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Posted by Susan Fitzmaurice
on March 13, 2008, 5:57 am, in reply to "Parents Defend Cosmetic Surgery To Remove Daughter's Down Syndrome Features"
76.232.150.196
I am not going to defend all they did, but I will defend the tongue surgery.
My son (with down syndrome) had tongue surgery when he was 4. At first I was rather askance about it, but then the overriding health concerns convinced me to do it. The reason my son and other people with Down syndrome's tongue stick out is that they cannot breath properly with their tongue is in their mouth because it is too big to fit. This causes issues with speech, sleep (sleep apnea), breathing, AND appearance.
His tongue is still big, but it does fit in his mouth. He still has speech issues. He still has sleep apnea. And he still lets that tongue roll out when he is over-tired. He can breath easily with no concerns while awake.
BUT he can choose to keep his tongue in his mouth, which without the surgery would not have been a choice. He does use a cpap so he can breath easily at night, which would not have been enough otherwise. His speech issues are mostly about language and less about articulation than they would be.
The rest no - his eyes, his nose, his ears - they are all a part of who he is and I wouldn't change them. Would he? There was a time when appearance was really important to him as a teen that I think he would have wanted it. But I helped him see himself for the handsome young man he is.
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