Monday, January 12, 2009

Kaitlynns Update.... ears and Uvula

OK well i finally fould out why kaitlynn has so many ear infections and speech problems...... Not only is speech problem from ears but also from her uvula.... my daughter just had her 4th ear tube surgery... Bc the tubes keep falling out bc of all the fluid in her ears..... Well i finally switched Ent after the 3rd surgery so her new ent did this surgery that she had done a week ago... which he put in a t - tube which is suppose to stay in her 3 years and be removed.... I just pray that this tubes stay in for my 3 year old.. She scrared of every dr.. hospital beds ... Dr. chair at the ent......... bc she has had so much blood work taken.. which today she had more taken.. Bc she had to get a shot to boost her immune system bc it was so low..... so they had to do more blood work today to check to see if her immune system went up... PLEASE BE UP !!!!!!! My little girl as had a rough time.. But Thank you its just this.. it could be worse....... although they said her Uvula which is the thing that hangs in ur throat as a split which is called VPI....... I researched this today and this is what i fould It's the same thing her Ent told me today so it made me happy that it all matched up!!

Dr. Burns' Reply:
A split uvula (also called a bifid or cleft uvula) occurs in about 2% of newborns. It occurs in approximately 1% of Caucasians and 10% of Native Americans. Although a bifid uvula is infrequent, it is one of the most common malformations in the newborn mouth caused by incomplete fusion of the two sides of the palate while the baby is developing.
A uvula is composed of connective tissue, a few secretory glands and some muscle fibers. It does play a role in articulation by working in conjunction with the back of the throat, the palate and air from the lungs to produce a tone of speech. Other non-English languages use the uvula for consonant sounds.
There are problems associated with an abnormal uvula. Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is when the uvula doesn't properly form a seal with the back of the throat. VPI can cause a hypernasal speech pattern when too much air comes in from the nose while talking or food to exit through the nose while eating . A bifid uvula might be a clue to a lack of muscle tissue in the soft palate (known as a submucosal cleft palate) which may make one prone to ear infections. An oddly shaped uvula may also cause snoring



Therefore This is the Problem... SHe will have to stay with ear infection until her uvula will heal up... OR until they do surgery on it.. which he said that would be later on down the line if it doesnt get better But they dont do that on her this young bc its not that bad.......but anyways this is what i have been doing through.. she had her 4th surgery tue the 6th and that 8th of jan she had a ear infection which today they siad its still infected that it takes her longer to clear from a ear infection than normal kids bc shes had sooo many.. poor baby... Anyways Now its time to finish watching a movie with hubby ! talk to u laer.. Pray for my little girl !