A new face for Zakary | Cincinnati Children's
With Dr. Charles Stevenson & Dr. Velika Riegel & Dr. Hector Pan
Part of
Encephalocele 3 items
Chapter 1 of 4 · Diagnosis & Workup
Prenatal diagnosis
Prenatal diagnosis and initial consultation
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What the experts said
Dr. Charles Stevenson knew following delivery that complex reconstruction of the face and nasal bridge would be required.
Dr. Stevenson consulted Dr. Hector Pan because complex facial reconstruction would be needed.
At birth, the growth covered from Zachary's eyes down to his mouth; only a little mouth was visible.
The surgical steps involved exposing the forehead, exposing the defect, amputating the tissue, preserving the normal brain, and reconstructing the normal layers or barriers which had not formed.
A fetal MRI detected an encephalocele midway through Velika Riegel's pregnancy.
Zachary had a large opening in the bone between his eyes through which tissue escaped.
Until Zachary was born, it was unknown whether the encephalocele was cancerous.
The surgeons had seen a case like this only once before.
Zachary was delivered December 29th, 2016.
Zachary needed a feeding tube and supplemental oxygen.
Zachary spent 4.5 months in newborn intensive care at Cincinnati Children's before he grew enough to have the operation.
The operation was successful and the tissue was found not to be a cancerous tumor.
Zachary and Velika moved to the area to be closer to Cincinnati Children's.