6 Days Post Op - LP Shunt Surgery

On Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Stephanie underwent Lumboperitoneal Shunt Surgery in order to assist in the drainage of excess cerebral spinal fluid from her brain.  There were three incisions - one on her spine where the catheter fed up through her spinal column, one on her side/hip where the actual valve is placed under the skin, and one on her abdomen where the catheter is fed in to her peritoneal cavity to drain the fluid which is reabsorbed by the body.

Surgery was roughly 2 hours long and she did very well.  She woke up from anesthesia without any complications and was trying to sit up immediately. We were transferred to a surgical ward and expected to stay in hospital for about 2-3 days.  The first night was a tough one and she was very uncomfortable.  It wasn't until 6 am the next day that she finally settled and slept solid all day with the help of morphine.  That night she threw up a bit and settled back down.  The following morning she was feeling much better and we were even released to go home to continue with recovery. 

Most days since she has been sleeping about 18 hours a day, being up for 2-3 hours a couple times per day.  The incisions were closed with dissolving stitches and seem to be healing well.  There is some bruising at each site but nothing extraordinary and swelling is minimal.  As I write this it is has been 6 days since surgery and today was the first day that she really seemed to be in pain or having some kind of symptoms.  I gave her some Tylenol 3, a good rest, and then some Coca Cola (caffeine) to help any low pressure symptoms or abdominal pain she may have been having.  The surgeon said signs of infection generally show up around 1 month after surgery, if at all.

We have a follow up appointment with the neurosurgeon and the neurologist on March 8, 2013 and will find out more about her recovery and future plans for the corpus callosotomy surgery and seizure control.

Here's hoping that this shunt is helpful for Stephanie by giving her some relief from the high pressure and maybe even some positive progress with her vision! (I have posted pictures in the page on the right.)

Sooner Than Expected

I was informed a few days ago that Stephanie's shunt surgery is now scheduled for this coming Tuesday, February 12th.  She's already had her pre-op physical this week and will meet with Anaesthesia next Monday.  The paediatrician put her on antibiotics since he confirmed she also has an ear infection that has been perforated! I am definitely getting nervous and hope she can tolerate the miserable first week of low pressure headaches and surgery recovery in general.  The last 6 days or so she is constantly saying, "Mommy, I'm tired", and will want to lay down in bed.  This is so concerning for us and we wonder if her pressure is really high or if it is just her medication making her feel this lousy.  I guess next week's implant will tell us if she gets some relief.

Stephanie is looking forward to having Auntie Karen and some family over tomorrow for turkey dinner and a great visit!  I will post again probably the day of surgery to keep everyone updated of her progress.

Have a pleasant weekend!  The weather is supposed to be quite mild for us, yay!!

- Dar

Shunt Surgery News

Well, as always, things aren't going to go quite as planned.  Stephanie and I met with the neurosurgeon yesterday and we are planning to implant a shunt within the next couple of weeks.  A special valve has to be ordered so we are hoping for around the 19th of February. 

The unexpected part came when the surgeon said Stephanie can't have a brain shunt (ventriculoperitoneal shunt) because her ventricles are too small.  That leaves us with gettting a lumboperitoneal shunt.  This goes into her spine on her lower back and the valve sits under the skin by her oblique muscles and the drain tube runs into her abdomen in the front.  I am nervous enough about having something foreign implanted into my little girl, but it makes me even more uneasy knowing that this kind of shunt can cause another serious condition called Chiari Malformation wherein the brain eventually malforms by getting "sucked in" a bit into the spinal column at the base of your brain/neck.  It is a risk, a small one, but it happens to people and I had already read alot about it on one of the forums I frequent.  These are real people dealing with this additional condition.  Yikes!  One day at a time Darlyn, one day at a time.

So the next couple of weeks will consist of a few more appointments - pre-op physical, anesthesia follow up etc.

As for some good news, Stephanie is really enjoying our new home!  We moved a couple of weeks ago and it has been great for all of  us to spend time on the same level.  We moved from a two story house into a bungalow and it was a good decision!  She is enjoying exploring the new space and my husband and I are able to include her in more daily activities since she used to spend most of her time in her room on the second floor.  He even had her sweeping the kitchen yesterday!

Until next post - keep smiling!