Couldn't believe it!

[surfsparky]

Chris just had his latest 6 month ultrasound to see how his homograft (pulmonary position because he had the Ross Procedure) was going as since his surgery in '03, the homograft was beginning to 'thicken' / scar over (what they think may be an immune response). The last two ultrasounds prior to this one showed a steady increase in the gradients across the valve to the point that it became moderate/severe. It went from initially being 5mmHg to 42 mmHG over the course of the 2 years. (Apparently they operate at around the 50mmHg mark) As this is somewhat unchartered territory (in Australia anyway!), they said that the best we could hope for is that the scarring would slow down/ stop, and that it would hopefully stay at the same gradients (42mmHG). So...at the last ultrasound the tech was doing the test repeatedly and looking somewhat perplexed. We found out that this is because not only had the scarring stopped, but it had also decreased! We are now in the 'mild" range (28mmHG), which was an incredible relief and answer to prayer. (I think I cried just as much that day as when Chris went in for surgery!). The doctors are not sure how/why this has happenened, but it's such a good feeling knowing that surgery is not imminent in the next year or two. The ultrasound also showed that Chris chamber measurements of his heart are also nearly back to normal!
Just had to share our news with you...(I'm so excited! Probably also due to the fact that my emotional hormones running high too as we're having a baby in Feb!)
Thanks too, to all those that contribute so much of their time/ knowledge/ experience to this great site,
Yolanda (Chris' wife)

 

[Phyllis]

That's wondeful news, Congratulations on the good report and the baby as well. We know how relieved you must feel!

 

[Mary]

Wonderful news, Yolanda. It must seem like a miracle to everyone involved. I would also like to offer my congratulations on your pregnancy. February isn't that far away.

 

[geebee]

Certainly happy news. I hope things continue to go your way.

 

[PJmomrunner]

What wonderful news!

 

[OldManEmu]

This is great news that Chris's Homograft has reversed its deterioration. I hope Chris's Homegraft is one that is still going strong at 25+ years.

 

[Gemma]

Wow Yolanda, that's fantastic news!
And congratulations on your upcoming parenthood too

 

[cocoalab]

Wonderful news Yolanda and congratualtions on your baby! Can't wait to get to know him or her! I am so happy for you and chris.

 

[tobagotwo]

This is great news! We'll have to keep track of this posting for a long time, for the benefit of others who follow in Chris's footsteps...

Very best wishes,

 

[Ambience]

It could be that the previous echo tech took the measurements wrong. When I was in my mid teens, the measured some severe levels of my heart and then rushed me in for a catherization. Turns out the tech just took incompetent readings as my measurements came out almost exactly as a prior echo.

 

[Abbanabba]

I'm so glad the scarring seemed to have reversed. I was getting really worried when I read the first half of your thread!!

Hope things continue to go well and good luck for the new addition to the family in February.

Best wishes to you both,
Anna : )

 

[surfsparky]

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your replies...it's so nice to be able to share good news, as well as the bad. Thanks too for your best wishes on our upcoming new addition in Feb! It won't be our first experience with parenthood as we have 2 others (Noah-6 & Sienna-3), but I'm constantly told having 3 is much harder/ busier than 2!! (Any tips anyone?!) I'd always hoped of having 3 (Chris needed a little more convincing!), but we didn't think we would be able to if Chris needed to have surgery in the next year or two. Our little girl Sienna was 8 months old when Chris had surgery last time and that was really tough for all of us. And if Chris had needed surgery again, I would really want to spend as much time with him as I could, and be there for him constantly without the demands of having a baby. So since the good news...we're taking the plunge into the world of 3!!! We are very excited (especially Noah who has been praying for a baby for a long time now!), but I have this inkling somehow that chaos is justing around the corner!!!

It could be that the previous echo tech took the measurements wrong. When I was in my mid teens, the measured some severe levels of my heart and then rushed me in for a catherization. Turns out the tech just took incompetent readings as my measurements came out almost exactly as a prior echo.

Unfortunately this wasn't the case, as both our cardiologist and our surgeon both ordered regular echoes with their trusted technicians (we certainly got a double of everything!) and all the sets of echoes over the past two years had the same readings. But yes, I have heard that there can be a a lot of variations in echo reports, due to numerous different factors (such as the technique of the technician, stress level of the patient, quality of equipment used etc. Even the amount of food eaten on the day by the patient can affect the result!)

Cheers,
Yolanda

 

[PapaHappyStar]

Wow! Thats great news ( both of them .. actually ), also very interesting -- why they think this has happened -- or what is reversible about the process thats causing the stenosis, maybe some native cell generation/population in the homograft leading to an anti-inflammatory response ( or something like that ).... a really good outcome in the RP is if the homograft heals natively as well as the autograft over time.

Congratulations * 2

Burair