Lilith is being Transferred: Evaluation by an ENT?
They tried to extubate Lilith for the 6th time yesterday. She struggled to breath once again. The dotor said she looked fine, but her blood gas showed that she wasn't expelling her CO2. He said when he re-intubated her, he could tell that her lower airway was still tight. Her airway has been tight for several weeks now. They were hoping the tightness was just from swelling, but she has had 2 rounds of steroids, and numerous vapo treatments - nothing has worked. She has to be scoped and evaluated by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist, and there are no pediatric ENT's at our current hospital, so she is being transffered. I know the transfer is best for her, and I am relieved that we are finally taking action when it comes to her airway (as opposed to letting her "rest and grow" more), but I am sad to be leaving our current NICU. We love her nurses and RT's and we love the fact that she has her own room. The hospital to which she is being transferred is bay style and I worry that, somehow, that will make Lilith's nurses less attentive. We are going to visit the new NICU today.
Anyway, has anybody else dealt with an ENT? Other than Lily being scoped, what should I expect? Any piece of advice would be helpful. TIA!
Re: Lilith is being Transferred: Evaluation by an ENT?
My DD was in a "bay", or "pod" style setup and I didn't find the nurses to be any less attentive. In fact, having multiple nurses in the pod made sure that someone was always around if something happened, and all the nurses got to know her.....so in case our "primary" nurse wasn't available, one of them could easily step in and be comfortable with DD and with us.
As for the breathing issues : it was suspected at one time that DD had something called subglottic stenosis, which is basically a swelling of the trachea. It can happen for various reasons, like being on a vent for a while, or it could be congenital and she just has a tiny airway. I wonder if something like that is happening for your baby.