They think it will take around 6 hours.
If they have to make adjustments on his
tricuspid valve (which has a small leak)
it will take an additional hour or so.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Friday, July 15, 2022
Fontan Surgery
Well... James did not have his Fontan Operation yet, but we have it scheduled.
After Wednesdays visit to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston we got it finalized that James (now 7 years old) will have the Fontan Operation at Texas Children’s Hospital. We had a consultation with the surgeon Dr. Heinle to explain the whole procedure and the scheduling team to get everything planned out.
We are going down to Houston in the end of the month and will meet with the team on August 1st for pre op. After his surgery he will be recovering in ICU for 24-48 hours. He will have drainage tubes from the heart making sure no fluid build up. He will remain at the Hospital for 7-10 days (until drainage tubes can be removed) and we will stay down in Houston for another week or so after being released. When James comes home he will have to stay home from school and away from physical activities for about 6 weeks (making sure his breast bone heals up).
The reason James did not have the surgery yet is because he had a few more complications at birth and has had high pressures in his heart, which could make this surgery very high risk and could cause other issues after the surgery. With help from our local cardiologist (Dr. Lemler) new medicines, and James himself, things have changed. Last heart catheterization he did in the middle of March this year, they saw his numbers (pressure) had gone down and the team at Texas Children’s Hospital finally said he would be ready for the surgery. He is still a high risk patient, but they all agree it is the next step for him. The goal of the third surgery (Fontan) is to disconnect his Inferior Vena Cava from his heart (No more oxygen poor blood) and connect it directly to the Pumonary Artery. After the Glenn operation, the oxygen poor and oxygen rich blood was mixing in the heart preventing oxygen levels to get as high. When the blood comes back from the lungs it will be oxygen rich and the right side will then pump it out to the body. In James case the surgeon will leave a fenstration, which means, a small hole from the Inferior Vena Cava will be left open to the heart, allowing a small amount of blood to come back to the heart if the pressure gets too high. This can close on its own if blood just passes by, or made bigger if needed. After this procedure his oxygen levels will be higher and his energy will increase.
After Wednesdays visit to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston we got it finalized that James (now 7 years old) will have the Fontan Operation at Texas Children’s Hospital. We had a consultation with the surgeon Dr. Heinle to explain the whole procedure and the scheduling team to get everything planned out.
We are going down to Houston in the end of the month and will meet with the team on August 1st for pre op. After his surgery he will be recovering in ICU for 24-48 hours. He will have drainage tubes from the heart making sure no fluid build up. He will remain at the Hospital for 7-10 days (until drainage tubes can be removed) and we will stay down in Houston for another week or so after being released. When James comes home he will have to stay home from school and away from physical activities for about 6 weeks (making sure his breast bone heals up).
The reason James did not have the surgery yet is because he had a few more complications at birth and has had high pressures in his heart, which could make this surgery very high risk and could cause other issues after the surgery. With help from our local cardiologist (Dr. Lemler) new medicines, and James himself, things have changed. Last heart catheterization he did in the middle of March this year, they saw his numbers (pressure) had gone down and the team at Texas Children’s Hospital finally said he would be ready for the surgery. He is still a high risk patient, but they all agree it is the next step for him. The goal of the third surgery (Fontan) is to disconnect his Inferior Vena Cava from his heart (No more oxygen poor blood) and connect it directly to the Pumonary Artery. After the Glenn operation, the oxygen poor and oxygen rich blood was mixing in the heart preventing oxygen levels to get as high. When the blood comes back from the lungs it will be oxygen rich and the right side will then pump it out to the body. In James case the surgeon will leave a fenstration, which means, a small hole from the Inferior Vena Cava will be left open to the heart, allowing a small amount of blood to come back to the heart if the pressure gets too high. This can close on its own if blood just passes by, or made bigger if needed. After this procedure his oxygen levels will be higher and his energy will increase.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Rock Your Scar Contest
Mended Little Hearts has a photo Contest every year to spread Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) awareness around the world! We want to show everyone how strong and courageous our heart warriors really are. Vote for James!
Click on the link below to vote for James:
https://woobox.com/zv52b9/gallery/Dy47uFNWAq4
Watch the youtube clip for the Contest:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3bGb1-USH_Y
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Texas Children’s Hospital Houston
James is now three and a half years old and is doing great. He is a boy full of energy and definitely keeping up with his big brother. If you didn’t James had a heart defect, you would never be able to tell.
