Recurrence

Doctor's can be so freaking frustrating. This whole thing with K has driven me nuts. The Doctor who operated on her leg last year didn't want to take my calls because he doesn't do follow ups while K's regular pediatrician didn't want to take my calls because she needed to be seen by her specialist. After 3 days of back and forth, her regular ped finally saw us and then referred his assessment to the specialist who ordered a CT scan. Such a friggin mess for something that should have been very simple.

Today K finally got her CT scan and it confirmed what I was afraid of. The tumor has recurred. It's in the exact same spot. I don't know if it's bigger/smaller/similar to before, but it's there. Some more calling back and forth and finally got word that Dr Child's is pretty confident that we will do another RFA and attempt to remove the tumor again. Hopefully this time we will have success. While I really didn't want K to go through the more involved surgery, I also fear the RFA will fail again. In this case I decided that I would go with what the doctor suggested since I was torn on what was best. (see below for a quick description of each procedure)

Here is that bastard tumor! Seen in the lower bone segment

Radio Frequency Ablation. They basically drill a small hole into her bone and insert wire. The wire heats up to a very high temperature and 'burns' out the tumor. It's done under general anesthesia, but is generally outpatient. Last year she had the surgery in the morning and we went home that evening. It doesn't mess with the integrity of the bone, there is no incision (more of a puncture) and about 24 hours after surgery K was fine with no pain and no other recovery.

The other is more invasive. They will put her under general anesthesia and create an incision - not sure of the size but probably only an inch or two. They will actually cut into the bone and take the segment out which contains the tumor. Most of the time, it's like taking a cube of bone. Depending on the size, they may need to reinforce the area with screws or plates. They would then close her up and cast her. This would be a few day stay in the hospital. Since the bone strength has been compromised, she wouldn't be able to bear weight on it for a few weeks - so most likely a wheelchair for several weeks. Then once they remove the cast, she would then most likely need physical therapy for a few weeks.