So much for the easy fix

James has finally made it back from the OR...it's only been 7 hours! The short story is his esophagus is still not connected, but he gets to come home hopefully next week. Corrective surgery should be able to take place in December or January.

The Long Version (not for the weak stomach people)... It turns out that even though there were no holes between his trachea and esophagus, his esophagus and trachea were stuck together inside his neck. (This explains why his upper esophagus has not been responding to all of the stretching procedures the doctors have done in the past.) The doctors had to go in through his neck to split the trachea and esophagus apart. Once this was done, his upper esophagus would still not stretch enough to connect it to the lower esophagus. Thus Plan E (or whatever we're up to)... James' upper esophagus is now coming out of a hole in the side of his neck. It is much like a tracheotomy, but with the esophagus instead. This means that he no longer needs the suction in his mouth because his saliva (and anything he takes orally) will just drain out the hole in his neck. He will still get food through his G tube. In a few months the doctors will once again attempt to connect his esophagus. At that time, they will probably have to use tissue from his stomach to close the gap.

For now, James is still on the ventilator. They want to let him wake up naturally and will take it out in the morning unless he is wide awake before then. He will get to start his feeds again tomorrow. He should be able to come home once he returns to full feeds and is gaining weight. When he comes home, we will give him feedings through his G tube and take care of the esophagostomy site. Other than that, he won't have any restrictions to his daily activity. He will have appointments here every other week or so to monitor his progress.

Stay tuned for updates...