We got our first look at the ear the day after surgery (12.29.16). They drilled through the skull to create the ear canal. They used an skin graft from her right hip to cover the inside of the ear canal. Then they put in the prothesis ossicle bone and created an ear drum using the sinew (pronounced sin-yoo - a piece of tough fiberous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament - taken from above her ear). The ear is currently filled with a protective bolster (for lack of a better term) to keep the ear canal open, that is what they will remove on January 5th. She should be able to tell us if she can hear at that time. We cannot do an official hearing test for 3 months.
Post surgery bath time is always a little tricky since she can't get the ear wet. We have her take a shower with a shower cap on and then we very carefully wash her hair in the kitchen sink which she thinks is hilarious. We have her hold a cup over the ear just to be safe.
They shaved more of her head than we were expecting. I was a bit shocked when we removed the protective cup after surgery. I caught her admiring it in the mirror and when she saw me she said, "I look like an adult man". She is a little concerned about it but seems to be dealing with it pretty well.
The Skin Graft Site:
Taken 12/29/16
After draining some blood - Taken 12/31/16
After removing the bandaging - Taken 1/2/17
(we used the chapstick for size reference)
She will be going back to school tomorrow! We were able to ween her off of all pain medication on Sunday and she has done really well.
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