Just got back from Jade’s check up with Dr. Albrecht. As expected the VSD has continued to get smaller, which is good. Valves also look good. The pressure gradient in her right ventricle is up a good bit, though, which means those aberrant muscle bundles are growing closer together. She’s not in any immediate danger, or having major health issues, but it is to the point that he feels the surgeon will most likely want to go ahead and remove the muscle bundles either this summer or next to prevent problems – particularly valve failure. Dr. Albrecht’s hunch is the surgeon will want to go ahead and do it this summer, but we should know for sure sometime in the next week or so. He said they may also want to have her come down for a more thorough Echo and maybe even a diagnostic cath, but again, we won’t know till after he’s talked to Dr. Peeler – the surgeon on her case.
Her weight has always been on the low side (has her own curve off the bottom of the growth charts, LOL), but her pediatrician noticed that her height curve seems to be leveling out. Not that she’s shrinking or anything, but her growth has decreased noticeably. So we’re keeping an eye on that. Could be that she’s just about to hit a growth spurt, but it bears watching, so she’ll be going back to the pediatrician for another well-child checkup in 6 months, rather than the normal year. The cardiologist also found that was interesting. Her particular defects shouldn’t really be affecting her growth at this point, but he said you just never can tell. Different kids get affected different ways. The only way to know if it’s just genetics or her heart defect is to see whether or not her growth picks up after surgery or stays the same. None of this is an exact science. LOL
