here  

Comments

  1. Amanda PMay 20, 2014 at 4:32 PM

    She's looking great! Swelling is no fun, but so glad she had no complications. I can't believe the change in the before and after photo. What a great gal you've got!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 7, 2015 at 1:40 AM

    Hi there I need some more information about the procedure coz my son will be going for the same at the end of this month.my fmly is so worried including me.can we talk through the phone plz if u don't mind would u mind to send me ur number at mahendra.dahal@yahoo.com or email me something so that I can send my number first.waiting for ur response.thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BeautyAfterBabyFebruary 7, 2015 at 4:17 PM

      Hi Mahendra,
      Please send me an email at beautyafterbaby@gmail.com
      Where are you located?

      Delete
  3. UnknownDecember 17, 2015 at 11:10 AM

    Thanks for blogging all this. It really brings comfort to us worried parents! My daughter's doctor suspects this and we have to travel far to find a good surgeon, beginning with the mri.I'd live to show you pics of my daughter and ask what you think?! I'm so scared.thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BeautyAfterBabyDecember 17, 2015 at 5:27 PM

      Hey Jennifer! Please send me an email at BeautyAfterBaby@gmail.com I'd love to take a look at some pics. The top birds we view and side view would be great. Where are you located?

      Delete
  4. Autumn StarostinOctober 16, 2018 at 7:46 PM

    Just wondering why there is no helmet for her? Did you choose the springs? She looks so so cute!!! I am researching we have two options for my baby boy to choose from. We have 48 hrs to decide. One option with springs and another with the helmet. Know anything about this?

    ReplyDelete

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