The End of Chelsea's Story

I've finally gotten around to posting about the last of Chelsea's story. She had this last surgery just before she turned 10. The purpose of this surgery was to pull her whole midface forward. Dr. Polley made an incision using the previous scar line but he cut through the bone. This was where the bone would start to heal every day and I would turn the screws to pull it forward more. We had to have this surgery at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. She was the 8th person to have this specific surgery. Because this was such a new procedure, there was a lot of interest in it. At the end of this post, I have a copy of the article that was put in The New York Times. We met a wonderful reporter who followed us through with all of our dr. appts. and final surgery. She was also the one who wrote the entire article for The Chicago Tribune. We still meet with her when we go down for yearly visits.

This last surgery took about 6 hours, I believe. She had to stay in the hospital for one week, and got to come home on her 10th birthday. What a great birthday present. We had to go to Chicago on a weekly basis while I was turning the screws.

This is a picture of the halo and the two different screwdrivers that I used to turn the screws. They had specific instructions and markings on them so that I would know exactly how much to turn. This was made of titanium and was very light. Chelsea said it did not hurt when I turned these screws - she didn't even feel it, thankfully. If you enlarge it, you will be able to read more specifics on what I did.

















This was 1 week after the surgery She had just come home the day before. If you'll notice,there were wires above her eyebrows and lower that hooked into her teeth. On each end of these wires were little screws - 4 total - I had to turn these once a day. Also, there were 2 screws at the end of the halo. Those also had to be turned every day. This was how we pulled the midface forward slowly. It would open up the incision, very slightly and then it would start to heal over; the next day we would do it again. I quit turning the screws on day #30. Then the halo was just left on for 4 more weeks to let it all heal up.















This was day 17 after surgery. She wasn't feeling 100% yet. She tired quite easily and then she got some sort of bug where she wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat. This gives a better picture of the front of the halo.














This is day 25 after the surgery. The screw above her left eye popped out and so we had to go to Chicago the following Monday, so that they could reattach it in an outpatient surgery.














This is Chelsea and Dr. Polley after the surgery. He was a great surgeon and was so caring toward her.
















This is the article that appeared in The New York Times. It gives you a better idea of how she looked before and after the surgery. Enlarge this to read some of what the article said.
















There is a possibility of another surgery, if she would want it. That would be to work more on the orthodontics of the mouth. The dr.'s are happy with the outcome of it all, so this would be more of a cosmetic type of surgery. Chelsea is content with everything so I think we're set. We are just very grateful with what all the medical field can do now. I hope I've enlightened you all a little bit with information on Crouzon's and what Chelsea has had done!