Surgery complete, but not quite all clear...

The surgeons just met us and let us know Barb's status; she made it through the surgery in one piece. Well, two pieces, but we were hoping to get one piece out and throw it away, so that's good.

Part of the FNH had gotten close to a hepatic vein. The hepatic veins (and arteries) are the primary vehicles for blood supply to the liver. Long story short, if you can't remove something without killing a hepatic vein, you should leave it in; otherwise, you risk the whole liver. Well, this FNH could be removed without killing a hepatic vein, but not too elegantly; the vein bled a lot and Barbara wound up needing about ten pints of blood. Blood transfusions don't make these surgeries pretty; apparently, she is swollen a bit, and they will want to keep her on a ventilator for a day to make sure that swelling doesn't impact her breathing.

That said, the mass is gone, the liver is not bleeding, and she came through without any blood pressure or heartbeat impact -- she was losing some blood, but they were refilling her, and she never noticed the loss. Still hasn't, I guess, because she is still asleep in the next room. They haven't let us in yet (which is why I'm blogging, instead of hanging with her).

When they do, she'll be doped up like Hunter S. Thompson on holiday, so hopefully, she won't be in too much discomfort. I'll post more when we know more.

But the bottom line for now: Surgery's complete, she seems well, and once we're sure that all the blood-loss controls took, we can all breathe easy. Say tomorrow morning. Until then, say a prayer for a speedy recovery, and keep sending happy thoughts.