The large white area is all Fred. The smaller white areas on either side of the cyst are Kyle's brain ventricles. The surgeon said it was time to intervene surgically and an endoscopic cyst fenestration and third ventriculostomy (ETV) was scheduled for that Friday. The surgeon warned us that the surgery might fail and another surgery would then have to be done to place a shunt that would drain the fluid from the cyst down a tube and into his abdomen. We prayed and felt very strongly that God wanted us to try the endoscopic surgery, which was a much better option for Kyle long term and would eliminate the risk of future surgery for shunt revisions, infections and malfunctions down the road.
The surgery took about 2 hours to complete and went perfectly for Kyle. He had no complications from anesthesia and was alert when we saw him in recovery. We were expecting a minimum of 3 nights in the hospital but he did so well that he was discharged 24 hours after surgery to recover at home! However, they were not able to connect the cyst as they wanted to the ventricular system but were able to successfully poke holes throughout the cyst wall and create an opening on the floor of the third ventricle to allow fluid to circulate easier throughout the brain. The surgeon did not believe that the surgery was going to be successful and advised us that he thought the cyst would look the same on the first post-op MRI. Instead, this is what Fred looked like post surgery....
Not only was the cyst considerably smaller, but his brain had expanded to fill in the extra space. In the words of our surgeon, it was "phenomenal"! The main issue now is that the fluid from the cyst has accumulated in the subdural space around Kyle's brain. We are hopeful that this fluid will be absorbed into his bloodstream and that he will not need another surgery to drain it!
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