The consultation with Dr. Paley was rather quick... well, I thought it was quick. Dr. Paley checked out Merritt's x-rays and Merritt's leg/foot. After commenting on how fabulous Merritt's foot was looking, he began talking about what is wrong with Merritt. Well, as it turns out, Merritt doesn't have Fibular Hemimelia or Tibial Hemimelia. Both of those bones in his left leg are shorter than the ones in his right leg. So, really, he just has one leg proportionately shorter than the other. Apparently, there is no wordy diagnosis for Merritt's condition. A fact that I find a little weird, but whatever. I guess, "He has a 'short-leg" will have to do for now :)
Dr. Paley explained that Merritt's LLD at skeletal maturity will be well over 4 inches. This news really shocked us. This estimation was almost 2 times as much as our footy doctor's estimation. UGH. Well, after talking about that a bit he explained what his plan would be for Merritt... According to Dr. Paley's SUPER expert opinion, Merritt's LLD requires 2 lengthening surgeries to correct. One at 3 years of age and another when he is a teenager... Double UGH.
So, that news really sucked. We were really hoping that Merritt would at the most require one corrective procedure. My heart was just through the floor. Then he continued on to explain that there are many things about Merritt's condition that we will just have to "wait and see" about. Such as, is he missing any other bones or ligaments or whatever. (Oh, that reminds me - Merritt is missing his ACL in his left leg. Anyone have any advise how to keep a little boy out of contact sports? Man oh man.)
We are set to bring Merritt back to Dr. Paley in March for a follow up visit and to get Merritt's first shoe elevation prescription. More on that later!
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