This morning I dropped Caleb off at a friend's house and Kyson and I headed to officially meet his new surgeon, Dr. Pearl. I've heard great things about Dr. Pearl, but I have been anxious to talk with him and hear his opinion on things. Gratefully he was very explanatory and I understood everything he plans to do. The big question is still whether he will try and fix his leaky tricuspid valve. There are pros and cons to this.
Cons
1. You have to stop the heart to work on the heart. If they just do a normal Fontan they don't have to go in to the heart so they don't have to stop it.
2. Sometimes when you try to fix something as delicate as a valve you can make the problem worse. The chances of making it worse are slim, but the chances are still there.
3. It will make the surgery longer thus Kyson will have to be on bypass longer.
Pros
1. Kyson's leak is currently moderate; there is a chance Dr. Pearl could put in a simple stich and it will become more of a mild leak.
2. Kyson's heart currently has good function (it squeezes the blood like it should) but fixing the leak will allow it to not have to work as hard.
3. As Dr. Pearl put it, when he does the Fontan he is thinking long term for Kyson. He wants to give him the best possible shot of allowing his heart to last as long as possible. If he is able to help the leak at all he will have a better chance of keeping his heart (and not needing a heart transplant) for a very long time.
Dr. Pearl will present Kyson's case in front of the team of doctors in the next few weeks. He will let me know what they all think is best and what he plans to do. For now we have set the tentative date of March 7th for surgery. That is still six months away but it is the first break Jared has from school besides the holidays. We will continue to meet with Dr. Alhadheri to do echo's until his surgery to make sure everything is staying stable. If any concerns arise we will move his surgery up but as long as he stays looking good, that will be the day!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Surgery date
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5 comments:
WOW... if only Owen had a little less leaky valve and better function.. our boys would be heart twins!!
Dr Pearl tried to work on Owen's valve during the Glenn and we found out now.. it was not a good idea to do both at the same time. The Surgeons at Stanford gave us all the con's to working on the valve at the same time as the Fontan. Scared me. So we're looking at the same work as Kyson, but two different surgeries.
Dr. Pearl is great and I'm sure you'll love him. I am going to meet with him to discuss what went wrong during the Glenn and what his opinion is on Owen getting the Fontan.. since he knows his heart.
We'll be keeping Kyson in our prayers as the next six months creep up on us both, faster than we'd like! :)
Thanks for the update Andrea. I can't imagine the trepidation, anxiety, excitement, etc that comes along with this heart journey. Our prayers will ever be with you.
Oh man that is a difficult choice to make! Being out and on bypass longer would make a mom a little more anxious, but knowing the outcome could be life altering could be worth it? We will be praying for yall and the doctors to know what'll be best for little Kyson. He is sure going to have some good stories to tell when he's older. You better be keeping a good record of it mom! :) Oh hey! The blog IS your record! Haha sorry, let hour, tired me. I really do admire your strength and faithfulness Andrea. Keep us posted!
I meant to ask you how that went when you were over this evening. Glad that the surgeon was friendly and open to discussing all the options with you clearly. March 7th, huh? Practically his birthday... so I guess that'll be a "Happy Birthday Kyson" surgery :)
That is a huge thing your family has to look forward to. I am glad you have great Dr.s. Don't worry about what you can't change, though. That'll make the wait miserable...
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