After the surgery, the neurosurgeon said that they found a hole in the dura (the outer covering of the spinal cord). They are fairly confident that her problem is related to overproduction and under-absorption of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and that her body just needs time to adjust. They decided to use the existing hole in the dura as the temporary drain site, but snaked the drain though intact muscle tissue so they can remove it without creating another incision.
So, she is back in her regular hospital room and resting. The valve on the drain line has to be opened hourly to allow the excess CSF to drain out (about 20 cc per hour). Now it is just a waiting game -- waiting for her incision to heal and for her body to reach equilibrium in terms of CSF production and absorption.
Dr. Mapstone had previously mentioned a possible connection between her tethered cord and the enlarged ventricles in her brain -- due to the cord pulling down on the base of the brain and not allowing the CSF to flow freely, thus requiring her body to produce excess CSF in the brain in order to force enough CSF into her spinal cord.
It is possible that the release of the tether freed up some of that restricted flow (which, if so, would be a good thing), but that her body is still producing extra CSF and has not yet recognized that it is okay to slow down production. This is all conjecture, but seems to be a plausible explanation.
Please pray for her body to quickly reach proper equilibrium in this area of CSF production, transport, and absorption, and that once she becomes more active, she will be able be mobile without damaging the drain location.
Also, all the boys start school this week and next, so please pray that we are able to coordinate all that needs to happen to get them started off well.
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