In My Shoes: Maybe they know what is going on?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Maybe they know what is going on?

We haven't gotten official results yet, but the pulmonologist testing Fiona yesterday feels the AVMs in her lungs are causing her to be short of breathe and her heart to race. She is taking in air just fine; the lungs are working. But the AVMs are shooting the blood back to the heart too quickly so she is having problems. Fortunately her O2s are ok right now but this is also an unfortunately. Her heart is really trying to get the blood back to the lungs quickly since it is coming back to the heart too fast. Confusing......and we don't know what this means as far as treatment or transplant. We do know the AVMS are in the lowest part of the right lung so don't even know if they can be embolized. We should know something next week when we see her regular pulmonologist. But let me say this, this is not acceptable and we can't wait a long time for the liver to fail more to do something about all of this. I think these doctors have their work cut out for them and they need to be held responsible for her health since it is all in their hands.

I'm so glad she had trouble during the lung/pulmonary test. For once they have proof there is a problem, rather than just symptoms! Maybe maybe maybe we can get an answer now!

Peggy

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Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia is a condition in which the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine are not normal. These ducts can be injured, blocked, or missing. When the ducts that carry bile out of the liver are closed, bile backs up and damages liver tissue. In time the liver can develop scarring or cirrhosis. The gallbladder may also be abnormal or missing. The cause of Biliary Atresia is unknown. It occurs in one infant in every 15,000 live births. It is a serious disease which requires immediate surgical and medical treatment.

Arteriovenous Malformations AVMS

I have been diagnosed with AVMS in my lungs do to my liver disease. These have caused me to have 2 lung bleeds which were very scary. I still have more AVMS and they are causing me breathing problems. Below is an explanation of what the AVMs are and a picture of what is happening in my lungs.

Arteries and veins are part of the human cardiovascular system. Normally, the arteries in the vascular system carry oxygen-rich blood at a relatively high pressure. Structurally, arteries divide and sub-divide repeatedly, eventually forming a sponge-like capillary bed. Blood moves through the capillaries, giving up oxygen and taking up waste products from the surrounding cells. Capillaries successively join together, one upon the other, to form the veins that carry blood away at a relatively low pressure. The heart acts to pump blood from the low pressure veins to the high pressure arteries.
If the capillary bed is thought of as a sponge, then an AVM is the rough equivalent of jamming a tangle of flexible soda straws from artery to vein through that sponge. On arteriogram films AVM formation often resemble a tangle of spaghetti noodles. This tangle of blood vessels forms a relatively direct connection between high pressure arteries and low pressure veins.
The result is a collection of blood vessels with abnormal connections and no capillaries. This collection, often called a nidus, can be extremely fragile and prone to bleeding.