Jack Had Surgery

On Monday Jack had a routine surgical procedure done called a microlaryngoscopy with excision of granulation tissue from his trachea. This procedure is common for trach kiddos as granulation tissue can form around the trach site in their airway. The tissue is formed as the body’s attempt to heal the airway around the foreign object. This tissue can cause obstruction and if present does need to be remove routinely.

Late last year we took Jack in for a standard appointment but there was blood tinged mucus coming from his trach site. They were able to do a quick scope that day and at that point determined that this procedure while not emergent needed to be performed in the near future. We had the surgery scheduled for February but when Jack fell ill we had to postpone. We went in Monday morning and Jack was all smiles while we waited for all of the preop checklist items to be completed. He especially loved his new cool outfit complete with fun socks.

The time came for Jack to head back to the OR so we walked with him as far as we could, gave our hugs, kisses and good luck high fives and away he went. The procedure was fairly quick and within 90 minutes the doctor presented us with the findings of the procedure. Jack had a large amount of granulation tissue as expected and they were able to remove it all successfully.

BEFORE

AFTER

Immediately following we were taken to Jack so we could comfort him. When we got to the room Jack was clearly distressed, he was flopping about and was in obvious discomfort. We tried holding him in chair but he would not settle. The care team quickly acted and got us a bed so that we could lay with him. They also gave him some mild pain medication. He was able to calm down and fall back to sleep.

Within 3 hours we were ready to go home. We loaded Jack in the car where he promptly fell asleep for the next several hours. Once he woke up he was expectedly very cuddly and drowsy. What we did not expect though was the incredibly loud and clear voice that was coming out of our quiet little guy. The removal of this tissue has allowed Jack much more room to vocalize and his voice has been big and bold since. It is so incredible to hear his voice and we even got to hear a few giggles!

Overall the procedure was a success and Jack has not suffered any adverse side effects other than some extra zzz’s. Since we are on COVID-19 lock down the extra sleep is a-okay with me and dad! Thank you so much for all of your well wishes!

I hope you all stay safe and healthy out there!