Update on Matthew – 2011-10-13
Posted by Dave
This is just a quick update on Matt’s status. They completed the CT scan of his nasal passages and the ENT doctors have concluded that he has a condition called “Choanal Atresia” which basically means that there is a blockage in his nasal passages. It is on both sides of his nose. When babies are born, they are wired to breathe through their noses, which is why Matt had problems breathing, and ultimately, stopped breathing.
In any case, the plan of attack is to get those nasal passages open. Matt is scheduled for surgery today at 3:00 PM (Eastern) to open those passages. They’ll basically insert a camera through his mouth and look at it from behind (mainly because infant’s noses are too small to pass more than one instrument through at a time) and then the surgeon will use an instrument that will be placed in Matt’s nose to drill a hole through the obstruction on both sides. They will then insert a tube on each side to help hold everything open to prevent blockage from secretions.
There is a small chance they will move his surgery to tomorrow if the OR schedule gets backed up, but the plan is for this afternoon.
We’ll let you know how it goes.
