Pediatric otolaryngologist changes toddler’s life by removing tracheostomy tube

April 5, 2016

Before learning about pediatric otolaryngologist Dr. Deepak Mehta on Facebook, Christina Harper was about to give up hope that her 2-year-old daughter, Harlow, would ever live a life without a tracheostomy tube.

Shortly after being born in California, surgeons discovered Harlow had bilateral vocal cord paralysis, which caused her vocal cords to stay closed, preventing her from breathing. The only solution at the time was to put a tracheostomy tube into Harlow’s tiny neck.

Although necessary, living with a tracheostomy tube wasn’t easy. It made it hard for Harlow to eat, to talk and it posed a risk of infection. All of the above is why Harper wanted to see if there was something doctors could do to mitigate Harlow’s condition and remove the tracheostomy tube.

To her dismay, no one she saw in California had any answers. So, she turned to Facebook, where parents in similar situations were trading information, advice and most of all – hope. Several of the people Harper met on the social media site pointed her to Texas Children’s Hospital, more specifically, Mehta, an expert in complex airway surgery.

Mehta joined Texas Children’s Otolaryngology Department last year and works with a multidisciplinary team that aims to treat patients who have multiple problems with the respiratory tract and the upper part of the digestive tract, including the lips, mouth, tongue, nose, throat, vocal cords, and part of the esophagus and windpipe.

“Having a team like this is very important for patients such as Harlow,” Mehta said. “The expertise and coordinated care we provide really makes a difference.”

For Harlow, it meant life without a tracheostomy tube. In order to remove the tube, Mehta first had to fix the problem she was diagnosed with when she was born. To do that, he and his surgical team took a bone graft from Harlow’s rib and placed it in-between her vocal cords to widen them and allow her to breathe on her own. Mehta and the surgical team also had to correct a problem in Harlow that had never been detected – a laryngeal cleft, which prevented the toddler from swallowing.

After the more than five-hour surgery concluded, members of Texas Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit kept Harlow asleep for a week so that she could properly heal. Within about 10 days, the brown-eyed, curly-haired girl was eating, drinking and talking like she had never done before.

“She used to not want to eat anything, not put anything in her mouth,” Harper said. “Now, we can’t keep her out of the kitchen.”

Mehta said Harlow will need some therapy over the next few months so that her swallowing can get even better and her speech can get even stronger. After that, he said she should go on to lead a normal life.

To watch a story KPRC News 2 did on Mehta and Harlow, click here.