More info of Microtia Operations

[Guest guest]

God Bless You All:

I've been reading some of the messages from Atresia Microtia and I would like to know what is cartiladge and fox trot. See my son is 5 years old and he was born with Atresia Microtia from both side of the ears and he can't pronounce the s,f, t, r, etc. letters. Sometimes he feels very bad because his sister tells him to repeat it since she don't understand him. Now what I want to know is if he is going to need other kind of operation besides the ears. If he is I would like to know what kind of operation??? This problem was just known recently because of the Speech Therapist. I went to LIJ doctors from the ENT clinic and all they told me was that he is fine but the Speech Pathologist said that he might need an operation in which I asked them what kind of operation.

I'm sorry that I take too long. The doctor's from NSH and LIJ said that when my son becomes 6 years old they would operate him from his ears. My question is ( What part of the body do doctors take from the child to form their ears ) and to make the canal longer and remove some extra bones that my son has in the inner ears what is the next procedures of that)???

[Guest guest]

Now what I want to know is if he is going to need other kind of operation besides the ears. If he is I would like to know what kind of operation??? This problem was just known recently because of the Speech Therapist. I went to LIJ doctors from the ENT clinic and all they told me was that he is fine but the Speech Pathologist said that he might need an operation in which I asked them what kind of operation.

I'm sorry that I take too long. The doctor's from NSH and LIJ said that when my son becomes 6 years old they would operate him from his ears. My question is ( What part of the body do doctors take from the child to form their ears ) and to make the canal longer and remove some extra bones that my son has in the inner ears what is the next procedures of that)???

jenny

you're coming to my meeting, correct?

i think dr brent will help explain a lot of your questions in his lecture. and so will dr. j...

jack

[Guest guest]

Sorry, I can't help you with the tecnical part of your

letter, but this caught my eye

Does your family know sign

language? I know the ASL vs. speech debate is highly

politicalized but I really do feel that most kids with

ANY degree of hearing loss should learn ASL when they

are young. For many deaf people remembering how speech

sounds, and pronouncing speech correctly is just like

a native English speaker trying to remember how

something sounds and is pronounced in another

language.It's pretty difficult. As a matter of fact

myself and quite a lot of my deaf friends who grew up

oral-only but later learned ASL, will sign in ASL when

we get tired. (you should see me around finals) I also

know far too many kids my age (yes, even today) who

discovered ASL later in life and have had to ask their

parents why they were never exposed to sign language.

Sign makes commuication a lot easier and having it as

a second language will really help your kids later in

life. They can be a part of the deaf-world, they could

become an interpreter (a really in demand job that

pays LOTS of money) or an ASL instructor. It also

helps them commuicate with other people who are

deaf/hoh, if spoken language can't be understood (and

trust me, even with HOH kids it's pretty rare that

speech is 100% understandable to another person who is

deaf/HOH.) Knowing ASL is just as valuable as knowing

any other language. For example, say your child is

working at an ice cream parlor and someone comes in

who only signs. Your child can interpret what the

customer is saying! I hope this doesn't start a huge

debate, just wanted to urge everyone to learn ASL.

I know my parents now say they should have learned it

when I was little.

Got to run (8 more days til I leave!)

Torrie (bilaterial atresia)

=====

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

" Deaf people can do anything except hear! " Dr. I.King Jordan

" I'd found myself becoming more immobile, when I'd think a little girl in the

world can't do anything. A distant nation my community, a street person my

responsbilty. If I have a care in the world, I have a gift to bring " - " Hammer & a

Nail " Indigo Girls

Waste some time looking at my webpage!:

http://www.angelfire.com/grrl/deafgrrl/indextwo.html

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My son Josh recently completed his reconstruction with Dr. Brent. The

" cartlidge and fox trot " is referring to the cartiledge (rib graft)procedure

which is completed by Dr. Brent in 3-4 surgeries, and by Dr. Nagata in 2

stages. Also, there is the polethlene implant procedure which does not use

cartiledge and that too is usually completed in 2 stages.

