caiden’s big adventure

I’m sitting here, struggling as to how to begin this post. But here we go.

At Caiden’s four month appointment, the pediatrician wrote an order for a head x-ray. He was concerned that his poor breech head wasn’t rounding out normally. Chris and I had discussed his head shape before, knowing it was a bit abnormal and figured he would require a helmet to help correct it. So I wasn’t overly concerned when we went down to radiology for his scan.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the word surgery.

Caiden’s plates have prematurely fused. Specifically along the sagittal suture line (along the top of his head). It happens to about 1 in 2000 kids. It didn’t happen just because he was breech, but it probably started occurring while in utero. As the neurosurgeon explained to us, the derma surrounding the brain is supposed to send signals to the cranial plates when to expand or fuse. Sometimes it doesn’t work, like in Caiden, and they are not sure why. Since his plates fused at the top, his other plates are over compensating causing his head to be oblong. Cam also had the same shaped head after being breech, but his plates allowed for movement to reshape normally. 

Luckily we got the diagnosis early enough and Caiden is a candidate for endoscopic surgery. The doctors will remove a 2.5 cm strip where the bones have fused, basically creating a new soft spot. Without complications, we are only looking at one night in the hospital. We have been told that most babies bounce back after surgery, eating and acting normal on the second day. After a week he will be fitted with a helmet, which he will wear until his first birthday.

A brief description of his condition can be found here. I also have a brochure that I can email to any interested parties. 

This is hard for us to digest, but we are comfortable with the surgeon and the hospital. St. Louis Children’s Hospital is always one of the highest ranked children’s hospitals in the country, and the neurosurgeon was recommended to us by our pediatrician as well as pediatricians who work with mom. He is the only one performing this surgery endoscopically in town, allowing for a much faster recovery. Caiden’s brain development has not been hindered at this point, so it’s better to go through surgery now before that becomes a problem. One surgery will correct the problem, and there should be no long-term effects. He’s also young enough where he won’t remember any of this.

Surgery has been scheduled for November 13. So please keep us in your thoughts, as our family tackles this unexpected obstacle. We know we can make it through anything with all of the love and support you give us everyday.