Tough Day

Many years ago Zachary was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cyst that grows in the jawbone. It has been removed twice over the past five years. His doctor was semi-optimistic that it would not reoccur, but unfortunately this May it came back with a vengeance. The options for removal and treatment were limited and quite scary. At the suggestion of his oral surgeon, we sought a second opinion at the UConn Medical Center. They gave us 3 options...one was very aggressive and involved removing a section of his jawbone and all of the teeth in that area and then putting a bone graft in, the next option was less aggressive and included root canaling the healthy teeth in that area so they could scrape at the bone and roots during surgery and removing two or three teeth, and the least invasive was just to remove the tumor again and hope for the best. We went with a modified version of the second plan and chose a surgeon that Zachary felt the most comfortable with. He had his root canals two weeks ago and this morning had the surgery in the hospital to remove the tumor and hopefully enough of the jawbone to prevent recurrence. The doctor removed only one tooth.
All went well and the doctor feels hopeful. So now Zach will recuperate and over the next six months the bone will regenerate. Then we watch the area very carefully. It is something that will have to be watched for the rest of his life.
I am relieved that everything went so well. He is home and snugged into his own bed. His throat is sore from the anesthesia and he is loaded up with pain meds and ice packs. I am right here if he needs anything. Whew, I am glad this day is over

Back in recovery. Happy to have the surgery behind him.

Zachy doodle still smiling