cherylchapa
Well-known member
I wrote this for his care page so it may be more layman's terms than some of the more experienced here are used to but I'm tired to I am just going to cut and paste.
Chris is finally home and resting. He's sore and tired but a little restless. No school tomorrow.
So as is always the case with these things, we have good news and bad news. Hopefully, I will get this right...
The good news: The left side of the heart which pumps blood to the body is normal size and doing fine. And the ventricular septal defect (hole between the two sides of the heart) that the first surgeon left alone has closed on it's own. And his pulmonary pressure is good.
The bad news: The right side of the heart is at least twice the size it should be and the pulmonary arteries are the size of a 1-year-old's. The pulmonary valve is completely gone and will have to be replaced sooner than later. These two problems combine to give him the shortness of breath, chest pain, and exhaustion. His heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood up into those tiny little arteries and then once it gets up there, there is no valve to keep it from flowing right back down into the heart instead of over the arches and into the lungs.
Dr. Weiner was not at all impressed with the job the first surgeon did ten years ago. Chris will most likely need a new patch to open up his pulmonary arteries and he may need some stents to open up some of the arteries. Once his pulmonary valve is replaced, the clock starts ticking. Replacement valves don't last forever and he will undoubtedly outgrow the first one in 8-10 years. So he will be looking forward to a replacement every 10-15 years for the rest of his life. Fortunately, there is a transcatheter placed valve that is in the process of FDA approval and it may be ready by the time he needs the next size up. If that happens and he is a candidate, it would mean no more open heart surgeries. Just another day in the cath lab just like today.
He also has an aortic aneurism but it isn't the kind of thing that is weak and bursts. It is just a wide area in the aorta that may or may not have been there all along. And there is some kind of membrane on the aorta near the valve. Not sure what that is or if it will ever cause a problem but we will keep an eye on it.
I can't say that I am pleased with the results but I am glad that we won't have to wait much longer for him to get some relief. He has had such a rough time. This surgery may be what he needs to stop getting sick all the time and keep up with his peers. He may even grow some. No guarantees but we'll see.
Dr. Weiner will present his recommendations to the heart board when they meet on Wednesday morning. If all are in agreement, he will ask Dr. Richard N. Gates to schedule an appointment and get us on his surgical schedule.
So there you have it. Chris is obviously not looking forward to surgery but he is looking forward to feeling better. Please keep him in your prayers and good thoughts.
Thanks to everyone here for your experience, support, answers, understanding, and everything else that you do. I would be lost without this forum to bounce everything off of.
Chris is finally home and resting. He's sore and tired but a little restless. No school tomorrow.
So as is always the case with these things, we have good news and bad news. Hopefully, I will get this right...
The good news: The left side of the heart which pumps blood to the body is normal size and doing fine. And the ventricular septal defect (hole between the two sides of the heart) that the first surgeon left alone has closed on it's own. And his pulmonary pressure is good.
The bad news: The right side of the heart is at least twice the size it should be and the pulmonary arteries are the size of a 1-year-old's. The pulmonary valve is completely gone and will have to be replaced sooner than later. These two problems combine to give him the shortness of breath, chest pain, and exhaustion. His heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood up into those tiny little arteries and then once it gets up there, there is no valve to keep it from flowing right back down into the heart instead of over the arches and into the lungs.
Dr. Weiner was not at all impressed with the job the first surgeon did ten years ago. Chris will most likely need a new patch to open up his pulmonary arteries and he may need some stents to open up some of the arteries. Once his pulmonary valve is replaced, the clock starts ticking. Replacement valves don't last forever and he will undoubtedly outgrow the first one in 8-10 years. So he will be looking forward to a replacement every 10-15 years for the rest of his life. Fortunately, there is a transcatheter placed valve that is in the process of FDA approval and it may be ready by the time he needs the next size up. If that happens and he is a candidate, it would mean no more open heart surgeries. Just another day in the cath lab just like today.
He also has an aortic aneurism but it isn't the kind of thing that is weak and bursts. It is just a wide area in the aorta that may or may not have been there all along. And there is some kind of membrane on the aorta near the valve. Not sure what that is or if it will ever cause a problem but we will keep an eye on it.
I can't say that I am pleased with the results but I am glad that we won't have to wait much longer for him to get some relief. He has had such a rough time. This surgery may be what he needs to stop getting sick all the time and keep up with his peers. He may even grow some. No guarantees but we'll see.
Dr. Weiner will present his recommendations to the heart board when they meet on Wednesday morning. If all are in agreement, he will ask Dr. Richard N. Gates to schedule an appointment and get us on his surgical schedule.
So there you have it. Chris is obviously not looking forward to surgery but he is looking forward to feeling better. Please keep him in your prayers and good thoughts.
Thanks to everyone here for your experience, support, answers, understanding, and everything else that you do. I would be lost without this forum to bounce everything off of.
