Closing the canal

 Today we arrived for Lauren’s 16th surgery.  Today we have decided to close the ear carnal that was created in 2009.  Because of her diminishing hearing loss since the atresia surgery, the ear canal doesn’t seem to be necessary.  Especially now that she has the bone conduction hearing device she has been using since October 2021.  Although her atresia ear canal is healthy and stable, she does have to get it cleaned often and she gets occasional infections.  The surgery to close the canal will help eliminate cleanings and infections as well as make the appearance more natural.  Her canal was not symmetrical due to her anatomy and it is something that is very noticeable.  There is not much of a tragus to cover her canal so it is easily seen.  The Supor implant has been much more stable than the Medpor implant previously.  She still tends to build up scar tissue on her surgery ear and we will try using some more prescription ointment to help thin it out.  Lauren should recover quickly from this canal surgery and will be back to her daily routine soon.  She has finished her first year of college at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah.  She wants to study nursing and work with children that have been through similar struggles.  She will be leaving this September to serve a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She will serve for 18 month and will be in the Scotland/ Ireland Mission.  She is very excited for this opportunity.  Before she goes we are looking into possible fat injections to help with her soft tissue symmetry.  She also had to see the eye surgeon last month because of eye irritation from the area she had her cysts removed.  The cysts were not coming back but there were some fine hairs that were growing and that was causing her irritation.  The doctor was able to remove them easily.  She visited the spine doctor as well this year.  Her scoliosis has not gotten worse and he didn’t feel the need to see her in the future.  He recommended keeping her back and core strong through exercise and stretching.