WARNING: Surgery Info & Graphic Pictures

Here is a little medical education and info about Macy's upcoming surgery. Most of you know that Macy was born 6 weeks early. I had a lot of complications, and obviously, Macy was not doing well either. At 1 day old, we discovered Macy had a heart defect. To everyone's surprise, she was off of oxygen and breathing on her own in a little over 1 week. She wasn't even 4 lbs at that point!

At 3 weeks old, we noticed Macy had bilateral hernias, and they needed repaired before she could go home. The doctors informed us that as soon as she had healed up from the hernia surgery, we would be going home. God must have been watching over our little angel on February 22, 2006, because during this routine hernia surgery, it was discovered that Macy's airway was the size of a pinhole. Doctors do not know how she was able to breath on her own for so long. They postponed the hernia repair, and placed a tracheostomy tube into Macy's neck.

In this picture, I have highlighted, in gray, where Macy's trachea was narrowed.


During her surgery on April 6th, 2007, Dr. Miyamoto removed cartilage from Macy's ribs and placed it in her neck in order to make her trachea the correct size.



On June 12, 2007, Macy was decannulated!







On Monday, July 6th, Macy will head to St. Vincent Hospital to have her stoma (hole) closed. Actually, there is a little more to it than that. Dr. Miyamoto will first perform a bronch to check Macy's airway. After viewing her airway, he will cut out all the scar tissue that Macy still has on her neck and in her trachea. Macy's neck is similar to a pierced ear. When you pierce your ear, wear it pierced for an extended period of time, and then remove it, it usually never closes. You will continue to have that hole for the remained of your life because the skin has healed all the way through. Macy neck has done the same thing. She needs fresh, raw skin that can heal correctly and quickly.

After Dr. Miyamoto cuts away the scar tissue, he will then place the smallest trach made in her neck. The trach will remain in her neck overnight in order to allow some healing, and will then be removed the next morning. Once the trach is out, and Macy continues to do well, we should be heading home. Just like any surgery, there are complications that can arise. Macy will need lots of prayers!

Below are some pictures showing how Macy's neck will look after the surgery is over. It will heal from the inside out, similar to how a hole from a chest tube heals.

This is similar to how Macy's neck will look 2 days after surgery.



This is similar to how Macy's neck will look at about 20 days after surgery.


Tomorrow, we are heading to the lake for a nice relaxing long weekend filled with family time, since Monday morning we will once again be living the hospital life. Luckily this time it's just an overnighter!