On Friday as Massimo’s infection was under control and his ventilation was settled, the ENT surgeon decided that it would be a good idea to have a look down his trachea to get a better idea of what is actually going on. The plan was that if the “tissue” that Justin saw on Monday turned out to be granulation tissue then they would laser it off, but if it was tracheal wall or tumour they would just take a few pictures and send Massimo back to PICU.
The wee man went into surgery at around 5.15 pm, but he was back very quickly as the obstruction was seen to be tracheal wall. The tumour is pressing on the windpipe and causing it to weaken. The tissue that Justin saw on Monday is something we still have to clear up. We are hoping that the steroids have reduced any swelling that there was thus reducing the size of the obstruction. We really need to have a chat with the ENT surgeon and the other consultants to have an idea of what THEY think is going on.
Massimo’s ventilation requirements have increased slightly since the investigative bronchoscopy as any kind of instrumentation causes trauma and therefore swelling. However he is still very stable, albeit still paralysed and sedated.