We just finished talking to the transplant surgeon and, in short, everything went as smoothly as possible. Eddie went to the OR around 1:30am and over the next three and a half hours was put on heart/lung bypass and had his Berlin Heart "decommissioned." The heart arrived at 5am and Dr. Cohen was able to implant it, make the five connections (superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, aorta, pulmonary arteries, and coronary arteries) and close Eddie's chest is about 90 minutes.
This has been a truly miraculous night for us. We are getting ready to see Eddie right now. We love you!
Showing posts with label heart surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart surgery. Show all posts
02 May 2012
Beating
We've received a few updates through the night, but just had confirmation that Eddie's new heart has been attached and is beating well. It started instantaneously which is a great sign.
The surgeons will watch for peripheral bleeding or other complications before they close his chest which should take another hour.
He's not out of the woods yet, but we are shedding tears of joy. Will share news as soon as we have it.
The surgeons will watch for peripheral bleeding or other complications before they close his chest which should take another hour.
He's not out of the woods yet, but we are shedding tears of joy. Will share news as soon as we have it.
Another (the last) walk down the hallway . . .
Eddie went in at 1:30a. We're estimating he'll be in surgery for about six hours so we're going to try to get some sleep. We love you!
01 May 2012
Long is the night to the watcher . . .
A proverb from Buddha and appropriate tonight. The anesthesiologist just stopped by to tell us we will be delayed by one or two more hours. I think we can handle that :-)
T-90
Still on track for 11pm. Eddie is in great spirits, singing, playing with trains, painting. Was wonderful to have the kids join us for an hour or so this evening.
Thank you for all of your love and support!
Thank you for all of your love and support!
Early Afternoon Update
Looks like Eddie's surgery is being pushed back a bit so he probably won't go into the OR until around 9pm tonight. It's quite common for transplant schedules to be "fluid" since the amount of coordination among the various surgical teams makes things complicated.
Will try to get some rest to prepare for a long night . . .
Will try to get some rest to prepare for a long night . . .
05 April 2012
[Correction]: Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin
As Eddie was preparing to go to the OR, we told him the surgeons were going to take away his "other" heart. He gave us a funny look, screwing up his eyebrows, as if to tell us he didn't think that was such a good idea. As it turns out, he had the last laugh since he just came back to his room still attached to his Berlin heart!
So a couple surprises to note. First, after exploring with the transesophegeal ECHO, there were no signs of either left or right ventricular blood clots. We believe the LV clots dissolved or otherwise left the heart last night or this morning with no noticeable effect. The RV clot was clearly there during this morning's ECHO so we think it may have dislodged during today's procedure. But most importantly, there is no evidence of the kind of pulmonary distress associated with a pulmonary embolism.
Second, and perplexingly, we still found no bleeding in the pericardium. Since Eddie's bleeding seemed to have stopped about two hours before surgery (we thought it was probably due to a clot in his chest tube), Dr. Cohen was inclined to trust his eyes and leave good enough alone. That means the Berlin stays in place and we'll wait to see if the bleeding eventually stops.
Since the clots have disappeared, we're more comfortable turning off the Heparin for a couple days which should help the bleeding slow down. If we can get the bleeding to stop, then we'll turn the Heparin back on which should keep the Berlin pump clean. Regardless, we're back to playing the "wait and see" game and it's far too early to declare any definitive victory . . .
Sarah and I were treated to a bonus once Eddie came back to the room. Typically the nurses ask us to leave while they change his Berlin dressings (both for sterility reasons as well as some parents have been known to faint), but they thought it was about time we saw what they do each day. Neither of us fainted, but we can assure you it's not a sight for the "faint of heart" (pun intended). The combination of his ECMO and heart surgery incisions, two Berlin heart cannulae sites and two chest drainage tubes would have brought a smile to Victor Frankenstein's face.
So that's it . . . we'll keep the (non-alcoholic) champagne corked for now :-), but will celebrate each small victory as we find them.
So a couple surprises to note. First, after exploring with the transesophegeal ECHO, there were no signs of either left or right ventricular blood clots. We believe the LV clots dissolved or otherwise left the heart last night or this morning with no noticeable effect. The RV clot was clearly there during this morning's ECHO so we think it may have dislodged during today's procedure. But most importantly, there is no evidence of the kind of pulmonary distress associated with a pulmonary embolism.
Second, and perplexingly, we still found no bleeding in the pericardium. Since Eddie's bleeding seemed to have stopped about two hours before surgery (we thought it was probably due to a clot in his chest tube), Dr. Cohen was inclined to trust his eyes and leave good enough alone. That means the Berlin stays in place and we'll wait to see if the bleeding eventually stops.
Since the clots have disappeared, we're more comfortable turning off the Heparin for a couple days which should help the bleeding slow down. If we can get the bleeding to stop, then we'll turn the Heparin back on which should keep the Berlin pump clean. Regardless, we're back to playing the "wait and see" game and it's far too early to declare any definitive victory . . .
Sarah and I were treated to a bonus once Eddie came back to the room. Typically the nurses ask us to leave while they change his Berlin dressings (both for sterility reasons as well as some parents have been known to faint), but they thought it was about time we saw what they do each day. Neither of us fainted, but we can assure you it's not a sight for the "faint of heart" (pun intended). The combination of his ECMO and heart surgery incisions, two Berlin heart cannulae sites and two chest drainage tubes would have brought a smile to Victor Frankenstein's face.
So that's it . . . we'll keep the (non-alcoholic) champagne corked for now :-), but will celebrate each small victory as we find them.
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