Friday, December 20, 2013

Back in surgery

Emily just went back to surgery; a bit late but they are very booked today. Everything seems to be according to plan except for one "surprise".

The surgeon was in agreement with me that the part of her cheek flap that is left looks really good. Unfortunately we had some additional necrosis (tissue dying) along the side of the flap over the past week so there is a bit more to cover than he had originally planned but that's not a big deal. We're looking at a tongue flap as well as additional stitches along the side where some of the tissue is gone; about a three-hour surgery.

The anesthesiologist mentioned one thing that caused me to catch my breath. Apparently when they are working on the tongue it tends to cause a lot of swelling which can compromise the airway. If she has significant swelling and they feel that she would not be able to breathe safely on her own, Emily will be kept sedated and admitted directly to the ICU.  

That I was not prepared for.

The huge benefit to that (I think) would be that her body would wear off of the OR anesthesia and we might have less vomiting. I don't know--I'm looking for a silver lining. :)

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