What Was That Surgery About?

James' first surgery was intended to fix his PDA.

What in the world is PDA? It certainly not stand for Public Display of Affection. HA!

PDA here stands for Patent Ductus Arteriosus. I will let the staff of Mayo Clinic explain it for all of us.

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a persistent opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. This normal connection, called the ductus arteriosus, is a necessary part of the baby's circulatory system before birth. It usually closes shortly after the baby is born. However, in some individuals it remains open (patent). When this occurs, it's called a patent ductus arteriosus.
A small patent ductus arteriosus often doesn't cause symptoms or problems and may never need treatment. Untreated, a large patent ductus arteriosus can cause too much poorly oxygenated blood to flow through the heart, weakening the heart muscle and causing heart failure and other complications.
Treatment options for repairing a patent ductus arteriosus include monitoring, medications, and closure by cardiac catheterization or surgery.

• The reason James had PDA is because he was born too early. As a pre-term baby, his body isn't able to close the ductus arteriosus.

Some of the treatments that the doctor gave for James' PDA were:

Medications. For premature babies, it's possible your baby's doctors may use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or indomethacin (Indocin), to help close a PDA. NSAIDs block the hormone-like chemicals in the body that keep the PDA open. NSAIDs won't close a PDA in full-term babies, children or adults. Recent research has found that paracetamol — commonly known as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) in the U.S. — also may be effective in helping to close PDAs, but more research is needed to confirm this finding.

• The echocardiogram shows that there is a decrease in size of the ductus arteriosus, but they also found out that there is a diastolic backflow to his lungs. This won't be good for James in the long run. His body won't get the proper blood circulation and other complications if the PDA isn't treated... so the next step is to do a surgery.

Open-heart surgery. If medications haven't closed the PDA, and your baby's condition has caused health problems, open-heart surgery may be recommended.

Now, if you opted not to watch the video of ligation of PDA from the previous post, here is in written form of  how the procedure is done:

During the surgery, a surgeon will make a small cut between your child's ribs to reach your child's heart and repair the open duct using stitches or clips. After the surgery, your child will remain in the hospital for several days for observation. It usually takes a few weeks for your child to fully recover. Open-heart surgery may also be recommended for adults who have a PDA that's causing health problems. Possible risks include bleeding, infection, a paralyzed diaphragm and hoarseness.

I hope this will explain better as to why James had to have a surgery. Next post, the aftermath of the surgery, and more tribulations. Stay tune :)

Praying for a little miracle in each day,
Ryan & Gabby