Hello?.... Is anybody there? Yep, we're all alive and well. Nikki has been doing very well, continuing to tend bar at The Cheesecake Factory in Columbus, at Easton. I also returned to work in July 2009, finding a new position with a technology company after a 6 month layoff. Finally!... back to the computer field after six years!
Why am I posting after all of this time? Nikki has decided it's time to get back to surgeries, that's why. Surgery #24 has been scheduled for May 19th, with the Director of Plastic Surgery at OSU, Dr. Michael Miller, slated to perform a free flap procedure on her right neck and face. This will be a 5 - 8 hour procedure, following the same general recommendation made by the Cleveland plastic surgeon a couple of years back. A large, deep section of tissue will be removed from Nikki's left thigh and implanted on her neck and lower face. More than just a simple skin graft, the free flap is actually a microsurgical procedure. All layers of skin, along with underlying tissue, veins and arteries, will be transplanted. The veins and arteries will be surgically connected to corresponding blood vessels in her neck. This will allow the blood supply to continue to the transplanted tissue, keeping it alive, soft and viable. This tissue will be unable to contract the way that skin grafts do, preventing contractures from forming. Liposuction will be used as needed to better fit the tissue to the face. The doctor belives that her thigh will be able to replace the missing tissue with little to no scarring.
This will mean five days in the hospital, but offers the best chance to date of a smooth facial reconstruction. After this, Nikki intends to pursue further work on her right eye with Dr. Katz at OSU, as well as some more reconstructive work on her nose. She's very excited that she's finally in a position to continue with her reconstruction. We all have very high hopes that this procedure will be the one that works. I'll have more details for you as they develop.
Stay tuned... we're on the run again!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
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