Surgery For My Baby

Finally got Ava's surgeries scheduled.  Yes...you read that right...surgeries plural.  My baby was born with a branchial cleft cyst that now needs to be removed.  Hers is a small pit in the base of her neck that drains a mucus like substance.  It is very small, doesn't seem to cause her any discomfort but it has the potential of infections and other medical issues could potentially arise so it is best to have it removed.  Here is a picture.  You have to look very closely to see it as it is only about the size of a pin head on her neck.  It is not the pit that is the problem it is the tract underneath the skin that needs to be removed.  I am attaching another picture of a sketch of what it looks like underneath the skins. 

Depending on how long the tract is...depends on how extensive the surgery is going to be.  If the tract is short then they can probably get it out with one incision.  If the tract is longer then they have to do a step ladder incision to remove it which causes more scaring and always increases the risks involved with surgery.  Being that this tract is amongst important nerves such as the tongue, vocal chords, tonsils, auditory canal, etc...it is a bit unnerving to think about.  However...wee have complete confidence in our doctor and faith in God that she will get through this without any problems.  

In addition to removing branchial cleft cyst she must also have a ganglion cyst on her wrist removed.   This is a cyst that is usually aspirated but we have a bit of a unique situation here.  More times than not a cyst located on the wrist will come back after aspiration and have to be surgically removed.  So instead of risking the chance of Ava having to have two separate operations so early in life we are just going to go ahead and have the cyst removed.  Removing a ganglion cyst involves the following:

The surgeon then makes an incision in the skin overlying the ganglion cyst. The size of the incision depends on the size of the cyst.

The surgeon removes the cyst and the stalk that attaches it to the joint or tendon, along with a small portion of the surrounding tissue in most cases.

Then the surgeon will stitch and bandage the affected area.

Here is a picture of Ava's wrist so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

This is what we are dealing with and hopefully it will all be a distant memory this time next month.  She goes in for surgery 2 weeks from now.  I did not expect it to creep up on us so soon so I better prepare myself mentally very quickly.  The easiest way for me to do that is put it in God's hands and let Him have control over the situation.  I am just so thankful that neither of these issues she is dealing with are major issues...in the grand scheme of things they are minor and for that I am thankful.