Dale met with Dr. Michael Kupferman today at MD Anderson. Dr. Kupferman looked at Dale's ailing vocal cords and laid out three options for treating them.
Option #1: Do nothing and see if over the next few months Dale's voice returns. This assumes that mother nature will work to compensate for the damage inflicted by Dr. Rice during the lobectomy. (This is Dr. Rice's suggestion, also)
Option #2: Return to MD Anderson for an injection into the ailing vocal cord to reposition it to a location closer to the other vocal cord. This treatment lasts about 3-6 months. Can be repeated as necessary. Treatment is done in the chair, takes about an hour.
Option #3: Surgery to permanently position the ailing vocal cord in a location closer to the other vocal cord.
Dale's decision is to schedule Option #2 in April and then hope the Option #1 happens before Option #2 date! Fingers crossed again!
On the plus side, Dale was able to walk to his appointments today. Last week, he relied on a wheelchair. His appetite is somewhat better this week and he's able to climb a flight of stairs now.
Countdown to Cruise - 23 days!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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1 comment:
Good point, though sometimes it's hard to arrive to definite conclusions
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