Out Of Surgery Now

Dad made it through the surgery just fine and is recovering now.  We'll be able to see him in about an hour or so.  Dr. McKeller came out and explained that he was able to create a small window in his pericardial sac to help drain any fluid build up in the future.  He said that the outer pericardial sac - the shell that holds the heart) actually wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, but that the inner sac, which is actually attached to the heart, almost like an outer skin layer that has blood vessels attached, was actually thicker than he was hoping to find.  This could be a problem because if, in a couple of weeks, Dad starts feeling the same symptoms again (compressed chest, lower body swelling, fatigue) it means that his heart is still constricted, and Dr. McKeller said that trying to surgically remove the inner sac is a much riskier surgery because of the high potential for blood loss.  They have taken samples of the sac which will be evaluated for any signs of disease, TB or fungus (which he said he thinks is highly unlikely) and they said we won't have the results for a month or so.

So, the good news is that Dad made it through the surgery with flying colors, that his new lung is actually doing awesome, and that this new window should help with fluid drainage.  Hopefully that will be enough and he'll be feeling much better within a couple of weeks after recovering from this surgery.  We will all be praying that he continues to feel better and not worse over the coming weeks so he can finally have a chance to enjoy his new lung.  If all goes well, he should be able to go home on Sunday.

Here we go ...

Dads the one in the blue. I'll feel a whole lot better when he's in the red. Coincidence that the color "red" represents the finish line of the surgery? I think not. :)