Jaw Distraction Surgery
At 15 months Zach had jaw distraction surgery to increase his airway size, with Dr Kaban performing the surgery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_B._Kaban). We had no idea what to expect in terms of scarring and appearance. During the process the only thing visible was the ends of the distractor pins near the ears. The results were great both during and after the procedure, although he has 2 small circular scars where the pins stuck through the skin near the ears, and 2 incision scars under the chin on the jawline, which are only visible when looking under the chin. One thing to be aware of is that the process took almost 4 months (1 month to distract and 2-3 months to let everything heal before removing the hardware, some of which stay permanently). Zach's jaw length was increased 1 inch in the process.
During Distraction - Distraction pins are located at his ear
X-ray at full distraction distance with all the hardware still present. Pic taken of X-ray through the window in Zach's hospital room (explaining why Boston's skyline is in Zach's head!)
We've used this a LOT and it's been great in helping Zach use regular and high chairs and shopping carts. It worked great when Zach was < 1 year old and even still now that he's 3+ to help him from slumping sideways or slumping out of those overwide high chairs at restaurants. Just strap the kiddo in, wrap the straps around the chair and tighten.
http://philandteds.com/products/feed/wrigglewrapper
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