0712 Ryan is 7 days old today!  Happy one week!  The results from yesterday’s echocardiogram are in.  The valve on RT’s heart is open, he has PDA. They start him on a treatment of acetaminophen (tylenol) which can help the valve shut. They remind us that PDA is not that abnormal on preemie babies.

They have turned his support up a bit too help him with his breathing, o2 is up to 24%. when they listen his lungs they sound raspy,  they do suction every 3 hours to help keep his breathing easier ensure the blood doesn’t have as much of a chance to clot in his lungs.

If the acetaminophen doesn’t help his little heart valve, they will try it for a second round, then  they will start him on indomethacin  (ibuprofen) but to do that they will have to stop his feeds. Usually one or the other works,  if not they can do surgery, but it is more difficult when they are this small.