On Monday we had our follow-up ultra and echo; the results were very good. The most important piece of information that we received was the cardiac score (lower is better) of the twins. Pre-operation, the score was 7; post-op, the score was 2. Boo-yah. That's not perfect (a score of zero is ideal), but it's much better.
The donor has a small but visible bladder and, as a result, some amniotic fluid around him. Excellent news. The recipient's heart is functioning better, though he's still adjusting to the surgery and pumping out a bit too much amniotic fluid, which is not ideal. During the operation, doctors removed 1400 ml of amniotic fluid from his sac, leaving him with a Deepest Vertical Pocket of approximately 6.5 cm. At the follow-up a week post-op, the DVP had grown to 8.1 cm. Dr. Johnson informed us that this increase was not uncommon and that the recipient will most likely slow his output of fluid as his body acclimates to receiving the appropriate amount of nutrition from the placenta, rather than the excessive amount he was receiving pre-op.
All told, the surgery and its immediate aftermath have gone as well as possible. To quote Dr. Johnson, "the only way it could have gone better is if we'd found a sack of diamonds in there."
We're back in Brooklyn now. C's mom has left us and been replaced by C's sister and niece. Pretty awesome to have such support from our families. Lucky. C is off total bed rest, and is now on modified bed rest (no lifting, traveling, etc...). Still drinking Ensure thrice daily, but finding better ways to do it (in a milkshake?).
On Friday, we meet our new doctor in NYC, Dr. Lynn Simpson. She specializes in high-risk pregnancies and comes highly recommended.
Thanks to our friends and family for letting us lean on them. Thanks to our doctors for taking care of us. Thank you so much.
No comments:
Post a Comment