Alice has been going to the ophthalmologist regularly since her Cranio surgery. They first brought up concern with her eyes when she was about 2 years old. The doctor wanted to operate but we tried alternative options. We tried some vision therapy exercises on and off for a while. It seemed to help but the problem never went away. I started noticing it getting worse again recently so I brought her back in to get checked. They recommended surgery again but this time on both eyes. Her main problem is V pattern exotropia. Her eyes are just not working well together. It's very common for children with Craniosynostosis to have eye problems, specifically the kind that Alice has, Left Coronal Craniosynostosis.
It isn't easy putting her through more surgery, that's why I've tried to put it off for so long but I knew she needed to have it done. I was sick as can be leading up to it, even though I knew it was so much smaller than her Cranio surgery, it didn't make it any less nerve wracking.
She had surgery yesterday April 14th. She was incredibly brave but did talk to me a lot leading up to the surgery date and asked lots of questions. They worked on 2 muscles in one eye and one muscle in the other eye. She was a trooper and did amazingly well. She barely even shed a tear, even though I know she hurts. She woke up and said “That wasn’t so bad” I swear these cranio kids are so tough! My other kids definitely wouldn't have handled it so well.
She was in bed most of the day after surgery and wouldn't eat. She was hurting and her throat was bothering her from surgery. I finally got some applesauce in her before she went to bed last night. She woke up hungry this morning with a little better appetite. She was pretty puffy and her eyes were very red this morning. She had a post op appointment today. They took measurements and did eye tests. She is having some double vision periodically but overall she had a great report and expect her to heal well. Her eye alignment measurements were much improved. She will follow up in 6 weeks and we will know her final results then. It could take up to 2 weeks to heal and the redness to go away. Thank you all for your prayers and concern, it means a lot.
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| example of V Pattern exotropia |
