Angelo's Thumb Surgery Update

Okay, this totally doesn't seem right. Feb 19th is his scheduled thumb reconstructive surgery. First off, it's going to take an hour and a half! His open-heart surgery was that long..it seems bazaar! And secondly.. he has to have a cast UP TO HIS SHOULDER for 4 TO 6 WEEKS! Why up to his shoulder.. I don't understand!! Poor baby.. it's going to be H-E-double hockey sticks for this lil man & just in time for his 1st birthday.. geez <_<

 

At least it will be all over by the time summer gets here ! Poor little guy .. has already been through so much. What exactly is wrong with his thumb ? I saw it in a picture .. was he just born with it like that ? The reason I ask is that Jayden (my CHD kid) has a few weird things wrong .. like he has a deformed toe and a deviated septum. He also had to have tear duct surgery. I wonder if CHD kids are prone to other abnormalities ? Just a thought.

I hope and pray that everything goes well for him.

 

QUOTE(Moodyzblu @ Jan 31 2009, 11:33 AM) [snapback]1170432[/snapback]
At least it will be all over by the time summer gets here ! Poor little guy .. has already been through so much. What exactly is wrong with his thumb ? I saw it in a picture .. was he just born with it like that ? The reason I ask is that Jayden (my CHD kid) has a few weird things wrong .. like he has a deformed toe and a deviated septum. He also had to have tear duct surgery. I wonder if CHD kids are prone to other abnormalities ? Just a thought.

I hope and pray that everything goes well for him.



It's actually quite weird. The thumb has a bone but it basically looks like it's dislocated with no joint. He constantly plays with it and finds it hilarious :laughing: And I remember shortly after his birth when he was in the NICU for 3 days, a doctor telling me that a child born with 4 out of 5 specific things wrong (I wish I could remember the exact abbreviation) usually has a heart abnormality, a deformed limb, spinal problems, etc. It could very well be that..

 

QUOTE(babymOmmax2 @ Jan 31 2009, 04:37 PM) [snapback]1170437[/snapback]
It's actually quite weird. The thumb has a bone but it basically looks like it's dislocated with no joint. He constantly plays with it and finds it hilarious :laughing: And I remember shortly after his birth when he was in the NICU for 3 days, a doctor telling me that a child born with 4 out of 5 specific things wrong (I wish I could remember the exact abbreviation) usually has a heart abnormality, a deformed limb, spinal problems, etc. It could very well be that..

Interesting !

 

Poor little guy! Hopefully it goes smoothly.

I think I can answer the cast question. It needs to go up that high because of how much reconstruction they're (most likely) doing and if he moves his elbow, it could affect the healing process. Try moving your own elbow or twisting your forearm and you'd be surprised at how much you hand moves.

 

I believe the cast will be that high up his arm since the docs want to immoblize the thumb and the next joint up (elbow). Many muscles controlling the thumb connect high in the forarm near the elbow so any motion there would be a problem.

You may want to get a cast cover http://www.nextag.com/arm-cast-cover/search-html Makes bath and swimming so much easier.

I have seen lots of kids (I am a PT) with heart issues and thumb or toe issues - I think there is a correlation in development of heart and limb formation.

Good luck

 

I hope he has a speedy recovery when the time comes. Keep us posted.

 

Oh wow, I hope he has a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted!

 

Poor little guy. I hope the 4-6 weeks just whizzes by! Please keep us updated :hug:.

 

Great.. thanks!

 

That does seem like a long time for a thumb surgery, poor little guy! I hope he heals quickly!

 

I hope all goes smoothly and well. . . and more quickly than expected.

 

QUOTE(Nancy C @ Jan 31 2009, 08:21 PM) [snapback]1170632[/snapback]
I have seen lots of kids (I am a PT) with heart issues and thumb or toe issues - I think there is a correlation in development of heart and limb formation.

Wow .. I didnt know that .. I might have to look into this more myself. Fascinating stuff.

 

V.A.C.T.E.R.L. association (an acronym used to describe a series of characteristics which have been found to occur together):

* V - Vertebral anomalies
* A - Anal atresia
* C - Cardiovascular anomalies
* T - Tracheoesophageal fistula
* E - Esophageal atresia
* R - Renal (Kidney) and/or radial anomalies
* L - Limb anomalies (in front of or above the central axis of the limb).

Babies who have been diagnosed as having VACTERL association usually have at least three or more of these individual anomalies.

 

QUOTE(Pookersb @ Jan 31 2009, 07:55 PM) [snapback]1170848[/snapback]
V.A.C.T.E.R.L. association (an acronym used to describe a series of characteristics which have been found to occur together):

* V - Vertebral anomalies
* A - Anal atresia
* C - Cardiovascular anomalies
* T - Tracheoesophageal fistula
* E - Esophageal atresia
* R - Renal (Kidney) and/or radial anomalies
* L - Limb anomalies (in front of or above the central axis of the limb).

Babies who have been diagnosed as having VACTERL association usually have at least three or more of these individual anomalies.



YES, THAT'S IT! YOU ROCK

 

I hope it all goes well for your little guy!

This has been an interesting topic. I was born with 2 limb deformities and a spinal deformity. I had severe scoliosis and had a spinal fusion when I was 2 1/2. I had a club foot that required a bunch of surgeries to correct it, most of which I don't even remember anymore.

My other limb issue is my left thumb. It is much small than my other thumb and is apparently missing the middle joint, kind of visually TMI, but think of a chicken wing bone. So while I can move it around at the base joint I cannot bend it at all. It does a little more than hang there, but not much else. My mom has told me it's called a "congenitally short radius" but I searched it before and couldn;t find anything. Another aspect of it is that when I hold boths hand out in front of me, arms straight out and palms out, my left arm can't turn all the way over. It's more like my hand is positioned sideways so my thumb is straight up.

Since it never bothered me my parents never had anything done about it. They were told I would never be able to tie a shoelace, but I managed just fine. I cannot hold a pencil correctly. I think I was supposed to be left handed, I do a whole bunch of things as a lefty, but I write rigt handed.

So maybe I fit that VACTERAL definition, who knows??

 

I'm sorry you have to go through this! I am hoping the time goes by quickly. Best wishes to you and your family!

 

Aww poor little guy. After this will that be it for him?