Cartiledge for the reconstruction is usually taken from the lower rib area.

In a bi-lateral case, it is taken from both the left and the right sides.

If you go to www.earreconstruction.com, there is a stage-by-stage

description of the reconstruction and a lot of information on it.

As far as surgeries for the ears, it is very important that you preserve the

skin surrounding the ear areas and keep them free from any scar tissue.

Usually, the outer ears are reconstructed first and then the inner ears

(canalplasty) are reconstructed if the person is a viable candidate.

However, in cases of bi-lateral atresia, sometimes the atresia repair is

done first.

*** It is also very important that you not only have excellent, expert care

for your son, but get many opinions before you let anyone operate on him.

If possible, don't settle for just any ENT or surgeon when you have Dr.'s

who are world-reknowned for their expert care and skill. ***

You spoke of LIJ and NSH, are these hospitals in your area? Where do you

live? Also, another great resource is www.ccakids.org for specialists in

your area.

, you can never be " too long " in your questions in this group or with

your doctors. Ask away! I hope this info will help you. God bless you

and your family.

Love, beth

>

>Reply-To: AtresiaMicrotia

>To: AtresiaMicrotia

>Subject: " More info of Microtia Operations "

>Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 10:31:03 -0700 (PDT)

>

>

>God Bless You All:

>

>I've been reading some of the messages from Atresia Microtia and I would

>like to know what is cartiladge and fox trot. See my son is 5 years old and

>he was born with Atresia Microtia from both side of the ears and he can't

>pronounce the s,f, t, r, etc. letters. Sometimes he feels very bad because

>his sister tells him to repeat it since she don't understand him. Now what

>I want to know is if he is going to need other kind of operation besides

>the ears. If he is I would like to know what kind of operation??? This

>problem was just known recently because of the Speech Therapist. I went to

>LIJ doctors from the ENT clinic and all they told me was that he is fine

>but the Speech Pathologist said that he might need an operation in which I

>asked them what kind of operation.

>

> I'm sorry that I take too long. The doctor's from NSH and LIJ said that

>when my son becomes 6 years old they would operate him from his ears. My

>question is ( What part of the body do doctors take from the child to form

>their ears ) and to make the canal longer and remove some extra bones that

>my son has in the inner ears what is the next procedures of that)???

>

>

>

>

>

>---------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

welcome jenny!

(mom to Ella - unilateral microtia/atresia)

-----Original Message-----From: Pacheco Sent: 25 August 2002 07:31To: AtresiaMicrotia Subject: "More info of Microtia Operations"

God Bless You All:

I've been reading some of the messages from Atresia Microtia and I would like to know what is cartiladge and fox trot. See my son is 5 years old and he was born with Atresia Microtia from both side of the ears and he can't pronounce the s,f, t, r, etc. letters. Sometimes he feels very bad because his sister tells him to repeat it since she don't understand him. Now what I want to know is if he is going to need other kind of operation besides the ears. If he is I would like to know what kind of operation??? This problem was just known recently because of the Speech Therapist. I went to LIJ doctors from the ENT clinic and all they told me was that he is fine but the Speech Pathologist said that he might need an operation in which I asked them what kind of operation.

I'm sorry that I take too long. The doctor's from NSH and LIJ said that when my son becomes 6 years old they would operate him from his ears. My question is ( What part of the body do doctors take from the child to form their ears ) and to make the canal longer and remove some extra bones that my son has in the inner ears what is the next procedures of that)???

[Guest guest]

,

I've been reading some of the messages from Atresia Microtia and I would like to know what is cartiladge and fox trot. See my son is 5 years old and he was born with Atresia Microtia from both side of the ears and he can't pronounce the s,f, t, r, etc. letters.

Does your son have a hearing aid? Have you had an ABR done? usually, in a bilateral Atresia case, an Auditory Brainstem Response test is done (ABR) and that tests to see if your sons inner ear (the cochlea) is functioning properly. If it is, he should be wearing a bone conduction hearing aid. This may help a lot with the pronunciation.

Steve