They got a late start on the procedure...they didn't even wheel him over to the Operating Room until noon, and they still had a lot to do (new vent, anesthesia, etc) before the surgery could even start.
Though this is normally a relatively simple procedure, Andrew's anatomy is going to make it quite difficult. The last time the surgeon had him open, his stomach was fused to both his liver and his spleen...the two most sensitive and bleed-prone organs in the abdomen. It will be very hard to separate the stomach to perform the fundoplication; it may not be possible at all without endangering Andrew's life. If so, they would abort the procedure and explore other options.
We have the utmost confidence in the surgeon, who has done a wonderful job on all of Andrew's other surgeries. Hopefully the three months since his last operation will have been sufficient time for his organs to heal and become less inflamed and more pliable.
The surgeon said he would be "ecstatic" if the procedure only took four hours, and we can't guarantee that it has even started yet. I'll blog when it's over, but don't expect anything for several hours at least.
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