So can you actually believe I am posting again so soon after my last post?!? Well there is alot to update on so I figured I may as well do it bit by bit. So now onto Dahlia. For those of you who do not know she has a small hole in her heart called an Atrial Septal Defect. This hole can only be closed through surgery. The best way I can describe how this hole affects her is that oxygenated blood is mixing with non-oxygenated blood inside of the chambers in her heart. Also, this oxygenated blood is backing up into her lungs making them "soggy" when they should be dry. These problems make it harder for her to breathe and she expends alot more calories breathing than normal. This is why she is about 5 pounds less and 6 inches shorter than the other quads.
If you remember, last year we met with the only surgeon here in Austin about performing her surgery. We had a terrible feeling and decided not to do it. Well we decided to get a second opinion this year by a doctor in Dallas. I was able to do 2 consultations over the phone with the surgeon and the pediatric cardiologist. My consult with the surgeon was first and I adored him. He was so sweet and understanding and went into great detail about her condition, presurgery and recovery. So I still was not "comfortable" with the idea of having my 25 pound child's chest being cut open and her heart being on a bypass machine but I felt a little better about it if she was going to have to do it to be healthy.
Then I spoke with the cardiologist. He pretty much told me there was no reason at all to rush the surgery. If we wait until she is about 40 pounds we could do a small outpatient procedure where a catheter goes through a vein in her leg and up to her heart to close the hole. The only reason we have been hearing from the doctors to hurry with the surgery is because if she gets RSV it could do irreversible damage to her lungs. But, this doctor thought that was absurd to think that the hole would have that big of an effect. THATS ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR :) Now I know that is only one doctor out of like a ton that have told us to do the surgery, but that is all I needed was a little bit of hope that she would not have to go through such a terrible thing. So we will wait for now and have faith that she will get to 40 pounds soon!!
If you remember, last year we met with the only surgeon here in Austin about performing her surgery. We had a terrible feeling and decided not to do it. Well we decided to get a second opinion this year by a doctor in Dallas. I was able to do 2 consultations over the phone with the surgeon and the pediatric cardiologist. My consult with the surgeon was first and I adored him. He was so sweet and understanding and went into great detail about her condition, presurgery and recovery. So I still was not "comfortable" with the idea of having my 25 pound child's chest being cut open and her heart being on a bypass machine but I felt a little better about it if she was going to have to do it to be healthy.
Then I spoke with the cardiologist. He pretty much told me there was no reason at all to rush the surgery. If we wait until she is about 40 pounds we could do a small outpatient procedure where a catheter goes through a vein in her leg and up to her heart to close the hole. The only reason we have been hearing from the doctors to hurry with the surgery is because if she gets RSV it could do irreversible damage to her lungs. But, this doctor thought that was absurd to think that the hole would have that big of an effect. THATS ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR :) Now I know that is only one doctor out of like a ton that have told us to do the surgery, but that is all I needed was a little bit of hope that she would not have to go through such a terrible thing. So we will wait for now and have faith that she will get to 40 pounds soon!!
2 comments:
My oldest was a 27 weeker, and his PDA didn't close. At 13 months, around 18 lbs, he had it closed via catherization through his groin at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
The IV in his wrist bruised more than the surgical site, and we were back in our hotel room within hours. His local cardio wanted him to stay in state for open heart surgery to correct it, and walked away from me when I said we were going out of state for this procedure. I did my research!! A PDA is outside the heart, but they had to go through his heart to reach it.
He is now 4 1/2 and weighs 35 lbs. He didn't walk or crawl until after surgery. We can talk if you want (I'm from FF but have followed your blog for years). :)
Praise God that he has given you other options than open heart surgery. That is very good news. :o)
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