The Surgery

Grant's surgery is referred to as a CVR, short for Cranial Vault Remodeling. It sounds absolutely awful but I'm not kidding when I say Dr Tomita talked about it like he was going to make a PB&J. He said he does one of these every 1-2 weeks. 

In very simple terms, they will make an incision in the shape of a "W" that extends from ear to ear across the top of his head. After peeling back his scalp, they will then remove a strip of his skull right at the top of his head where the premature suture is. This takes the pressure off his brain & allows for new bone growth giving him a perfectly round noggin. The surgery should last about two hours. 

The only anticipated complication with this surgery is potential blood loss. They combat that by matching him with a donor beforehand, obviously Doug or me being the first choice. 

Post-op we are anticipating a 3-4 day stay at Luries where they'll monitor pain, bruising & swelling. His skull should be back to "normal" by three months and I was surprised to hear that this will happen without the use of a helmet. The human body is quite amazing!  Obviously he'll have quite the scar, but a plastic surgeon will be the one taking care of that part and by this time next year when he's got some hair we'll hardly notice it. I'm more concerned about keeping his precious little head protected in the days and weeks following surgery. I'm seeing quite a bit of snuggly baby wearing in our future. 

It goes without saying that prayers are SO desired right now and we thank you for each and every one. We appreciate every text, phone call and email even if we have yet to respond. We are so loved and we love back.