Two Steps Forward One Step Back

Sara and I met with the Cardiologist earlier this evening and didn't quite get the news we had hoped for. Olivia will need a B-T Shunt (or version thereof) to provide adequate blood supply to her lungs. 

The colaterals that seemed adequate on the echo, after being visualized in 3-D on the MRI were a dissapointment. One was "kind of satisfactory" and the other was "puny." This turns out exactly why they wanted an MRI done - to be able to visualize in 3-D vs just the 2-D Ultrasound pictures. The cardiology team was not comfortable that the existing collaterals would allow her to grow to an acceptable size for surgery.

Since Olivia's main Pulmonary Artery exiting the right side of her heart running to her lungs, is pretty much non-existent, the branches off this main vessel that feed the right and left side of her lungs are also extremely underdeveloped.  The Cardiology team feels that the sooner we ca

n restore 'adequate' blood flow to her minimal pulmonary areteries, the better our chances will be to stimulate them to grow the way they should. Hopefully the re-establishment of normal pressure gradients will also cause stretch in these vessels , leaqding them to respond the way they would have, if her main Pulmonary Artery would have developed. The window to get these vessels to respond starts to close soon after birth, so in Olivia's case, doing surgery soon, is better than waiting 3-4 months.

The Cardiology Team, Cardiac Surgeon, & Radiologist are planning to meet sometime tomorrow morning to discuss treatment options and will devise a surgical plan for our little Angel. 

This could happen as early as Thursday, but more likely Friday or Monday.