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Bridget Standage
Pre-natal Shunt Drains Life-Threatening Cyst
By Gayle Standage
When my wife and I decided to have another child, Donna was 40 and I was 41. We discovered she was pregnant in early March 1994. During a routine prenatal checkup at 18 weeks, the doctor in our hometown of Moose Lake, Minn. thought Donna was too large for that stage of the pregnancy and recommended an ultrasound. We knew there was something wrong when the technician would not make eye contact and said the doctor would need to talk to us.
A specialist in Duluth also did an ultrasound that showed a large cyst where the baby's lungs should be forming. Filled with fluid, the cyst had shifted the heart to one side, causing a fluid buildup with the threat of heart failure, and not allowing room for the lungs to form. The doctor told us the situation was very serious. We were in shock. My wife had always been very health conscious so we could not believe this was happening. Donna had an amniocentesis and chromosome testing for other defects.
Having been recommended to UCSF Medical Center, two days after the test results were back, we were on our way to San Francisco. From flights to accommodations and meetings with social services and the fetal treatment team, everyone treated us like we were their only patients and went out of their way to explain carefully every step of the process.
Donna had a percutaneous thoracoamniotic shunt placed at 24 weeks to drain the cyst and take the pressure off the heart and allow the lungs to grow. After a period of careful monitoring, we were back in Minnesota where UCSF kept in close touch with us and our local health care professionals. Bridget, a Celtic name for strong, was born Dec. 12. The next day, surgery was performed and she was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. A second surgery to remove the upper half of the left lung was done on Dec. 18. On Christmas Eve, we brought Bridget home.
Except for the surgery scar, there is no sign anything ever happened and no one who meets her believes she has had problems of any kind. This birth was the most incredible experience we have ever been through. We feel very blessed for such a beautiful, healthy little baby. We are very grateful to the people of UCSF Medical Center and the research that make things like this possible.
Story written in 1999.
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