Ich bin ein Berliner

It's official . . . Eddie will be rolling into the OR tomorrow morning around 7:30 for open heart surgery. While we wish he were getting his new heart tomorrow, we are encouraged that our doctors feel that the Berlin heart is our best option at this stage and that Eddie is stable enough to undergo this significant procedure.

In summary, during surgery Dr. Cohen will 1) remove the atrial stent placed on 3/6, 2) close the resulting hole in the atrial septum, and then 3) attach the LVAD/Berlin heart. We are optimistic we can avoid a bi-VAD scenario where both sides of his heart would need to be connected. All of the clinical research clearly demonstrates that LVAD success rates are much higher than bi-VAD, so our fingers are crossed. Dr. Cohen will make the final decision either while Eddie is on the operating table or, more likely, after he's had a few days on the LVAD. Some children don't respond well to the LVAD at first, but then recover good function after a few days and thus avoid an unnecessary RVAD. For more information on LVADs and the Berlin heart, see my earlier posts here and here . . . or Bing it!

More to follow!