We just heard as of 1:30 pm that the surgeon was able to remove the tumor. No word yet as to if they acheived negative margins and Merle is still in the OR. He is currently having the Whipple done to replumb his system. We expect him to be out of surgery around 5 or 6 this evening. We have been told we will be able to see him about 2 hours after the surgeon has finished working.
MB
Hello all! Here I sit in the pre-op ward of John’s Hopkins hospital with MaryBeth and Mom (Dad and my brother, Sid, are en route). Dr. Cameron has been by to check in with me and clarified something for me that, although I didn’t understand when he initially said it, MaryBeth said she had understood. When Dr. Cameron said there was a 50/50 chance of the surgery being successful, he meant that there is a 50/50 chance of actually doing the surgery; if they open me up and think they cannot get the tumor (because of blood vessel involvement) they will not proceed and just close me back up. Here’s hoping my luck holds…
Throughout the day, MaryBeth will be updating this post as she gets updates from the OR. Check back often…
Merle
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MB UPDATES TO FOLLOW
8:45am Merle has gone back to the OR. We are supposed to get updates every 2 hours or more often, and I plan to post as we here things. The surgeon has said that if he gets in there and and feels that he cannot get all of the tumor out, he will just sew Merle back up and send us on our way. I guess it is better to leave Merle more or less intact if the surgery cannot help the cancer.
9:45 am We just heard that surgery has started
1:30 pm THE SURGEON WAS ABLE TO REMOVE THE TUMOR!!!! Merle is now getting his Whipple completed and probably has another 4 hours or so before he is out of the OR.
4:00pm Merle did well. The surgeon is finished and remove in his words “99.9% of the tumor.” Because the tumor was on the artery still and had to be scraped off, there is a positive margin. However, the surgeon does feel this should help Merle, especially combined with additional chemo. Merle should be out of the OR (the team is still closing him even though the primary surgeon has finished his job), in about two hours. Then we can see him.
7:00 pm Merle is in recovery. We should be able to see him soon.
8:30 pm Merle is into his room in the ICU. He still has his ventilator tube, a nasogastric tube, a central line, an a-line (a for arterial), and a regular IV. It is all very cumbersome, he can’t talk, and he is still very groggy. Now he has to start healing.