More Surgery

Well this week has been very eventful and it's only Thursday. Juliana's nurse (one of our favorites) noticed a little murmur when listening to her heart. She has also had some issues arising lately with her urine output decreasing and had gained over 100 grams in one night (that's like 3 oz.). So the docs ordered an ultrasound of her heart and it turns out that her PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) is back. A PDA is when a valve in the heart which normally closes shortly after birth remains open. She had already received a medication for this which closed it, but it is now open again. They could have given her another dose of the medication, but it is contraindicated for the other issues that she has in her intestines especially following the abdominal surgery she just had 11 days ago. So the only other option is more surgery.

Of course any type of surgery for Juliana's tiny body is going to be risky, but with the condition of her lungs being so poor this was even more risky. During the procedure the doctors put a small incision on her left side and moved the left lung to get to her heart. A tiny titanium clip (about the size of a staple folded in half) was used to close the valve. She was very stable throughout the procedure and her blood pressure started to improve almost immediately. We are hoping that this procedure will take a lot of stress off her heart and lungs and allow more oxygenated blood to get to her other organs like her kidneys that need it.

Her lungs are still very sick with BPD and the right lung collapse still has not resolved. Please keep praying for the healing of her lungs and overall health.