Hello from Mayo Clinic!

Hello family and friends,

I have arrived at Mayo Clinic. Thanks Mandy for driving me here early this morning! I met Dr. Beatty for the first time. He made me feel very calm and relaxed about the surgery. Of course, I am still pretty nervous. I told Dr. Beatty that I was nervous and he said he would be nervous if I wasn't nervous, ha. I would describe him as very jolly and patient. He took the time to explain the procedure to me, what to expect and a little more about the internal implant.

Tonight, I will call the Mayo Clinic's automated patient service line at 8:15 to find out my surgery time and when to report to the hospital. I guess the sickest and youngest patients are usually scheduled first. Dr. Beatty thinks it may be around 3:00 p.m. because he is implanting an 11-year-old first.

He explained that I need to stop eating after midnight, then stop drinking non-clear liquids six hours before surgery. I will meet with the anesthesiologist when I arrive at the hospital. Hopefully, something can be done to reduce the nausea I always feel after surgery, but it could also be related to putting a foreign object in my body or operating in the ear which is the balance center of the body.

The surgery will take about two hours. There is an hour of prep where they will shave my hair and mark where the implant will be located to match my other side. Dr. Beatty explained that his incision will look like a hockey stick instead of a line like my first implant. He thought my scar looked good on my right side. My ears looked healthy, so he recommended to cancel my preoperative evaluation visit at 12:45.

Also during surgery, I will have probes on my facial nerves to be sure nothing is being affected when the incision is made. Once the implant is in place, they will test it before closing my head to be sure all 22 electrodes are working. If three or more fail, then he will replace the implant. He supported my audiologist's recommendation of the 422 internal implant. It does not cause as much trauma to the cochlea as the Contour implant which is in my right ear. I guess it is the same implant but has a thinner and more flexible array of electrodes. The array is easier to insert in the cochlea through the round window. The 422 has been being used for a year and has been successful. The previous internal implant, the 512 was discontinued due to the seal breaking.

Dr. Beatty has a ten year history of doing the cochlear implant surgeries. He has not had any patients report that they wished they didn't get a second implant. I may not have the same "geeze whiz" experience of when I got my first implant because I am able to hear most sounds by now, but I should be able to hear better in noise and localize which direction I am hearing sounds.

After surgery, I will need to keep the ear free of water and do not do any heavy lifting for a few weeks. I may feel a sensation in my jaw when I bite due to the implant being placed on the muscle. The surgery is usually outpatient, so I will probably not stay overnight at the hospital depending on how I am feeling and if it is late in the day. I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Beatty on Wednesday morning 8:15 to have him look at the incision, etc.

That's all for now. I meet my parents in an hour at the hotel. It will be nice to have them here to keep me distracted. Also, we will be celebrating my mom's birthday tonight, so that's always a treat to celebrate it with her. Thanks for reading!