Well this consisted of the same operation as on the right side. The left lip was closed as well as the first third of the palate on the left side. Everything went well, just as had the first operation! Steve was six months old and after a few weeks to allow the tissues to heal he now could start eating baby foods.
The third operation
This operation consisted of closing completely his palate on both the left and the right side. He was one year old and a very turbulent child. He loved climbing and was very independant ..... but as yet he had to say words other then "Mama". The fact that his palate was not closed prevented him from making very much progress as far as language was concerned. His father waited anxiously for the day he could hear him say "papa"!
Steve went through this operation with much braver but it was not easy . We were allowed to bring him home after the usual seven days post-operation (remember .. that was 16 years ago! ... and the drive there took us almost two hours)!
The aftermath
Well, don't know if you can really call it the aftermath but the period following his third surgery was refreshing. He drank with out the colic, he ate well, he was literally flowing with words! And, he was lucky .... his skin healed well and the redness and puffiness that most children operated for the same thing had for a long time were not there.
Of course his nose seemed a bit flattened and squashed but compared to his initial looks he was a lovely boy!
Steve 2 years old...
Just to give you an idea of today....
