Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Oct 14, 2009 - Jayden's CDH Awareness Day

Oct 14, 2009 - 17 weeks - Jayden's CDH Awareness Day

Everything turned upside down as a new ultrasound suggested Jayden had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), a congenital birth defect of the diaphragm. 

Survival rates average about 50%. It was at that point we found out that his defect looked bad enough that they thought he might need a type of heart-lung bypass machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) & that our regular facility did not have it available so she would have to deliver at a neighboring facility. 

The good news was that his heart was structurally sound although squished a bit & the liver was not in the chest. Either or both of those problems would have reduced his survival chances further. We started learning about it & were scared to death for what it might mean for Jayden...




From the doctor's summary: Fetal Weight Estimate: 216 gm.

Diaphragmatic hernia: The heart is deviated to the right & the fetal stomach is within the left chest. In addition, a small amount of small bowel is also seen in the chest. No definitive liver involvement.

Possible renal cystic dysplasia. Several small cysts were seen within the renal parenchyma. Normal bladder and amniotic fluid noted.

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