Out of surgery

Hi all,

Not sure how many of you might already have gotten an update, but wanted to send another just in case.

Yesterday Riley had palliative open heart surgery (the Glenn procedure, w/ TAPVR repair) and was in the operating theatre at UCSF for about 4 hrs. He was brought up to the PICU at about 5:30pm and we were able to see him then. The surgeon was pleased with the procedure and felt that the connection went well.

He was on a ventilator with all the same tubes and wires we remember from last year. The night was very rocky since he developed a fever (39.7 C or almost 104 degrees Fahrenheit) and his blood pressure was high. Bacterial infection is always a concern post-operatively but even more so for Riley because he is asplenic (no spleen). His fever eventually subsided, giving his doctors and family some relief. His blood oxygen saturation has been in the 70-75% range which is decent (pre-op he was in the low 60s). His skin tone is noticeably pinker (no more blue toes!).

Early this morning they removed the breathing tube and he has opened his eyes occasionally. He is still on heavy doses of morphine and dopamine and is receiving a second blood transfusion now to make sure his red blood cell count goes up. The surgeon and cardiologist came by this morning to say they are pleased with his progress. He should start coming around more this afternoon and should be able to drink fluids on his own within the next 24-48 hours. He'll stay in the PICU for the next 2-3 days at which point he'll be moved to a less intensive care section of the floor for up to a week before he comes home.

Mom and Dad (and Grampy, Grammy and Auntie Karen) are doing well but operating on very little sleep. Will send more updates as we can, there is a nice parent resource center with Internet access that is new since last year.

Best to all,

Ken & Suzanne