Tuesday, April 29th Elly is having a Tympanoplasty, also called eardrum repair, to reconstruct a perforated tympanic membrane (eardrum) in her right ear. They will do the procedure post auricular, from an incision behind her ear. They will inspect her middle ear space and if there is no evidence of cholesteatoma or other ear disease, the edges of the perforation are cleaned and a tissue graft is placed under the perforation. Usually, the tissue graft is the outer layer of the temporalis muscle (the muscle used for chewing that you can feel in the side of your head).

Please keep Elly and Dr. Levinson, her ENT, in your prayers. The procedure is scheduled to occur at 9:30 a.m. CST.

We have known of her bilateral ear drum perforations for a year now and we were hoping not to have to repair them until she was a little older. At a recent ENT check, it was discovered that her right perforation (previously the smaller one) had grown exponentially and become marginal. The perforations have decreased her hearing causing a conductive loss and she has a hearing aid for her left ear. A marginal perforation is more concerning because it is less likely to heal and often lead to acquired cholesteatomas. If untreated, a cholesteatoma can eat into the three small bones located in the middle ear, which can result in nerve deterioration, deafness, imbalance and vertigo.

I will update as soon as I can. Enjoy these photos of Elly with her “button” and keep her in your prayers.

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