1. Little Man does have a tethered spinal cord. The column is supposed to be between the L1 and L2 portion of the spinal cord and his extends down to L3. Therefore, he will be undergoing the untethering surgery of the spinal cord.
2. We will be going to a pediatric urologist at UAB for a urodynamics test. A tube will be inserted into his bladder, while awake and electrodes hooked to him to determine the electricity in the bladder. This is a diagnostic test to determine the degree of the neurological damage already done due to the tethered cord.
3. We will also be going to another pediatric cardiologist at UAB to determine the exact degree of Little Man's aortic stenosis. (Remember the heart malformation from the womb that was found in this process.)
4. Based on the finds of the pediatric cardiologist, Little Man may have to have his heart valve replaced before we can have the untethering surgery. Due to the stenosis of the heart, putting him to sleep without further knowledge to the degree of stenosis in the heart, would put him at risk for greater complications.
So, worst case Little Man undergoes heart valve surgery, then the untethering surgery. Best case, we only have to have the untethering surgery done for now. The neurologist does not seem optimistic about not having to replace the valve first. So this is what we know for now. Praise God for the answers, and now knowing where we are headed with this, I ask that you all continue to pray for God's hands to direct the hands of the doctors. The heart and spinal are a big deal. Only God can do the work. Thank you for continuing to pray for Little Man and us. If any of this does not make sense, please feel free to ask questions in the comments section. I will be happy to answer them the best I can.
2 comments:
Wow. FINALLY a diagnosis and a plan. I'm glad you finally have some answers and I will continue to keep you guys in my prayers. Thanks for the updates.
My grandson, Brennan, had to have this done also (untethering surgery of the spinal cord and urodynamics test)when he was 6 years old. If you want to read anything about his experience, my stepdaughter blogged about. You will have to look in her archives (June 2006) her blog address is as follows: http://lisasmithblog.typepad.com/smith_blog/
Hope all goes well. V
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