Craniofacial

In honor of the New Year, we’re taking a look back at some of our most popular and memorable blog posts from 2014. Below is a list of our top 10 posts. Here’s to another great year of health news to come. Happy New Year!

Lung Liquid Similar to One Used in Movie “The Abyss” Saves Infant’s Life, Doctors Encourage FDA Approval of Clinical Trials

Two doctors at Seattle Children’s went the extra mile to save Tatiana, one of the sickest babies they’ve ever seen. They got ‪FDA‬ approval to use a long-forgotten drug and are now inspired to help make this drug available to save more lives.

Visit with Macklemore Helps 6-Year-Old Heart Patient Recover

AJ Hwangbo was a happy-go-lucky 6-year-old without a worry in the world until mid-November when he developed a life-threatening heart condition. While specialists at Seattle Children’s Hospital helped AJ heal physically, the young boy struggled to bounce back emotionally. But, AJ’s joyful spirit returned after hospital staff arranged for him to meet his hero – local artist Macklemore. Read full post »

Baby Genesis before her surgeries

Discovering your child has a craniofacial condition can be a stressful time filled with questions and uncertainties. Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center aims to not only keep the patient’s needs in mind, but also the needs of the entire family. Below are the stories of two unique craniofacial journeys and how the patients and their families received support throughout the process.

Genesis and family find comfort after early diagnosis

Genesis Murillo is a fun-loving, 4-year-old who was born with bilateral cleft lip and palate – a birth defect that occurs when parts of the lip and roof of the mouth don’t fuse together during pregnancy. Cleft lip and palate affects one in 700 infants worldwide, and is one of the most common birth defects. It can be caused by several factors, including genetic abnormalities, but there is no single cause.

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The sun was bright when Lyla Conrad and her father arrived early for softball practice to catch a few pop flies. Lyla, 9 at the time, had caught hundreds before, but that day she lost one in the sun. It fell straight down into her eye. Almost immediately, her eye was swollen and she felt incredibly nauseous.

“We thought she had a concussion,” said Sari-Kim Conrad, Lyla’s mother. “We never thought a softball could do so much damage.”

After receiving an initial check-up at a local emergency room, she was transported by ambulance to another area hospital for further tests. The diagnosis: an orbital “trapdoor” fracture. Lyla would need surgery, and soon. Read full post »

Christian at soccer practice before his birthday.

Christian Roberts was as excited for his 12th birthday as any child would be. But this April marked a very special occasion. It was the first time he could express that excitement with a smile.

Twelve years ago, Christian was born deaf and with bilateral facial paralysis due to a rare genetic anomaly called CHARGE Syndrome. For his entire life, the happy, playful Dallas boy who loved video games and LEGO bricks couldn’t move his facial muscles to smile. Christian wanted nothing more than to better communicate with his family, and with others who don’t know sign language.

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In honor of World Down Syndrome Day, Melanie Harrington shares excerpts from her blog, Our Journey Through Life – a rich chronicle of a baby’s fighting spirit and a mother’s courage to walk “the road less traveled” and arrive a better person.

May 2012: Our world changes forever
We get the call we’ve been dreading:  the baby boy I’ve been carrying for 15 weeks has Down syndrome. What?! How can this be? I’ve done everything right. I don’t drink, smoke, take medicine or eat foods I’m not supposed to eat. Why me? Why us? I am mad, sad, anxious and confused. Will we be able to love this baby? What does his future hold? Bullying, dependence, frustration? And, what does my 2-year-old son Cody’s future hold? Constant defending? Jealousy?

I’m feeling very un-mommy-like thoughts that I never thought I could feel about my unborn baby. Can I handle this? Can my husband, Chuck? Will our marriage survive? Right now, I don’t know the answer to these questions.

My doctor refers us to a genetic counselor for more testing. I don’t really gel with the first counselor, so she refers me to Seattle Children’s Genetic Counseling Clinic. This counselor immediately puts me at ease and I like her honesty. I also see Dr. Margaret Adam, who is wonderful and gives me lots of helpful information. Dr. Adam reassures me that Down syndrome can affect any family – one out of every 800 babies born in the U.S. has the condition.

