As relieved as we were to be told that Connor's nose wasn't broken, it became obvious a few days later that the ER diagnosis was wrong. It WAS broken, which was clear to anyone who saw him. We reached out to our friend, Brian, who is a doctor in the Houston Medical Center. He showed the ER picture of Connor to one of the pediatric plastic surgeons who responded, "Yep, no doubt it's broken."
Connor's nose a few days after the accident.
The pediatric plastic surgeon saw us in a couple weeks and gave us options. He was worried that Connor would develop breathing issues as his nose continued to grow with the deviated septum and caved-in cartilage. He gave us options, but in the end we all agreed that Connor should have surgery to repair his nose. The summer was quickly approaching, and it seemed like a good time for the surgery so that he would have all summer to heal before football started in late July.
We scheduled surgery for the last week in May, and I'll admit that we weren't sure what to expect. Connor and I were both nervous but we felt like we were in good hands.
Checking in at the hospital for surgery.
Getting prepped for surgery in the COLD hospital. They put Connor under this heated air blanket, which he thought was awesome!
The surgery took about 2 hours. When finished, the surgeon came to speak with me and assured me everything went well. He explained that one side of Connor's nose had caved in, and they had put a plastic tube in that side to hold the shape for a week or so. I was ready to see my boy and was so relieved when they finally called me back.
Connor after surgery, all doped up.
A close-up of the plastic tube in Connor's nose.
Poor Connor, he had trouble waking from the anesthesia and was in some pain. The hospital staff was in a hurry to get Connor up and moving, and I basically had to dress him myself! We finally got him loaded in the wheelchair and then into the car for the ride home. Connor has no recollection of this at all, ha!
In the wheelchair waiting on the car.
Long drive home.
I got Connor settled in a "sick bed" in the game room. He tends to get sick from anesthesia so we were prepared! It didn't take long for him to fall asleep and he ended up sleeping the rest of the day.
Connor getting settled at home after surgery.
Poor Connor, so sleepy.
Once he woke up, he was feeling much better. He even received a sweet "Get Well" message from his entire 4th grade class, which really put a smile on his face!
Thumbs up after surgery.
The next few days after surgery, Connor had a tough time eating because it hurt him to move his mouth to chew. We also had trouble keeping the tube in his nose clean because it kept getting clogged with drainage and blood. He was pretty miserable for about 2 days.
Finally, Connor seemed to turn a corner and started eating more normally. He was able to recover over the long Memorial Day weekend and return to school the following Tuesday. He felt almost normal by then, but he still had the nose splint and tube. His friends were sweet and thought he looked cool with his bandages.
Back to school with a nose split from the surgery.
About a week after his surgery, Connor was SO ready to go back for his check-up to get his nose splint and tube removed. He couldn't wait to breathe normally again, but he was understandably nervous about how much it might hurt to have the stitches and tube removed. I had tried to prepare him for the procedure but I'm afraid I might have made him more scared than prepared! He brought a lump of clay as a stress-ball to help him through it.
Dr. T first removed the stitches.
Then he asked Connor to lay down so he could get the tube. Connor was working the stress ball big time!
I had been told by others that the hardest part of nasal surgery is when the doctor removes the hard, packed-in "stuffing" that is jammed up in the nasal cavity. Connor was so nervous about this, but handled it pretty well. I took a video and it was funny that he didn't realize when the doctor was finished, but oh, he was SO thankful when it was over!
Finally, Dr. T removed the outer nose splint.
All done! Still swollen, but big smile to be rid of the hard part!
Connor was such a great patient! I have heard horror stories about how painful nasal surgery and recovery can be, but Connor handled it well and without much trouble at all. I was so proud of him after the appointment that I let him pick his favorite restaurant for dinner -- Lupe Tortilla!
His favorite beef fajitas for a post-appointment treat.
And now for the post-surgery update. I have to admit, I was disappointed by the results of Connor's surgery. I guess I assumed that his nose would go back to the way it looked before, but that has not been the case. He still has quite a knot on the bridge of his nose and it stills looks crooked on the left side. When I asked the doctor in July (1.5 months post-surgery) about that, he stated that noses were hard to predict. He performed surgery to repair the function (breathing, septum) of Connor's nose, not the aesthetic. And while we mostly care about the function, it's possible that as Connor grows, his nose will continue to grow incorrectly and require a future surgical repair.
Connor's new nose, 7 months post-surgery.
Here we are now 8 months post-surgery, and it's clear that Connor's crooked nose is here to stay. I promised myself I would no longer comment on it in Connor's presence, but in certain lighting and at certain angles, it's hard not to notice the bend in his nose. I was upset about this outcome for a while (and still probably am a little bit), wondering why we did the surgery at all. But I'm resolved with it now and we'll just monitor Connor's breathing and nose function over time. Connor could care less about the way his nose looks and everyone else just describes the whole episode as "character-building"!
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