Lung Stent Removal

During Greg's last visit to the transplant hospital, he was informed that he has done so well that the stent in his right airway can now be removed. This, of course, it great news but it does make the butterflies in my stomach a little active. Why? Well, because he has been fine with it in. You know the old saying: "don't fix what isn't broken"? Exactly! Why remove it if it is working fine.

Okay, so I know why they are removing it. It seems that even though the stent works great, it does leave the opportunity for junk to build up around it and could make things difficult for him down the line if he has any problems. It is for that reason that we are all for having the little bugger removed and giving Greg a free and clean airway. Right now we are waiting on the transplant coordinator to set up a day in the next couple of weeks to do this.

For those that don't know; a stent was placed in Greg's right airway a couple of months after his lung transplant. This particular airway wanted to heal itself and, in doing so, it would have closed off the entire airway. The cartilage around the airway was actually still exposed and things just weren't healing properly. So, by removing the stent, they can actually see how much has healed now and exposing it will allow it to heal even more. It is a highly positive situation. It means that Greg has made it one more step closer to being free of all medical devices. Sure, it has been a year and a half since his bilateral transplant - better late then never!