Sign us up for surgery
We saw Payton's ENT today and we are officially scheduled for a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (aka: T&A) on 2/28/08. It will be done on an outpatient basis since she does not have any heart issues, otherwise it would have been done in the hospital. In addition to helping her sleep apnea, we are hoping the adenoidectomy will help with her persistent runny nose.
During a T&A, the doctor hyper-extends the neck. This is a problem with kids with Down syndrome, due to their risk of having instability in their atlanto-axial joint in their neck. Typically, an x-ray is taken at 2-3 years of age to see if they have the instability. I wanted Payton's x-rays done prior to her surgery, just so we know what we are dealing with. Her geneticist also wanted it done now for general reasons, because she is so active. If she has the instability, that means she cannot be put in a position that would hyper-extend her neck (i.e. somersaults, wrestling with her brother, etc). Yikes ... we may have a problem there.
Long story short, her ENT gave us the script for the x-ray and we went and had that done today too. Try telling a two year old to stand still, arms down and at a 90 degree angle with the wall ... right. Then try telling a two year old to do that, but to tilt their head down, and then back. We managed to get a few shots so hopefully the radiologist will be able to tell is she has AAI. I pray that she does not.
During a T&A, the doctor hyper-extends the neck. This is a problem with kids with Down syndrome, due to their risk of having instability in their atlanto-axial joint in their neck. Typically, an x-ray is taken at 2-3 years of age to see if they have the instability. I wanted Payton's x-rays done prior to her surgery, just so we know what we are dealing with. Her geneticist also wanted it done now for general reasons, because she is so active. If she has the instability, that means she cannot be put in a position that would hyper-extend her neck (i.e. somersaults, wrestling with her brother, etc). Yikes ... we may have a problem there.
Long story short, her ENT gave us the script for the x-ray and we went and had that done today too. Try telling a two year old to stand still, arms down and at a 90 degree angle with the wall ... right. Then try telling a two year old to do that, but to tilt their head down, and then back. We managed to get a few shots so hopefully the radiologist will be able to tell is she has AAI. I pray that she does not.