Why, You may ask? Because if we could get it to stretch, we could maybe avoid a tenotomy. (A minor surgery preformed on the Achilles to lengthen it. It's a small nick in the tendon and then 3 weeks of casting to stretch it and let it to repair itself longer.) And that could maybe mean avoiding boots and bar. So we will likely need the tenotomy and then the full boots and bar regimen. (3 months of 23 hours a day. And then nights and naps until 5.) We were prepared for this from the start...but we got that false hope so it's definitely kinda disappointing to be back to 5 years. I'm just praying that he tolerates it well and that we don't have a relapse.
And yes, he got a new cast. Without the stretch (or not as much stretch.) He did actually cry less, just a bit during placement, and slept through most of the casting. Maybe this go round won't be so rough!
The plan is to see where we can get before we move and to have an appt lined up in MI right away which will hopefully just be his tenotomy. Like I said, it's a quick, simple procedure. However, some docs prefer to use general anesthesia, rather than local. I'm worried about getting a doc who uses general because there are additional risks with general due to the prune belly. They can have breathing complications afterward and so I'm sure you can see why I'd rather go with the local, even if it seems more traumatic because he will need to be restrained. So knowing that Dr.G here does local, I'm kinda hoping to just knock that out here.
Yes, his foot appears to be at a weird angle. We are using the Ponseti method, and because his case is mild, we skipped a number of steps. But this is normal, you can look it up and find pictures of the cast placements if you are curious.
No comments:
Post a Comment