Diaphragmatic hernia repair

Hello all,

We're back, blogging again! We had a nice Christmas, Lacey's first one at home!

Two weeks ago, during a follow-up appt with the cardiologist, he was suspicious of something with Lacey's lung not inflating all the way. We went to the pulmonologist, who determined that her lungs were fine, but she has a hernia in her diaphragm. There is a loop of bowel protruding through the hernia, putting some pressure on her lung. The pulmonologist wanted to get her in to surgery soon, but it was not an emergency situation.

So now we are back at UCLA. Lacey was admitted into surgery at 7:30 this morning, and so far the surgery is going well. They are able to do the procedure laparoscopically so far, which means she'll be able to come home sooner. We praise God for that answered prayer! (Of lesser importance, it also means that they are using the HD camera that I worked on!)

Lacey is at "moderate risk" for the anesthesia, because of her heart history. This was news to us this morning.

If everything goes as planned, they will extubate right after the procedure, and she will go straight to the pediatric floor and not need to go to the ICU. She will have to stay only 1 or 2 nights. However, we'll see what the Lord unfolds for us.

I just received an update. They are suturing her up, and everything is going well. Praise God! The surgeon will come and speak with us in a few minutes...