Karen and Jonathan before his surgery                     Karen and Jonathan after his surgery

Our Family's MH Experiences

Our son, Jonathan, was born with a very visible birthmark on his face.  His doctor suggested removing it prior to when he started Kindergarten, so in 1985, when he was almost 5, he had the surgery at Kaiser.   The pictures show Jonathan (and his sister) before and after surgery.

Fortunately for all of us, the anesthesiologist noticed that his jaw muscle tightened and his heart rate increased.  They finished the surgery as quickly as they could and told us that he likely had MH and had to spend the night in the hospital.  We do not believe he was given Dantrolene.  His CPK was elevated, which supported the MH diagnosis.  The next day he was allowed to go home, and we were referred to MHAUS, which we immediately joined (and have been members ever since).

Jonathan's father (Art) underwent muscle testing at UCLA shortly afterwards and was found to be  positive, which confirmed Jonathan's diagnosis and told us which side of the family likely had MH.  This has allowed Art to inform doctors about his condition prior to surgery and probably has averted serious issues. 

Jonathan had to have his wisdom teeth removed when he was in high school.  We had to work hard for the oral surgeon we wanted to get permission to perform the procedure at Kaiser, where Jonathan could be monitored and where they would avoid succinylcholine, which is sometimes used in oral surgery.  All went well and the skids were greased so when our daughter, Karen, (who had a 50:50 chance of being MH susceptible) also needed her wisdom teeth removed, we could follow the same protocol. 

The final chapter, so far, just occurred this month.  Karen arranged for the muscle contracture testing at UC Davis and was found to be negative.

As told by Jonathan and Karen’s mother, Jackie. 

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