So a
couple of weeks ago we packed Lark up and headed to Dallas for our first visit
with Scottish Rite. Scottish Rite is a children's hospital specializing in
pediatric orthopedics. Check them out here. What a cool place! The staff and doctors
were all very nice and the process was very simple. First off Lark had to get
an x-ray done. Afterwards we meet with the orthopedic surgeon in charge of prosthesis. No matter what path we
take Lark will have to use a prosthesis to learn how to walk. Most likely a
Equinus Prosthesis. Larks's foot would just slip into a base and then a prosthetic
foot is attached at the end of the prosthesis. After talking with him we went
over and talked to another orthopedic surgeon whom specializes in limb
lengthening. Overall they feel like Lark is not a good candidate for limb lengthening
because of how large her discrepancy is. They suggest prosthesis management instead. More
specifically a Symes Amputation with Knee Fusion. A Symes Amputation consist of
removing her foot but leaving the heel pad there and then fusing the knee bones
together to create one long bone. Which is a lot to think about. The good thing is we have some time before we have to make any decisions. We will visit Scottish Rite again during
the next 6 months to discuss Lark's first prosthesis.
We are also
set to visit both the International Center for Limb Lengthening in Baltimore and the Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute in
Florida this summer to get their feedback. I'm interested to see what the next
months of appointments hold for us. I just want to make sure we get all the information that is available to us so that we can make the best choices for Lark.
