At the first ultrasound, the tech (Patty) and the doctor could only see two chambers on baby's heart. But this time there were clearly three! I'm not sure if the first time they just couldn't get a good enough angle to see the other chamber, or if all our prayers are being answered. I can't help but think that at the next ultrasound with the cardiologist that maybe the fourth chamber will have developed also!
On the not quite as good side though, the cardiologist (Dr. Gremmels) said that this 3-chamber condition, which we believe he called heterotaxy, doesn't have set surgeries like HLHS. They use many of the same procedures as with HLHS, but there might be a fourth surgery, and the survival risk goes down a little. He said that there is no way that the underdeveloped lower chamber will develop (even with the surgeries). So eventually (like when she's 30-40ish), our baby girl will need a heart transplant when that one lower chamber poops out from doing the work of two lower chambers. The risks of transplants are fewer in an adult than an infant, which is why they would wait until she's older. But, I would also think that it would be easier to find an adult-sized heart that would match our daughter, than it would be to find a newborn-sized heart to match her blood type.
I guess, though, that the word heterotaxy means that when the baby's cells were dividing and figuring out who's doing what, that something went wrong and the cells got their lefts and rights mixed up. Which in some organs is okay. For example, our baby's lungs are probably backwards, but both lungs function the same, so it doesn't matter. The same works for the kidneys. But with the heart, the two sides do different things, and our baby's heart is a little shift to the right out of place. Since some organs are only on one side of the body, often with heterotaxy some organs don't develop. In the case of our baby, she doesn't have a spleen, and I'm wondering if she has two gall bladders then (which the doctor said is sometimes the case). She can live without a spleen (people have the removed everyday), but she will have a weakened immune system. The ultrasound tech said that her stomach is also on the wrong side, which we're not sure if it will be a big deal or not.
All of the people that we saw this time were extremely warm and welcoming. They took time to explain things in plain English, and were not at all scary. Granted, I hate driving to downtown St. Paul and parking in United's own parking ramp and having to pay; but it might be worth it to see these people again instead of scary doctor (who apparently my friend, Natalie's, mom knows) again.
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