Well, once again the call goes out for prayers, positive energy, good thoughts,
etc., for No. 2 Son, Benjamin, who will be admitted to the Maine Medical Center
on Sunday, and on Monday will undergo an aerobic valve replacement.
You may recall back in December 2010 when Ben suffered congestive heart failure
and we almost lost him. Your positive energy was much appreciated at the time.
though the past year he has shown slow and steady improvement in his heart
function, to the point where now his cardiologist and cardiac surgeon believe
he's well enough to undergo the surgery. We've got a real cracker-jack of a
surgeon, so there are no worries in that department.
The plan is a Ross Procedure, which is where the surgeon replaces the aerobic
valve with the patient's pulmonary valve, and then replaces the pulmonary valve
with either a cadaver valve or an animal valve. The benefit of the Ross
Procedure is that the patient does not require blood thinners, as would be the
case with an artificial valve. The surgeon did warn us, however, that once he
gets in, he may have to fall back to an artificial valve if Ben's pulmonary
valve doesn't seem a likely candidate for moving. In that case, he plans to use
an experimental (in the US) On-X valve (which has been approved for use in
other parts of the world for a _long_ time). The benefit of the On-X valve is
that Ben will need Plavix rather than Coumadin.
We were amazed that they typical hospital stay for this surgery is 4-5 days.
Who'd-a-thunk? And, if you're interested, the Ross Procedure is the subject of
a series of YouTube videos under the auspices of the Cleveland Clinic. I was
astonished as I watched the operation (severely condensed) at how capable and
confident the surgeons were. Ben's family practice doctor, who was in the Air
Force before setting up private practice, calls it "Fighter Pilot Mentality."
(Go, Chris!) He says these types of surgeons are like fighter pilots: they're
so well trained and so confident that it never occurs to them that they can't
do it, and they are extremely capable of reacting to any contingency. After
viewing the video, I believe it. <g>
The issue, other than standard dangers of this type of surgery, is that Ben,
who has autism and mental retardation, doesn't understand what needs to be
done. He has no incentive to cooperate. Fortunately, the surgeon has done this
operation on children and other mentally handicapped individuals, so he's
confident that he and the hospital staff can manage any issues that arise. To
date the staff has been most compassionate and helpful, and has kept in touch
to keep us apprised of their plans. For example, contrary to policy, Ben should
get a room by himself so as not to cause some other poor soul to suffer loud
outbursts, etc. They've also worked with us to streamline the admission process
on Sunday so has to minimize anxiety provoking incidents that come with waiting
around for clerical details to be ironed out.
At any rate, I'm planning to take a laptop with me next week, and good lord
willin' and the crick don't rise, will be on and off, messing around with
stuff, including this list.
But in the event I'm not, have a happy thought for Ben on Monday--particularly
you UK and Continent types, who can get the positive energy flowing while Ben's
still asleep. <g> At the moment, the surgery is scheduled for 6:15 a.m., but he
could be bumped until later in the day for any of a number of reasons, mostly
having to do with patients in more acute distress.
Thanks in advance!
--Bob
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