Good news, and wait-and-see news. Yesterday, Zoe went into the OR to have the broncoscopy performed to see if her airway had grown bigger from her previous surgery. The good news is that the surgery appears to have worked and increased Zoe’s airway – so no trache yet. The doctor did notice that a significant enough amount of scar tissue had built up around the vocal cords, which could partially block the airway. Zoe is back on the ventilator tube for now, and will go back to the OR for surgery on Tuesday. The ENT will send a scope with a 0.3mm laser down her throat and, in his words, “vaporize” the excess tissue. The ENT was very positive about Zoe’s progress from the surgery and said that the excess tissue is a “very correctable problem.” The hope is that once the scar tissue is removed, they’ll move her over to CPAP. Obviously, if she can’t make it on CPAP, then she’ll be trached. In the meantime, Zoe will be given a treatment of steroids to help reduce some swelling in her airway. Zoe’s still at the 6lbs, 9oz mark – she’s been getting rid of a lot of excess fluid buildup from her paralysis days.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support – we’ll let you know how Tuesday goes.
