1/16/2009

There was a small hiccup in Megan’s recovery yesterday which may cause her to stay in ICU an extra day, but the good news is they won’t need to go back in and she’ll still have a full recovery. During surgery they accidental nicked the meninges (not sure that’s the correct name but it’s the sack that covers the brain and spinal cord) causing her to leak cerebrospinal fluid. Online I’ve also seen it called a dural puncture which can be a complication of spinal anesthesia, diagnostic spinal puncture, or epidural anesthesia. They patched it up during surgery and thought it would be okay.

When Megan stood up for the first time yesterday she got in instant headache. This is an indicator that she is still leaking fluid. They are going to get her up again today to see if she has the same issue. If she does they will do an epidural blood patch. An epidural blood patch is an injection of your blood (taken from your arm) into the epidural space. The epidural space is not an injection into the spinal cord itself. The spinal cord and spinal nerves are in a “sack” containing clear fluid (cerebrospinal fluid). The area outside this “sack” is called the epidural space. From my understanding the blood patch works as a gelatinous-glue which prevents fluid leakage and allows the hole to heal. Kristen explained that the blood clots, which forms a plug or “patches” the menigeal leak. She should have immediate relief from the patch due to an increase in cerebrospinal fluid pressure (the headache is caused by the deceased pressure).

Little detailed but I wanted you guys to know what was going on. The good news this is only a very small complication. She might need to stay an extra to be observed but she’ll still have a full recovery. We just need to keep Megs positive and not get bogged down in this small set back. She appreciates all the love and support you are all providing. She says, “keep it comin’!”