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| James 3 1/2 years old |
On Wednesday May 23rd, 2018 we went to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston again. Yes, again. We have been preparing for James Fontan surgery and we believed he was going to have it this summer. Dr. Forbess who performed James previous surgeries is not at Dallas Children’s Medical Center anymore, he got a new job in Chicago and left. We really like Dallas Medical Center and we liked Dr. Forbess.
Another option we have considered and our second choice is to have James surgery performed in Houston by Dr. Heinle. That is why we were at Texas Children’s Hospital again. We met with Dr. Heinle (surgeon) and Dr. Moodie (cardiologist), they told us what they believe is best for James at this time. They think it is better we wait a year so James can grow and see if his blood pressure goes down. Since James had quite a high blood pressure in his lungs it created lateral veins in his heart. Dr. Nugent at Dallas Children’s MC was able to fuse some of James veins during the heart cath last year, but he created more this year which Dr. Nugent again could fuse when he had another heart cath this past March. In Dallas they said his blood pressure has gone down and weight is up, but not quite as much as hoped. James also started on a new meditation that will help the blood pressure go down, so they wanted to monitor that for a little longer.
We really liked Dr. Heinle, Dr. Moodie, and the rest of the straff at Texas Children’s Hospital. We made our decision. Now we know when James next surgery will happen. It will be next summer in Houston.
Another option we have considered and our second choice is to have James surgery performed in Houston by Dr. Heinle. That is why we were at Texas Children’s Hospital again. We met with Dr. Heinle (surgeon) and Dr. Moodie (cardiologist), they told us what they believe is best for James at this time. They think it is better we wait a year so James can grow and see if his blood pressure goes down. Since James had quite a high blood pressure in his lungs it created lateral veins in his heart. Dr. Nugent at Dallas Children’s MC was able to fuse some of James veins during the heart cath last year, but he created more this year which Dr. Nugent again could fuse when he had another heart cath this past March. In Dallas they said his blood pressure has gone down and weight is up, but not quite as much as hoped. James also started on a new meditation that will help the blood pressure go down, so they wanted to monitor that for a little longer.
We really liked Dr. Heinle, Dr. Moodie, and the rest of the straff at Texas Children’s Hospital. We made our decision. Now we know when James next surgery will happen. It will be next summer in Houston.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Happy 2nd Birthday James!
James just turned two years old on February 24 th. Unfortunately he had an earinfection and had to go to the doctor, so it was not the greatest birthday for him. James also had his 2 year check up at the same time. He is doing good, but he needs to gain some weight.
Last Tuesday we took James to see his cardiologist in Dallas, he got an EKG, and an ultrasound on his heart. James did really well, he was watching Despicable Me 2 the whole time with his arms behind his head.
The sonagrapher got really good pictures of James heart, and they noticed his tricuspid valve was leaking mild to moderate, which is a little more then previously. The doctors noticed small collateral vessels have developed and is bringing extra blood to the right ventricle. This has made the right ventricle to be dialated and creates the leaking of the tricuspid valve. To control the extra blood volume, James needs a cath procedure done to clamp off the blood flow through the collateral vessels. His doctor did not think it was an urgent procedure, but we have been scheduled to do it on March 31st.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
18 months old
James is 18 months old today and it was a big day for him. He had his first day at his preschool. James had so much fun and he met alot of new friends. James is still a little boy, but he is eating good, he weighed 20.4 lbs last week at the cardiologist. He hasn't been on a feeding tube for over 8 months now. He started walking at 16 months and he is full of energy. He loves playing with his brothers and speeding on his tricycle.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Almost 9 months old
James will be 9 months old on Tuesday. He is doing really well and is growing a lot. He is only seeing his cardiologist every other month and his eating has improved tremendously. He still has the tube in his nose and get his formula and medicine through it. He has started eating really good, and he is eating all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and meats. He is not drinking enough yet so that's why he is still using his tube. He is not vomiting much anymore either. We are very pleased with his improvements. He was measured and weighed on Saturday when he received his vaccination for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and he weighed 18 lbs and 3oz (8236gram) and he measured 27 inches (68cm). He will receive 4 more shots of the vaccine this winter because they only last for a month and he is a high risk baby and needs to be protected against this virus. On Tuesday he has his 9 month check up with his regular pediatrician to see if he is following the growth charts. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!
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| James 9 months old |
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