Bronchoscopy Complete

Campbell had her bronchoscopy done today (see previous post about it). Basically, the pulmonologist put a camera down her throat to look at her airways. Campbell is a loud breather and he wanted to make sure there was no cyst or scar tissue from being on the vent in the NICU causing the noise.

We are happy to report that the loud breathing is caused by laryngomalacia. In short, everyone has folds or flaps in their throat (epiglottis is one and arytenoid cartilages are others) that flop down when you swallow so food doesn't go into your lungs. Well, Campbell's arytenoid cartilages are large and flop down when she breathes rather than just when she swallows. This makes her breathing sound wheezy.

As scary as this sounds, this is great news because it *should* be something she grows out of. Dr. Black said that most babies grow out of this by 6-7 months, but Campbell "didn't read the manual". It's often made worse by reflux which Campbell definitely had. He said that it is something that can be fixed with surgery if she doesn't grow out of it or if it begins to affect her quality of life. By that he means that there is the remote possibility that as she starts walking and running it's going to be louder and if we see her gasping for breath or seem to struggle we may have to consider the surgery.

We also have to be very careful that she doesn't get Croup. Apparently croup is a virus that makes the throat swell and since her throat already has the folds that are flopping around when they shouldn't be, that any swelling would probably put her in the hospital. So, those of you who don't understand my germ-a-phobic-ness...watch out because it's probably going to get worse. We are lucky that croup season is almost over (knock on wood).

On a side note...it was a strange feeling to be back in a hospital with her. Seeing her attached to all of the monitors, especially the pulse ox with the red light brought back a lot of memories. It was nice to see her oxygen saturation sit at 100% which didn't really happen this time last year...

I am so proud of my big girl. She did so well! The anesthesiologist kept telling us that she might fight the gas but she was so sweet that she let them do what they needed. She did wake up quite grumpy but as soon as they let us give her a bottle, all was well. She quickly perked up and they got her some toys to keep her entertained while we waited out the mandatory hour wait. Here are some pictures from Robbie's phone. Didn't she look so cute in her little hospital gown?!

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!