Hello everyone. Sorry these posts are getting stretched out. We have entered the slow part of Grace's recovery. She is working on feeding and growing issues; which is, well, going slow.
Grace had another procedure yesterday. She had a heart catheterization to evaluate her pulmonary artery flow, to determine blood flow to her lungs, and to see if she still needed her shunt.
Unfortunately for Grace: she still needs her shunt, her pulmonary artery on the right side was restricted, and the blood flow to her lungs was less than they wanted. So, they did a balloon procedure to increase the flow to her right side – which worked.
They also checked Grace’s tricuspid valve and found no change. There is still a ‘moderate but not horrible’ amount of backflow.
So the sum of this catheterization is that, because of her pulmonary vascular resistance (the reduced flow because of size of her lungs and her heart function), Grace will need a ‘Glen’ heart operation in several months. This procedure is used to increase blood flow to the lungs. They take the Superior Vena Cava (the main upper vein) and direct it straight into the pulmonary artery – bypassing the heart.
She has to wait until the pressures in and around her heart are lowered to have this done. In order to reduce the pressure she is being given 100% oxygen and also being put on Viagra (this is actually its original intended use)!
Well, that’s about it for now. No word yet on when we’ll be going home. Keep your prayers coming…
Thank you everyone for all of your help.
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