Dr. Frischer, who is a member of the Cincinnati colorectal team, closed Hannah's colostomy. Testing showed that there was nothing "unusual" to be on the look-out for, he was simply going to take two ends and put them together inside her body. Due to her many operations in China, he was expecting a great deal of scar tissue. He said the surgery could take anywhere from 2-7 hours, but he planned on about 3. Dr. Alam is her urologist and he specializes in children with urology issues due to anorectal malformations. He removed her left kidney because tests have confirmed that this kidney has NO function and was simply a threat for infection.
Both surgeries were successful, but not without obstacles. There was a significant amount of scar tissue, as was expected. After working through the scar tissue, Dr. Frischer found that her intestines were turned and twisted 180 degrees from what they should be. This would be a mistake made in her Chinese operations. This would also explain why her stomach was so lumpy by her stomas. This took a great deal of time to fix, but thankfully he was able to do it. After seeing the intestines, Dr. Frischer called Dr. Alam in to help and to get his opinion. They worked together for over 6 hours on her surgery. The left kidney was successfully removed, but we were devastated to learn why this kidney lost function. Her left ureter was tied off with a silk thread knot in a chinese operation. Her left kidney issue was not a congenital defect, it was caused by human hands. Dr. Alam found the knot and reported that her kidney had a lot of meat left on it. He thought about trying to save it, but the damage was too significant and could not be done. After hearing these 2 mistakes made in China, and the pain and discomfort it has caused Hannah, we were heartbroken. Hannah is now left with half of one kidney and Dr. Alam will work on the issues with her right kidney over the summer. We will be following him to his new location in New York City.
Hannah had a duplicated right kidney, and part of it was removed in China. She was also born with 2 ureters on the right side. One ureter is good, one is bad, but they are fused together and share the same blood supply. Dr. Alam will have to separate the two ureters and reimplant the good one. As you can imagine, this is a complicated surgery. There is also another issue with her bladder, and Dr. Alam will have to work carefully with the bladder. It is a shame that she will not have her left kidney to make up for the suffering on the right side, but we have to trust that this was all part of Hannah's plan. We also learned that Hannah's appendix was removed in China. This wouldn't be a big deal, but it is needed for the next surgery. Dr. Alam's job is now more complicated than it already was.
Hannah has been in the hospital for 5 days. She has not had anything to eat or drink since before surgery. We are hoping that today is the day where big things happen! Her NG tube was removed yesterday and all is good. They turned the suction off Friday morning and she tolerated it well. The tube was removed at 3:00, and she did great without it through the night. That means everything is working.... including Hannah's bowels! Her plumbing is in business and things are working like they should. She should get liquids today and solids tomorrow. Hopefully all of that will be tolerated and we can bust out of this place!
I am simply amazed with my little girl. She has been through hell and back and will have to continue to fight for the rest of her life, given the issues with her right kidney and bladder. She has suffered, and most of her suffering was a result of her orpan status and caused by inexpereinced surgeons. We are going to choose not to dwell on the past but look to the future. She is here for a reason and we get the honor and joy of watching her grow!
We arrived at the hospital bright and early Monday morning. She was ready!
This was shortly before they took her back.
This was 3 days post op. She busted out her first smile since surgery.
This is the way our girl has looked most of the week... sad. She has been very calm and has hardly cried. I think she wants to get home and know her life will continue on as it did before!
This is the first time she sat in a chair post op. It was quite a task working around all the tubes and cords! We haven't done much walking yet. She has a UTI, so they are keeping her in the room. We are both going crazy in this tiny little room!
