Blog friends.
A good friend of mine, Anita, and her family are going through a difficult time right now. They are currently in Michigan, awaiting surgery for their four year old son, Colin. (Our son's have the same name...one of the many things that drew us together and that we have in common.)
Here is the procedure that Colin is having in the morning, and the description of his heart problem in Anita's own words:
He is having a procedure called the Konno-Ross procedure.
Colin has a congenital heart defect called aortic stenosis. His aorta valve is really narrow. This causes his heart to have work harder to pump blood.
He had a heart cath in May, unfortunately is was not very successful.
In the Konno-Ross procedure they take Colin's healthy pulmonary valve and replace his diseased aorta valve. They will then replace the pulmonary valve with a cadaver valve. They also have to replace the part of Colin's heart where the valve connects. I'll see if I can find a link that explains it better.
I copied and pasted this from the U of M website. This is exactly what Colin will be undergoing.
"Valve replacements alone are not always enough to relieve the narrowing out the ventricle. Sometimes the whole area leading out of the ventricle to the aorta is too small. The supporting structure of the valve, called the valve annulus, may be too narrow even if the leaflets are opened up as far as possible. In these cases the valve replacement is performed with a procedure called a Konno procedure. This involves enlarging the left ventricular outflow tract and the valve ring. It is done through an incision into the outflow tract of the right ventricle and the septum or wall between the right and left ventricles. A patch is placed in this area that enlarges it. The Konno procedure can be done with any type of aortic valve replacement.Ross procedure: This is one type of valve replacement operation. The surgeon makes an incision down the center of the breastbone. The heart is stopped for a brief period of time while a heart lung bypass machine supports the body.The coronary arteries are removed from the aortic valve and the diseased aortic valve is removed. The person's own pulmonary valve is then removed from its position in the right ventricular outflow tract and sewn into place as the new aortic valve. The coronary arteries are then reattached to the new valve. A tissue valve, called a homograft or an allograft, is then sewn in the place where the person's own pulmonary valve was removed. This valve is from a human donor and is not live tissue so it will not be rejected by the person's own immune system. It is expected that the tissue valves will need to be replaced in five to ten years but since this is a fairly new procedure the actual frequency of valve replacements is not yet known."
So...as you can see, this is a very scary situation for them. I can not imagine one of my boys having to undergo such a serious surgery.
please pray for them. They need all they can get.
His surgery is scheduled for 7:15 tomorrow morning, and will last anywhere from 3-6 hours. He will be on a ventilator for a few days and then in PICU for at least a week being heavily sedated so that they can manage his pain. Once they wean him from the vent, he will be moved to a regular floor. Hopefully they will be home in three to four weeks.
I'll update as soon as I hear how he is doing.
Thanks.
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2 comments:
OneHung will keep your friends in his prayers. However, you'll have to fault him for not being able to read your entire post. Before having a child of his own, he could have handled it, but not now.
They will be in my thoughts and prayers.
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