Two years later..

Greetings all! Fall marks our yearly return to the medical world to monitor our beautiful girls and their development. Lily is now 5 and with a late birthday is waiting until next year for kindergarten. She is a bright girl- mostly motivated by the acquisition of barbie dolls and cinnamon waffles- just a typical little lady whom we adore. As far as her appearance, the metopic ridge appears to be lessening. It is still a prominent feature on her face however with bangs it is not an issue. Her orbits are a bit shallow - certainly not noticable if you didn't know what you were looking for...
We have been followed by the plastic surgeon at Cincinnati Childrens rather than Riley as Dr Havlik would only insist in CVR. We visited several plastic and neurosurgeons at four hospital systems in the midwest and Riley was the only one who felt that CVR was appropriate. AND they confessed that it has no positive impact on brain development or function. One interesting research article I read suggests that often Cranio kids do have unusual brain development however it is not influenced by surgery. Except in very unusual circumstances intercranial pressure is generally normal for metopic kiddos. I have stacks of these studies in the basement but honestly I have moved on... The girls are so much fun- they are healthy and happy and we spend our time enjoying each other-- I can't stand the thought that Lily will enter school next year. I am very pleased in our decision to wait and avoid the CVR. The only rationale Riley gave us was of course cosmetic and that she may have headaches later in life.... REALLY?!? When they told us that we knew that the wait and see was the right choice for us. We are still able to have the burr procedure to flatten the ridge later if the girls want to- which is why we return to Cincinnati childrens. For now, I am laying out christmas cards for two gorgeous little girls. I wouldn't change a thing.