Angie & Jim

In the Operating Roomby Jim

I just got a text saying Angie has entered the operating room. I was with her just a couple minutes ago while she was in pre-op. She’s in good spirits and ready for her procedure, which should be relatively quick.

They’re doing a transjugular liver biopsy to get some important readings. Normally, they’d do the biopsy by just going in from the outside (rather than through her neck), but her cardiologist wants them to do it transjugular so they can get some extra readings from insider her circulatory system. It’s more complicated and takes a little longer, but they want the extra data.

It’s been about 6 years since her last biopsy and they want to see how her liver is doing. The results of this biopsy might change our long-term plans quite a bit. Dr. Lui feels that if Angie’s liver is doing well enough, it’s possible that he will want her to get a regular heart transplant instead of the heart-liver double transplant we’ve been talking about for the last few years. There are several benefits to this plan. First of all, transplanting a single organ is just simpler. Recovery is easier, risk is lower, surgery is shorter, finding a donor organ is easier, etc. Angie’s been on a medication for the last 5 years that can become harmful to her body if she takes it too long, and there isn’t really another medication that will work for her, so we’re up against the clock. If we switch plans to a regular heart transplant, one reason may be to move up the timetables and get the surgery sooner so Angie won’t have to take that medication any longer. And by sooner, that’s relative. Nothing would probably happen for at least 6 months. But once we’re on the list, it could be weeks or years before we get her a new heart.

So, the procedure today is relatively simple and safe, but the results of it (which probably won’t come for a few weeks) may be very important.

Thanks for reading!