lisa -- re: Fluid on the abdomen? (Dad is in the hospital)

[Guest guest]

lisa,

very interesting post... and a very-much-appreciated update on you, your dad, and the whole living donor status thing. whether or not your dad does have ascites, and whether or not that would be a problem that could just seemingly happen overnight, and whether or not a bad burger should be held suspect... your dad's doctors collectively surmised that ascites was the culprit. so i would think that there'd be at least something to most suspected cases of ascites... i find it interesting it was determined your dad had none. i would also think a fair amount of attempted paracentesis would be at least partially successful? but my only frame of reference is what jim experienced, and what jim's doctors experienced with all their other patients.

one thing i do know -- and that is, not *every* paracentesis attempt involves an ultrasound. jim's sure didn't (the doctor just tap-tap-tapped w/his fingers to discover where the biggest pools of fluid were). i could *hear* the change in sound when they did this all over jim's abdomen... like beating on a drum! 7 days before jim's transplant, they tapped out over 2 liters of fluid from him (and he felt immense relief after just 1/2 a liter drained out). by the time transplant day finally arrived, all the ascites had returned, and then some. we were told that it wasn't uncommon for that kind of end-stage liver disease to require weekly paracentesis... and some patients came in every week, for just that kind of relief.

paracentesis isn't a permanent solution to the ascites problem... but you can become horribly uncomfortable w/growing ascites. the last weeks before the transplant, jim couldn't even sit erect. his paracentesis put the first genuine smile on jim's face in weeks, so profound was the relief he felt. it gave him the needed *oomph* to hang in there for his last week of waiting.

keep us posted on your little brother's evaluation, as well as your dad's progress, and how YOU are doing with all this. and no, you're not rambling, not at all.

also -- please don't feel you *have* to respond to any particular post... it's more important that you a) stay on top of the rest that you need and will continue to need; stay in the learning curve; c) attend to the needs of your sweet dad. all of us in the group understand you have a lot going on right now, sweetie, so go into lurk mode whenever you need to! and remember, at any point in the future, if you need to talk by phone, we can do that, too.

love (and hugs backatcha),

maureen (wife of jim: UC '84, and still an issue; "small-duct" unstentable PSC '96; LRLTx 12/7/01 -- thanks to our living donor [right lobe/60% hepatectomy] son, jason)