Primary Childrens

Oh where do we start ha!

We had an appointment at Primary Childrens Tuesday for Kennedy's reflux

We had to be at Radiology at 11 am for an ultrasound

Chris took the day off to come down with us

And Kennedys dad was there too

They did a bunch of ultra sounds of her kidneys and bladder..

Long story short.. they compared the results to her last ultrasound she had done in 2009

2009 Her right kidney was aprox 6.1 cm and her left kidney was aprox 7.1 cm

No scar tissue was seen in the right one

The right kidney is the one with the reflux in it

They kidneys should be closer in size and not that different but its ok

2013 Ultrasound the right kidney is aprox 6.25 cm and the left is 8.75cm

A noticeable amount of scar tissue in the right kidney and also a spot at the bottom where its disintegrating 

So we went to lunch with that info.. came back for her Urology appointment at 2pm

They told us she does need surgery no option really about it

A child her ages kidneys should be between 6cm and 9cm depending on the childs size and Kennedys on the smaller end for size

So her kidneys are within normal range.. HOWEVER its obvious that her right kidney isnt really growing much and the left one is growing double time to compensate for the damage done to the right kidney

The scar tissue and dead areas of her kidney will not heal or regrow

The damage there is permanent

The damage is caused by the bacteria from the urinary tract infections and the reflux

Heres an idea of what happens

She has usually been a grade 3 border line 4

She is now a 4

It shows how much of the urine goes all the way up from the bladder into the kidney

So when those little squiggly lines get a bladder infection.. which she is very prone to because the urine doesnt drain properly and can sit there and just recycle itself through the body, the squiggly lines build up scar tissue in her kidneys and damage it

Even looking at the ultra sound as they did it you could notice a good amount of difference in the appearance, size and shape between the two kidneys

The right kidney had a lot more white and black lines in it.. aka scar tissue

They hope with surgery it will make it so the right kidney catches up in growth some and no more damage is done

Also the left one wont have to work as hard 

The dr told us that they can do an endoscopic surgery however it only comes with a 70% success rate and has a good chance of having to come back in and have more done, that they only do those on like a grade 1 or 2 and kids with healthy good looking kidneys

She pretty much HAS to have an open surgery

That in her case comes with a 96-98% success rate and very small chance of having to do a follow up surgery

The surgery is an hour and a half

They go in make an incision that basically looks like a c section scar with a few small dots above it at the top of the pubic bone from 4-6 cm long

They essentially make a new trench and reroute the way the urine goes into the ureter to make it more effective and close off when its supposed to

Its full general anesthesia, she will be intubated 

Chris and I knew it was probably going to result in surgery and we were ok with that.. in the sense of lets get this fixed, stop damage to her kidney and not have anymore problems with it because thats whats best for her body and her

We however had no idea that there had been that much damage done

Dont get me wrong her kidney still functions and is 'fine' 

Shes not sick, not really in pain 

But it can have some serious long term issues if its not taken care of now

We then met with the surgeon and they sent us off to scheduling

They told us if she breaks out with a UTI prior to surgery it will post pone it and obviously cause more damage. She will have surgery and then a follow up ultrasound 4 weeks later

To plan on being off work for one week and her being out of school one week

Even though it is an  'open' surgery it still is outpatient

She will be sent home with meds and to be monitored

We sat down with the scheduling lady wondering how far out it was going to be..

Not that we dont want to get it done, we just have some upcoming plans

Snowmobile trip, Pictures, Disney on Ice, Wedding etc

We wanted to pick a time that was close but also where she would be feeling good enough to do those things

The lady said they are usually 4 weeks out aprox

Then she said but you're in luck we had a cancellation this morning so how does the 19th look?

Wait?? The 19th of what? Feb??? A WEEK FROM TODAY??

She said yep! Wanna have her in on Tuesday the 19th of Feb

EEEEEKKKKKKKK!

We all decided thats the best option since the urine test she took at the drs showed there's no bacteria and looks nice and clear

So in 6 days from now my baby will have her first surgery :(

It is comforting that they specialize in this, its very common for them and that she is healthy

Shes not sick or hurting or in pain or anything so that helps