NAM Appt. #22

This week's appointment was exhausting. I got to NYU at 11:30 but wasn't seen until 1 pm (Wednesdays are hectic because there are a lot of NAM babies and also conferences with the entire cleft team are conducted on Wednesdays). When we finally sat down for Dr. Grayson to work on Emily, Dr. Cutting (the plastic surgeon) showed up with a visiting surgeon who wanted to observe the NAM in action (ha ha). It was really exciting because Dr. Cutting was working side by side with Dr. Grayson and they were figuring out exactly what needed to be done with Emily prior to surgery - in this case, it was pull the tip of her nose down a bit so there's a more distinctive crease between where the columella ends and the prolabium begins (I think that's what they said). The little exam room was full of people watching them work.

Dr. Grayson ended up attaching the Stents with the nasal bridge that I'd been dreading so you can't see her columella when the NAM is in. It makes it more difficult to tape her prolabium too, but we're getting the hang of it. I've already seen an improvement in the direction of the tip of her nose. It no longer points up as much. I wish we'd had the bridge on earlier now. Only 2.5 weeks left before surgery. Ack! Here's a shot of Emily with the nasal bridge. It sort of looks like a wad of gum just underneath the tip of her nose. She doesn't seem to mind that it's there.