Surgery Update & Thank You's

Age: 16 days
Gestational Age: 26w
Weight: 1lb 2.5oz

Little Miss Ava had the surgery to close her PDA today and it went as planned!! No complications and she handled it very well. The doctors said she will get worse before she gets better; meaning her oxygen saturation levels will still go up and down and hopefully after a few days of recovery she will be more stable (holding at 93% or higher on a low ventilator setting). It all depends on how well her lungs have matured. Her doctor was aggressive in turning down the settings on her ventilator soon after the surgery. She went from 38% oxygen down to 25%. Normal room air is 21%. This doesn't mean she will be off the ventilator soon; it’s just a good start and again depends on her lungs.


I also want to say thank you to everyone for their care and concern! All your prayers and kind words mean so much!! Also, thank you to John and Abby...friends of friends who donated blood for Ava. They came by the hospital yesterday and it was a pleasure meeting them and their 5 week old son! It's so nice to know that even complete strangers are willing to help out! It restores some faith that people are by nature kind hearted. I know there are so many people who I've never met that are willing to help Ava, so please, if someone you know has donated blood or even just said a prayer for her, pass along the information to this blog. I would like everyone who has played a part in her life to be able to keep up with her progress. And I know there is no way I could keep up with them all, so this is the next best thing!

Patent Ductus Arteriosus
The ductus arteriosus is a short blood vessel that connects the main blood vessel supplying the lungs to the aorta, the main blood vessel that leaves the heart. Its function in the unborn baby is to allow blood to bypass the lungs, because oxygen for the blood comes from the mother and not from breathing air. In full-term babies, the ductus arteriosus closes shortly after birth, but it frequently stays open in premature babies. When this happens, excess blood flows into the lungs and can cause breathing difficulties and sometimes heart failure. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is often treated with a medication called indomethacin or ibuprofen, which is successful in closing the ductus arteriosus in more than 80% of infants requiring these medications. However, if medical therapy fails, then surgery may be required to close the ductus.