Our visit with the Neurosurgeon and the plastic surgeon

We went to see the surgeons that will be operating on Nathan last Tuesday. Dr. Dillustro talked to us about what craniosynostosis is and the treatment for it. He used some big words and then dumbed it down for us. LOL  He showed us the CT scan pictures on his computer and it was very obvious that his sutures were infact closed up. He confirmed to us that they were already fused when he was born and it was NOT something that happened during labor. He referred to Nathan as "deformed". My initial thought after hearing that was "how rude, I don't know that I like this guy at all". Then he explained to us that they need to use that word because when an insurance company sees "plastic surgeon" on the bill they write it off as cosmetic and this is most definately NOT cosmetic.
Dr. Dillustro assured us that he has been doing this for over 25 years and has done thousands of these surgeries. He walked us through the procedure. (If you would like to know the nice version, click here. If you would like to know the more detailed version, click here.) The surgery is about 4-5 hours long and he will be heavily sedated. After the surgery is over he will be in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for 1-2 days and then he will be moved to the regular care floor. Dr. Dillustro told us to expect significant swelling of the face for a few days and that minor swelling can last even a couple weeks. He said we will notice a difference in his head shape right away.

After meeting Dr. Dillustro, he introduced us to Dr. Magee. Dr. Magee is the plastic surgeon that will be taking care of Nathan. He is a experienced surgeon. He and his wife co-founded Operation Smile over 25 years ago. They operate on needy children in foreign countries. Mainly they fix cleft pallets and other craniofacial deformities. I feel confident in his work.

We are still waiting for a surgery date. On Tuesday we were told we should know in 2-3 days. Well now it has been 5 days. My husband has been very busy harassing them and has even called some of the secretaries himself to find out the doctor's surgery schedules. As of now we are waiting/hoping Dr. Magee will open another day for surgery. He only has two so far. One day in January and one day in March. I'd really like to get the January date since it is best if the surgery is done before Nathan's first birthday. All of this is out of our hands and we just pray we get the day that is best for Nathan.

Keep my little dude in your thoughts and prayers and I will continue to update as I find out more.