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Abby............12.27.07
She's gonna need surgery =*(
Today was Abby's urodynamics testing. The test
involved catheterizing her to empty her bladder, then using the
catheter to insert a dye into her bladder, watching her bladder fill up
and then watching how it empties. The end result is that the sphincter
stays to tight and doesn't allow her bladder to empty all at one time,
just in spurts. The diagnosis on top of the tethered spinal cord is a
neurogenic bladder. They put her on a medicine that is supposed to
help relax the sphincter and release the urine. If the urine is not
released, it can damage both the bladder and the kidneys.
The good news is that right now, we don't have to catherize her at home. In the future, we may have to in order to help her empty her bladder.
Her neurosurgeon said that if this test came back with any issues at all, we will do surgery. So that is where we stand now. I'm not sure when it will be. They are supposed to call within the next couple of days.
The good news is that right now, we don't have to catherize her at home. In the future, we may have to in order to help her empty her bladder.
Her neurosurgeon said that if this test came back with any issues at all, we will do surgery. So that is where we stand now. I'm not sure when it will be. They are supposed to call within the next couple of days.
Abby............12.27.07This discussion has been closed.
Re: She's gonna need surgery =*(
Cycle #11: BFP
Mother's Day, 2011
hugs, momma. ?sorry you didn't get the news you were hoping for. ?is the surgery pretty routine?
i've been thinking about you guys and will keep you in my prayers.?
The surgery is routine in the fact that it is performed regularly. The hard part is distinguishing nerves from fat and not cutting any extra nerves that control the bladder, bowels, or lower half of her body.
Also, she'll have to be completely still on her belly for 4 days straight along with weeks of limited movement.
I'm devistated at the thought of a scar on her back--as superficial as this seems, it is the outward sign that there is something wrong, ya know?
I'm so sorry the tests came back with issues. Please know that your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
((hugs))
As someone who has massive scars on her chest and side from surgery as a kid... The scars will fade. Getting it fixed now, while she can barely remember the pain, etc. is what's best.
I'm sorry you're going through this.
11 months
Hugs and prayers to you and your baby.?
ugh - i'm sorry - that completely and totally sucks.. :-(
i know what you mean about the scars - don't worry about sounding superficial.. and for what it's worth i know they can do a lot more these days to help minimize outward scars. and pixy is right - getting her all fixed up now is definitely the best thing to do..
good luck to all of you and i'll keep you in my thoughts. and as an unrelated side note - abby look freakin ADORABLE in her little easter bonnet in your siggy! *hugs*
my bfp chart!
our hippy baby blog
((hugs)) My thoughts are with you guys! It must be pretty scary
Btw, your siggy is adorable! What a beautiful girl!(((hugs))) sorry that she's going to have to have surgery but I agree - it's better to have it done now and get things corrected and in time she's not going to remember the surgery at all then to have to have it done later. Any idea when she'll have to have the surgery?
Will the surgery not help to correct anything relating to her bladder? I know you mentioned in the future you might have to cathetar her. Was that just before the surgery or will that be a long term issue. I know all about the whole emptying bladder, are they putting her on antibiotics until they can get her bladder to empty properly. That's what they had to do with Noel to make sure that the issue wasn't causing him an infection while they corrected it.
As for the scar thing - your right to worry about it (I know I did) but in the long run it won't be that big of a deal even to her. I'd imagine the scar will be lower right since it's on the base of the spinal column or am I incorrect. I worried about Noel's scar for awhile and it bothered me that he was already going to have something marring his poor little body. They told me it would be very small and much like a c-sec scar but in the end the issue was more complicated than they thought and they had to make the incision larger. He has a good 4 inch scar across his pelvis and it does look wicked but really, I only see it when I change his diaper and the only time anyone will see it as he gets older are people he's *ahem* having sex with. Maybe it will make a nice battle scar for him! If her scar is lower than it's likely no one will ever even know it's there unless she wants them to. And I have a nasty scar under my chin from a falling off a bedbunk accident and people always used to notice it when I was a kid but now that I'm older you can't really see it. The longer you have a scar the less noticable it's going to be.
Sorry that you guys are having to go through this at all. Keep us updated and I'll keep you in our prayers.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and your thoughts and prayers. They mean so much to us. To answer some questions:
The surgery may or may not fix the bladder issue. They can never be sure until it is preformed.
While it is good that she is having the surgery while she is young, it most likely will not be the last one. Most of the time, a tethered cord, once detethered, will retether itself to the scar tissue from previous surgery(ies). This is more likely to occur during growth spurts, so until she's a teenager, it will always have the chance of retethering. It seems to be most common at around age 8 or 9.
I'm updating the prayer chain to post. Abby's health is on many prayer chains, all praying for answears and healing.
(((hugs)))
Thanks, Jenni
I'm so sorry, I can't imagine being told your baby needs surgery.
I've actually had the bladder procedure done that she had because of chronic UTI's and some sonogram abnormalities of the bladder. Did the doctor give you any antibiotics? I ALWAYS get a UTI after a catheter, preventative antibiotics are wonderful.