Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on this platform! Life has gone by pretty smoothly in the last few years… except for that whole Covid thing. Yikes.
Anyway! If you’ve followed along with our story, or
know our family, you’ll know that the repair of Levi’s cleft lip and palate is
not quite complete. We’ve been waiting
for one of his most major surgeries for a couple years now, and we finally have
a surgery date!
He is scheduled
for his Alveolar Bone Graft surgery on Tuesday July 30, 2024. We were told this surgery would happen when
he was closer to the age of 9, and here we are… almost to age 11! There are several factors for the delay…
first is that he is quite a small-boned child, and they needed to have him put
on some more bone mass before he could go through this rigorous surgery. Secondly… Covid. Yeah, the wait lists were astronomical. So. We’re
finally here! And we’re asking for all
the prayers we can get.
This is quite an
involved surgery, which requires 2-3 days in the hospital, 3 weeks of a liquid
diet, and 3 months of low physical activity.
They will take a
piece of bone from his hip, and use that bone to replace what is missing from his
gum line. (Currently, when he smiles,
you’ll notice that he’s got a few teeth missing and things are a bit crooked.) This surgery will replace the missing bone,
and allow his adult teeth to have somewhere to grow!
Because I am not a surgeon, and I don’t want to misrepresent what is going to happen during his surgery, I’ve copied some information from the UPMC Children’s Hospital Alveolar Bone Graft page.
Fast Facts About Alveolar Bone Graft
·
Some children who are born with both a cleft lip and a cleft
palate also have a problem with the alveolar bone, which makes up the gum ridge
or front portion of the roof of the mouth. The alveolar bone is a thin layer of
bone that forms the sockets around the roots of the upper teeth under the gum
tissue.
- The alveolar bone graft is done several years
after the child’s first cleft lip and cleft palate repairs.
·
When there is a cleft in the alveolar bone, it means there is a
fistula or hole from the mouth to the nose. This cleft in the bone and gums
prevents teeth from growing properly and the floor of the nose from developing
normally. Fixing the cleft to allow for proper tooth development is important
to a child’s health because missing teeth can have a negative effect on eating,
digestion, facial growth and appearance.
- The timing of the alveolar bone graft is very
important because it must be done as the child begins losing his or her
baby teeth, before the permanent teeth come in.
·
The alveolar bone graft repairs the hole in the gum ridge and
stabilizes the bone arch, providing better support for the base of the nose and
new bone for the roots of the developing teeth to grow into. The surgery
usually is done when the child’s permanent canine teeth are three-quarters
formed.
·
To do the bone graft, a piece of bone usually will be taken from
your child’s iliac crest, the upper ridge of the hip bone. The doctor will make
a 1- to 3-inch incision or cut in the skin just over the hip bone and in the
bone itself to remove the inner portion of the bone. This part of the bone,
called cancellous bone, is soft and pasty and can be shaped to form the patch
that will close the hole in the alveolar bone. Gum tissue inside your child’s
mouth then will be closed around the bone and sutures or stitches will hold the
tissue in place as it heals.
So, there you have it!
The doctor said that the liquid diet
takes a toll on these kids, as it is tough to maintain the right amount of
protein, energy and fiber needed for a growing boy. I’ve started researching recipes and ideas,
but if you have any delicious ideas for nutritious milkshakes, smoothies or
soups (which we can put through a blender)… I’ll take them!
Thanks for reading!
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