MRA Results

Well, I am bummed. I got a call today from the nurse at Northwestern and it looks like the MRA test from last week shows that my previous portal vein embolization (PVE) did not result in sufficient growth in my left liver lobe so I will be needing an additional PVE. This means that my liver surgery will likely be pushed out 4 weeks from the beginning of November to some time near the end of November.

When I had the original PVE the doctor told us that he had found the unexpected pressure in my portal vein and because of this he was not overly-aggressive in the plugging of the portal vein. This is because the pressure could have been due to liver disease which would have meant that the surgery would not happen. If that had been the cause of the pressure then they would not have wanted the coils added by the PVE to be permanent or to cause too much atrophy to the right side of the liver.

Now that we know that the pressure was not caused by liver disease but was instead caused by the fistula within my tumor it means that the PVE can be very aggressive to stimulate the growth of the left liver lobe. So I guess the PVE this Friday will be much more aggressive (i.e. more branches of the portal vein will be blocked) then the previous procedure.

I don't care about the PVE but I am disappointed as I really wanted the surgery to be completed before the holidays. It looks like it will now be at the earliest right before Thanksgiving and the recovery will be much of December. In the worse case it could extend even longer. I am disappointed but I am still very thankful for the excellent care I am getting from Northwestern Memorial and that so many of the potential issues that have come up with my liver have not been real problems. I just need to be patient now and wait for the process to play out.