Next Step

We talked to the surgeon late yesterday afternoon after I posted and he said we would watch the fluid today and move forward with pleurodesis, the next step of treatment of the pleural effusion, tomorrow.  It is a procedure (again, under anesthesia) in which they put a chemical in the chest cavity for a period of time and then drain it out.  It essentially irritates the outside of the lung and causes it to adhere to the chest cavity to eliminate the space in which the fluid can build up.  Since the fluid cannot accumulate in the chest cavity, it is reabsorbed by the rest of the body.

Landon's fluid was still significant last night and this morning but since this afternoon it slowed to almost a complete hault.  We have seen several clots come through the chest tube over the last several days so we don't know if it is a clot that is preventing drainage, kinks in the tiny chest tube, or if it really could be clearing up.  His drainage overnight tonight and xray in the morning will tell us a lot.  Our assumption is that if he has minimal overnight drainage and the xray tomorrow looks clear, then we might hold off on the pleurodesis.  But if their is either a lot of drainage overnight OR a chest xray that shows fluid building up, we will likely move forward with it late tomorrow morning and also have a new chest tube put in place that will drain better while he is under anesthesia. 

We would love if the fluid just went away on it's own and no other interventions were required.  Please pray for clarity in how to move forward in the morning.