Luke Schmitz Survived Iraq

ok so I was during some searching and found some information on Luke's ear surgery if you would like to know.... check out this website for pictures. http://www.pedsent.com/surgery/tympanoplasty.htm

The more common, and more lengthy, procedure for repairing a hole in the eardrum is called a tympanoplasty (tim-PAN-o-plass-tee). In this procedure, the hole in the eardrum is patched using material that replaces the missing portion of the eardrum. Sometimes this material is cartilage taken from the outer part of the ear (don't worry, no one will ever know it's missing!) More often, the material used is a connective tissue, called fascia (FASH-ah), removed from underneath the skin behind the ear. This fascia is very similar to the material out of which the normal eardrum is made.
During the surgery, the eardrum is lifted up like a trap door and the material used to repair the hole (called a tympanic membrane graft) is slipped behind the eardrum. Then the eardrum is put back where it started and the hole is patched from behind. The graft material is supported from behind with some packing material which slowly dissolves over the next 2 to 3 months. During this time, the eardrum heals over the graft and resumes a normal appearance. When the packing is all dissolved, the hearing is restored to normal.
Sometimes a tympanoplasty can be performed completely through the ear canal without the need for a large incision in back of the ear (there is often a small incision behind the ear in order to get the fascia graft). However, many children have small ear canals that are difficult the work through. Or sometimes the hole is very large and cannot be completely seen through the ear canal. In these cases, a larger incision is made behind the ear (a postauricular incision) in order to improve the "working space". Although a larger incision involves more healing and recovery, it improves the success of the operation considerably in these more difficult cases. And best of all, when completely healed, the scar is difficult to see and is hidden from view by the outer ear!