I'm pretty tired, so I'll make this quick.
John was noticably perkier today. Mind you, still extremely tired, just more alert. They were still giving him plasma when Van and I got there at 11:00. They finally took him for the ERCP, which is the acronym for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (that's a mouthful) around 3:45. The goal was to remove stones that were in the main bile duct from the liver to the small intestine. What the doctor found was a fistula that broke through near the end of the duct. The opening to the small intestine was partially closed and much too small for the stones. The doc was being very cautious not to cut unnecessarily and possibly cause a lot of bleeding to remove the large stones, so he opted to put in a stent so the bile can drain from the liver. The stent can stay in for 2-3 months. Either John will get a new liver in this timeframe and the stent can be removed then or the expectation is that his health will improve enough to be able to go back in a few months to remove the stent and the stones. John was in the recovery room by 5:00, then we went upstairs and waited for him to come back up at 7:00. He was very tired, so we left not too long after that. I just called his nurse and she said his vitals are good and he's sleeping. More to come....thank you for your prayers!! xo
1 comment:
I have been reading your story and I feel your pain/hope/frustration cycle.
The procedure you describe is in essence likely temporary, and a liver transplant may end up being the appropriate treatment.
Surgeons sometimes avoid tough cases. You may need to press them or get a second opinion. Cleveland is close and AGH has a liver group. Why not see what a second opinion says?
Sometimes you have to act before the MELD score gets above 30. MELDs over 30 can sometimes be seen as "too sick to transplant" although in the old days they were all that sick.
On the other hand, you really want to avoid a transplant if its not needed.
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