Saturday, November 23, 2013

So long strabismus...we hope

Drew's strabismus (crossed-eyes) were getting worse and affecting both eyes. And because it was so severe at such a young age, the Doctor recommended surgery to help align them. It's a very low risk procedure and virtually pain-free so we opted in. Here's a terrible shot I took of him the night before while he was eating dinner. You can see his right eye is almost always looking in. The left goes up and in intermittently.


Because the surgery is out-patient and low-risk, we went to a surgical center which I highly recommend. Having been to many hospitals for different tests and procedures, this was the most calm, organized experience I've ever had. Here are some before shots of us waiting, Drew was being really good even though he had not eaten or drank since the night before because they had to put him fully under. 





I had to be in scrubs to bring him in and watch him go under. It was all of 10 seconds and I wish I could have snapped a photo of him on the table. The type of surgery the Doctor did on him was called recession where they move the muscle to a new position to align the eyes. There is an 80% chance it will stick and he will not need additional surgery. But because this is an indirect surgery and his case was severe he may need a second.




About an hour later, we went into a recovery room with him to wait for him to wake up from the anesthesia. He was so peaceful, but when he started to wake up he was acting crazy like he was fighting demons. He was struggling so much that Jay took him and walked him around until he went back to sleep. Then we were cleared to go home. Recovery was a breeze. He slept a lot the first day and then besides the bloodshot inners of his eyes, he was acting 100% back to himself and showed no signs of pain. Here's another terrible shot of him the next day.


Hoping he doesn't require a second surgery, but the first was such a breeze that I'm not worried. It's nice to see him focus on us with both eyes now and it will improve his quality of life.


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