Rowan has had countless surgeries and procedures since he was born. For National Kidney Month, I explained everything he has had done so far, and what is to come.
+ 4.26.2019
Rowan had 3 surgeries the day he was born. He had a chest tube insertion to drain fluid from around his lungs, a suprapubic catheter insertion to release urine and relieve pressure since his bladder was blocked, and an umbilical vein catheterization, which is when a small catheter is inserted into the vein of the umbilical cord and allows medical staff to quickly infuse medications, fluids, and blood.
+ 5.2.2019
Rowan had a PICC line placed, which is inserted into a large vein in the arm, leg, or neck that carries blood into the heart and is used for long-term IV antibiotics, nutrition, medications, and blood drawls. In Rowan’s case, his PICC line was inserted into his leg and he still has a little dimple in his thigh from it. On the same day, he had a nephrostomy tube placed, which is a catheter that is surgically inserted through your skin and into your kidney to drain urine.
+ 5.16.2019
Rowan had his ureterostomy place, which is when a stoma is created by bringing the ureter to the surface of the abdomen to divert the flow of urine away from the bladder when the bladder is not functioning. This allows the urine to be drained out of the body through the stoma (or hole) in the side of his abdomen. He also had his peritoneal dialysis catheter surgically inserted aided by a laparoscopy, which is a surgical procedure where a small camera is inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen.
+ 7.29.2019
Rowan had his G tube placed and had a circumcision.
+ 8.14.2019
After Rowan’s first sleep study. He was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which means Rowan had repeated episodes of obstructions of the upper airway during sleep, despite his effort to breathe. He was on oxygen which allowed to him continue to breathe throughout the night, but since our goal is for him not to need oxygen, Rowan would need to have surgery on his airway. One week later, he was back in the OR for a bronchoscopy, which is when a thin tube containing a light and camera is inserted into the lungs through the nose or mouth. This procedure allows the doctor to examine the inside of the lungs, including the bronchi, which are the main pathways into the lungs. The surgeons then performed a supraglottoplasty, which uses microscopic instruments and a carbon dioxide laser to trim away extra tissue from around the voice box. This extra tissue was blocking Rowan’s airway when his body relaxed during sleep, causing the obstruction. Since then, Rowan has had 2 more sleep studies and his apnea is improving slowly! Our next sleep study is scheduled for June 15, 2020!
+ 2020
Rowan will still need surgeries later this year to help prepare his bladder for a kidney transplant and to reconnect his working kidney to his bladder (since right now his kidney is connected to a stoma through his ureter). And ultimately, Rowan’s big surgery (and hopefully last surgery for a long time) will be his kidney transplant! His doctors have estimated that his transplant could potentially happen in February or March of 2021!
This little guy is so strong and brave. It’s hard to write this post and remember all of these things he went through in less than a year of life. I'm so thankful for the staff at Cincinnati Children's for successfully performing all of these procedures and improving Rowan's life.
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