Unexpected Results from the Heart Catherization

Lynnea had her heart catherization this morning. The procedure itself went fine without any complications. Unfortunately, the results were a bit unexpected. This catherization was done in preparation for her next open-heart surgery, the Glen procedure. It turns out that she is not a candidate for this procedure right now because of some completely unforeseen blockage in some of her pulmonary veins that carry oxygenated blood from her lungs to her heart. These veins are not something that have been previously operated on (so the blockage isn't scar tissue from surgery; the part of her pulmonary artery that has been worked on runs from her heart to her lungs) so, there is no explanation for the blockage. This problem will need to be taken care of with more surgery before considering her as a candidate for the Glen procedure is even an option. Also, they found that there is some blockage in her aortic arch. They attempted to open this area up with a balloon, but were unsuccessful, most likely because much of this area has been patched with Gortex, which doesn't stretch very well. So, this problem will also need to be addressed surgically at some point. Right now we don't know what, or when, they plan on doing next. Later this afternoon, she will be seen by the doctor that performed her Nissen (the procedure that fixed her esophagus to stop her reflux problems) will see her and try to determine what should be done about her spitting up. This might involve re-doing her Nissen, which might take precedence over her heart surgeries for now, but we'll see. For now, Lynnea is hanging out in the PICU while she recovers from her heart cath. Hopefully later she'll get to move to the general floor.