Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Blogger was having issues yesterday so this was my first opportunity to post. Friday was our latest appointment with Dr. Richards (the Perinatologist). I was 29 weeks 2 days which means that the CCAM growth typically tends to taper off or even shrink around the 28 week mark. Going into this appointment, I knew that any news that we received would be a good indicator of what this CCAM was going to do for the remainder of the pregnancy. Luckily, we received fantastic news. The CCAM did not grow (did not shrink either) yet my sweet baby girl did. It even took Dr. Richards a few minutes to locate the CCAM in the first place. He said that if he didn't know it was there, it would've been easy to miss. I was elated! He continued to say that he thinks that maybe, depending on how things go after birth, she may not need surgery. Of course I was thrilled to hear him say those words. It did get me thinking though. In my CCAM support groups, a few of the girls have opted not to do the surgery at all because their babies were born asymptomatic. I can completely understand not wanting to opt for surgery if everything appears to be okay on the outside. However, there are studies that have shown that failure to remove the lesion can lead to a higher risk of infections and malignant degeneration. From what I understand, some of these studies show that symptoms may not show up for up to 18 months and at that point, most of the long term damage may have already been done. It's a lot to think about but at least we have awhile to consider it. Until the baby is born, we won't have a good grasp of how much this CCAM is going to affect her. Once she is born, assuming she is not born in distress, they will most likely order a CT scan to really gain a better understanding of the location and size. This also makes me nervous. There is evidence that CT scans (with contrast), which is what we would most likely need to obtain the best imaging, can possibly lead to cancer since children are more sensitive to radiation. Obviously, I don't think that the doctors would recommend this unless they thought that the benefits outweighed the risks but it's still a concern nonetheless. Being a parent is so difficult when you're having to make decisions for someone who can't advocate for themselves. Obviously we want our children to thrive but I would also hate to be the cause for health concerns later in life.
Other than that, he let us know that baby girl is measuring large. She is currently 3 lb 4 oz. which is fantastic. While that won't help to ensure that her good lung tissue has fully developed should I have to deliver early, Dr. Richards did assure us that her size would be beneficial when inserting an IV and other medical procedures that she may need should she be born early.
Moving forward we will have one more fetal ultrasound with Dr. Richards where I will be close to 35 weeks gestation. He is confident that we will continue to receive good news.
Additionally, I have an appointment coming up with my regular OB on the 19th. They will continue to monitor my blood pressure and may order another 24 hour urine test to keep an eye on my preeclampsia. Both doctors are pretty positive that I will have it again. Please just continue to pray that I can at least make it to 36 weeks when we will have a better reassurance that baby girl's lungs will be more developed which will of course be favorable.
