It’s been about a month since Lincoln got his biliary drain placed. He was doing really well with it and adapting to life with the drain was honestly not that hard. Labs were looking good, so we actually went 2 whole weeks without seeing a doctor or getting poked! But it can’t all be good, so two days before our scheduled appointment to check on the tube, Lincoln got a fever.
Every fever means a trip to the ED, especially while we have this drain in place since it’s a major infection risk. We kept our appointment for the drain check but switched it to an inpatient procedure since we needed IV antibiotics for cholangitis. Lincoln had two fevers before the procedure and Tylenol perked him right back up each time.
Lincoln getting cholangitis again even with the drain is not unusual or “bad”. Of course, we don’t want him to get an infection but with narrowed vessels and a foreign object in his bile duct, it’s always a chance.
The day before the procedure we were told there was a 50% chance the tube would come out completely!! We were so excited, but not expecting it to actually happen. These tubes typically take a couple months to keep a vessel truly patent.
During the procedure, the physician noticed a different area of Lincoln’s bile duct was narrow and the area they already ballooned was not yet dilated enough. So, they opened up the vessel at the new narrowing and threaded a bigger tube through the bile duct to keep everything open. Lincoln did great and the site looked great!
Later that day after the procedure, Lincoln got another fever. While the team wasn’t crazy concerned since they knew Lincoln had cholangitis and they just stirred everything around looking and placing a new drain, they still drew blood cultures. This awarded us another few days in the hospital to continue IV antibiotics.
Lincoln did great the rest of the time in the hospital. We were there from Wednesday to Monday and definitely itching to go home. Lincoln gets so bored in the hospital so we try to spend as much time as we can outside, only coming back really to eat and get meds. Luckily he is the happiest boy and pushes through anything that comes his way.
The plan is still to check on the tube every 4-6wks. This does require Lincoln to get anesthesia and intubated each time and get IV antibiotics at least for 24hrs after the procedure. It’s a necessary evil that results in a wild and potentially busy 3ish months, but should help Lincoln in the long run.
We will get labs later this week when Lincoln finishes his treatment dose of oral antibiotics and see how he’s doing. Then, in 4wks we will be back in the hospital for a cholangiogram to check on Lincoln’s bile ducts!
