No Surgery For Now!

We took Kai for an MRI scan of her portal vein and vascular system around the liver and spleen last Wednesday. Kai's Doctor, Stuart Kaufman of Georgetown University Hospital's Transplant and Hepatology Institute, noted that her spleen was significantly enlarged upon exam when she was in the hospital. Further testing verified this finding. 

Sometimes, especially in Living Donor Liver transplant patients, the blood flow through the portal vein (the vein Kai had a blood clot in after her transplant surgery and had to be taken back into surgery the day after to correct) can back up due to the vessel not growing with the child. This can cause the spleen to swell. There is a corrective surgery where they can go in as though they are doing a biopsy and inflate the vessel with a small balloon.

However, the MRI findings were that the blood flow through the portal vein was fine... so, we have some more testing and they will be keeping a close eye on things (i.e. - more frequent labs, ultrasounds, exams, etc.) but it has been tentatively decided that she will not need surgery to correct the issue, for now.

They don't currently know what is causing the enlargement and she could need surgery to fix the problem at some point but, we'll take victory where we can get it. Hopefully it just goes away on it's own. If her labs next Wednesday show a negative CMV result, she can have her PICC line pulled.

Meanwhile, Kai is bouncy and giggly as always. AND, she just celebrated her 4th BIRTHDAY! Also of note, her little brother, Reef, turned two the day before!

I think she may be having some issues with feeling like she has less control over things than usual (most little kids do but, when you're a little kid who has to be held down and have a bunch of rotton, painful stuff done to you a lot, it can be a little overwhelming at times) and is maybe missing all the one on one attention she received in the hospital. As a result, she has been acting out more than usual. It can be frustrating and tiring at times for us, too, but we are doing our best to approach her with an abundant supply of patience and extra hugs. So, if you visit my house and note that it is particularly messy, I'm going to use that as my excuse... this time. ;)