Cori's Stapedectomy Day!

On July 11, 2008, I had my second surgery...a stapedectomy! I was diagnosed earlier this year with Otosclerosis and was told this is the procedure to have.

I lost my hearing in my left ear due to calcium build-up on my stapes bone. A stapedectomy is a surgery where they go in through the tympanic membrane and use a laser to take out the stapes bone (the smallest bone in the body) and place a prosthetic device in its place. On one side of the device, they use a piece of my forearm vein to bind it to the footplate of the bone still attached to the cochlea. The other side of the device is twisted around the incus bone tightly. The calcium will continue to build up, but it isn't able to bind to the material the prostheses is made out of...titanium. Don't worry, I found out I still can go through metal detectors and be scanned by MRIs.

My mom was able to fly down to Arizona on Wednesday to come be with me during my surgery. She did a great job of documenting the day.

My surgery day started out with me not hearing my alarm go off to get ready to be at the hospital by 5:45 am. What woke me up was my mom getting up....thank goodness for her! At 5 am I woke up to quickly take a shower and get dressed for the procedure at Banner Desert. We left my place at 5:45 am...oops! It was fine...they usually give you plenty of time to get there late/on time!

We got all checked in, and mom got her usual great compliment that she couldn't be my mother...she's way too young! Then we went up to the waiting room. I was told to go change into my gown, socks, and head cover. Then I was to wait for my doctors and nurses to get me all set up for the surgery. I got my first IV in my hand. It had to be the most painful part of the whole procedure. It didn't feel too comfortable. Then I met my anesthesiologist. She talked to us a short while before Dr. Fucci came in to visit with us. I have to admit I was getting more nervous around this time. I teared up a little bit with my mom. Dr. Fucci is my surgeon. He asked me which ear I was getting worked and marked it with a permanent marker "YES." He reviewed the procedure with me and then took off.

Mom took these pictures before I rolled away to the operating room.

Within the next few minutes, I was in the operating room. The room appeared to be a large cluttered room. I didn't even know if there was room enough for my bed to be in there. I heard some talking for a little while, and then the next thing I know...