ENT Visit

     On Friday Jake and I took Jacelyn to Primary Children's Hospital to meet with the ENT Specialist.  I was really nervous cause this was the day we would find out what the plan would be over the next few months.  I already knew that surgery was a must but in the back of my mind I was hoping that it would close on it's own and it wouldn't be required.  Wishful thinking on my part I guess.

     We get there and the weigh her and she is almost 8.5 pounds and everything looks good.  Dr. Meier comes in and takes a look at her neck and says, "Yep its a Branchial Cleft Fistula."  So we now have a confirmed diagnoses. Now what is it and what do we do about it.  He tells us that if forms between the 2 week and 6 week of development and for some reason it doesn't close off.  It's a tube that leads from the outside to the inside of the throat up next to the tonsils in most cases.  It looks almost like a worm and can tend to be long.  Sometimes, although rare, they can go down into the chest and wrap around the heart.  He tells us until the go in they really won't know which way it goes, but if it goes down he stops the surgery and gets another surgeon cause it then requires a whole different kind of surgery.  The bad part is that the infection factor is so high.  If it gets infected it can put pressure on her throat or her heart just depending on the direction of the tube.  He tells us he has done the surgery before and is very comfortable with it. 

     We then start talking about when to do the surgery.  He says they have a 10lbs, 10 week guide line they go by but feels confident that waiting till July will be the best.  The smaller the kid is the easier it is to get the tube out and the less likely they are to scar too bad.  They will have to make two incisions on the right side of her neck.  We have a follow up appointment on June 15th and after that we will schedule the surgery.

     While I am scared about my little girl have to be put under and cut into I know that the doctor can get it done and will do a good job.  One of my biggest worries is what if it goes down into her chest?  Also how do you explain to a 5 month old that they can't eat or drink after midnight?  It's going to be a long couple of months but I will be glad when its all over.