John and I met with another craniofacial surgeon, Dr. Fearon, on Monday. He was very nice, gave us lots of information, and definitely knows his stuff. Unlike the other doctor, Dr. Genecov, Dr. Fearon is exclusively a craniofacial surgeon, and he deals with skull and facial deformities all the time. Dr. Genecov is also a cometic surgeon, so while he deals with deformities a lot, he also does breast implants and such.
As far as Dr. Fearon's timeline for treatments goes, he's basically the same as the other doctor. Lip and nose repair happens at about 12 weeks, then palate repair (if needed) happens at one year. Other than that, his techniques are VERY different. I could go into detail, but I don't know if anyone would end up reading it! Some of the more simple things are that he doesn't use arm restraints for the baby or special feeding techniques after surgeries. He doesn't make patients stay overnight in the hospital after the lip repair, unless they need to. In the end, it seems like he is very concerned with the child's comfort and security and likes to change their routine as little as possible during the whole process. He basically feels that this helps the babies recover easier and more quickly. After having two kids already, I can TOTALLY see the benefits of that thinking. On the other hand, the more "traditional" techniques that Dr. Genecov uses seem like more of a safety net for someone like me who has never been through this before and always likes to play it safe. Let me tell you, though, that both doctors are internationally known for what they do, and I have seen pictures of children who have been to both doctors. There is no "wrong" decision here, just how do we decide which is right for us? We just need lots of prayers as we mull over all the information and make a decision. We only have two weeks!!!
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Wow, what a hard decision! They both really sound great. What are the arm restraints all about? Trying to minimize the impact on his routine kind of sounds great. We'll keep you guy sin our prayers! Only a couple more weeks! That is if he waits that long! I hope you're doing ok and able to stay cool!!
The arm restraints are to keep the baby from putting his hands in his mouth and potentially damaging the repair. Many doctors also require cup feeding or using a syringe to feed after the surgery, too, for the same reason. Dr. Fearon says he hasn't seen that they actually make a difference, and ALL kids and parents hate both. It's not that I want to do those things, by far, but it seems good in some ways to err on the side of caution. Tough decision!!
The first doc that you met with had a nurse that seemed to be very helpful. Does the 2nd doc have that same kind of assistance for the parents? Trust your instincts.
Dad
The first doc is actually teamed up with a speech therapist who also deals with feeding issues. The 2nd guy does have a nurse that helps with feeding questions and everything. We just didn't meet with the nurse of the 2nd doctor. And the speech therapist that the 2nd doctor works with is one who works for the actual hospital and isn't part of his practice. Confusing, I konw...
Maybe you should try to talk to the nurse of the 2nd doc. Not alot of time to do that, I know. But the choice of docs might come down to the doc's support staff and which staff you feel most comfortable with.
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