June 2012: Grief…then acceptance
I still feel out of control – so desperate to understand what is really happening. I go to sleep and wake up not remembering if the diagnosis is a dream or real, then I remember. We cry a lot and worry all the time. We grieve for the child we thought we were having and we don’t know if we can ever come to terms with the child we are having.

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Jessica Schend, now 17, was born with a cleft lip and palate. She has been treated at the Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center her entire life.

In 2014, the Seattle Children’s Research Institute will implement life-saving projects, begin new studies to keep children safe and continue searching for ways to prevent and cure diseases that threaten some of our youngest patients. We are celebrating the New Year by highlighting some of the work that has researchers excited about 2014.

Cleft lip is one of the most common facial malformations in the world, affecting one in 700 children. Still, few researchers focus on this condition. But craniofacial scientist Timothy Cox, PhD, is leading efforts at Seattle Children’s Research Institute to determine how cleft lip might be prevented in the future.
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At age 4, Natalie Merlo was diagnosed with a facial condition that left her feeling self-conscious and very different from other people.  While growing up, she even avoided having her photo taken.  Through the work with her care team at Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center, Natalie has gained confidence, has happily accepted who she is and has a powerful message for others – “it’s OK to be different.”

Natalie, now 18 years old, recently entered college with a new facial structure and a new outlook on life after completing two major surgeries. For most of her life, Natalie lived with a severe under bite and deep, wide-set eyes and cheek bones, as a result of a genetic condition called Crouzon Syndrome. While her features were typically brushed off by strangers, it still affected the way she thought about herself.

“These differences were things other people glazed over, and didn’t really notice at first glance,” said Natalie. “But to me, they were so unfortunately obvious. I wish I could say that I didn’t let these things phase me, but that was far from the truth.”

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The new technique was recently published in the journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, “Normalizing Facial Ratios in Apert Syndrome Patients with Lefort II Midface Distraction and Simultaneous Zygomatic Repositioning.”

Apert syndrome is a rare condition that occurs in one of 45,000 to 160,000 live births. For the children it affects, it’s very complex and is not only challenging to live with, but it’s also very difficult to treat.

That is, until now.

Thanks to Richard Hopper, MD, surgical director of the Craniofacial Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital, there is now a new treatment method that offers kids with Apert syndrome the opportunity to have a much better quality of life.

The new surgical approach not only treats symptoms more effectively, but also treats the “look” of the syndrome, offering children the chance to have a more normal face and head shape.

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Mitchell with little sister Alaina

Seattle Children’s is considered a trusted resource for families needing special care. For the Wall family of Ephrata, Wash., their trust in Children’s, including the Craniofacial Center and Orthopedics and Sports Medicine teams, enabled them to become the family they are today. Mindy and Darryl Wall have six children – three biological and three adopted – four of whom have special needs. Here’s their story…

In 1993, the Wall’s second son, Mitchell, was born with a clubfoot and was later diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. At birth he began receiving care at  Children’s. Not only was he diagnosed with Asperger’s at Children’s, but he had two different clubfoot surgeries by the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine team, as well as his bracing and casting at the hospital. All of this seeded a long and trusted relationship between the hospital and the Walls. The care Mitchell received helped Mindy and Darryl become more comfortable raising children with special needs, and inspired them to adopt children who needed medical assistance, because they knew the hospital was there to help.

“We got to trust and know our way around Seattle Children’s,” said Mindy Wall. “With this knowledge and resource, we knew we could provide a loving home to other children with special needs.”

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Seven-year-old Mavrick Gabriel of Kenai, Alaska could be described as being “beyond his years.” He’s compassionate in a way that you don’t often see with young children, and he wants to educate others about his birth defect, craniofacial microsomia, and to help kids in the process.

Mavrick was born without a left ear and with a very small jaw that did not have a joint on one side.  He can’t eat solid foods, has to use a feeding tube and his speech is affected. In June 2012, Gabriel and his family invited television cameras to capture a surgery—one of dozens he’s endured—that helped move him closer to having a jaw.  But he doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. “Most kids never have to go through this and I’d like to help other people with what I’m going through,” Mavrick said.

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