Back to the O.R.

Sorry. i thought this posted but instead i saved it as a draft...

Well, today was another step towards eventual decannualation!! I even got a picture of Miss T and the M-A-N Dr. Robin Cotton before the surgery! I felt honored to have him cuddle our T as she was screaming for a quick pic. It was like he was a celebrity holding our baby girl. He even sat down and told me a story of a picture and letter he recently rec'd of a boy he didn't recognize until he read the letter> it was of a boy who was graduating college 22yrs after he had his trachea reconstructed.

So,Back to the O.R. we went for the stent removal on Tues.They also told me it would be a couple of hours but it took about 45 minutes. Dr. Cotton's fellow (rt hand man)came into to the quiet room to discuss what took place. They did make an incision through the neck, released the sutures to the stent and out of the mouth it came. Pictures were next. Whenever pictures are involved I just shake my head and listen to words because airway pics are soooo confusing.

All in all, he said itlooked as it should at this point. They will know and do more next week during her next scope. Her trachea is accepting the rib graft and is starting to fuse together. Also the rib is in the beginning stages of growing cilia (which are the tiny hairs in a normal nose and throat that act as a filter). She is now on what they call QUAD therapy. 1st therapy is Decadron a steroid to help to strengthen her lungs and the new airway. 2nd therapy is Ciprodex which are drops they place in her trach, then cover the trach so she coughs and gags which allows those drops to swish up and down her airway and they are supposed to suppress or burn some of the granulation tissue before it gets too bad. 3rd therapy is Bactrim which is an antibiotic that she has and will be on for a total of 21 days to prevent infection. 4th therapy is a higher dose of Prevacid to help minimize the acidity in her tummy in case she vomits. Without the prevacid, the acid in her tummy would eat away at the rib graft if she were to vomit. so until next wk...