The first thing we had to go through with our oldest was the small chest cavity.
But since he had a small chest cavity it made it so his lungs were small. He was on oxygen from the time he was born until he was 10 months old. Them he was placed back on oxygen around the age of 3 until he was at least 5 1/2 I think. By the time he was 4 he was on 1 1/2 to 2 liters oxygen and his blood saturation was at 91 or 92 and falling every day. In other words he was dying. We had taken him to a orthopedics doctor for a little tiny scoliosis in the very bottom of his spine. The doctor took x-rays and held them up to x-rays taken when He was 1 and it might have changed maybe like a 1/2 centimeter difference. The doctor looked at us and told us that his spine was not even a medical issue. The needed to expand his chest cavity and they needed to do it soon. There was a new device out there called the titanium rib or veptor. It wasn't even approved by the government when we were trying to get it.
We did everything we needed to get the authorization we needed to get the insurance to pay for the surgery and they were denying us right and left. Right before the surgery we were going to go in and make a presentation to the insurance people to get them to approve it. Right before we were leaving the house like 10 min. the doctor called me and let me know that he had made a case for our son and the insurance approved the surgery. We were so blessed. The doctor who invented the device flew in from TX to train the people up here in UT to be able to do this surgery. There were quite a few different doctors watching from around the world while our son was in surgery. They placed the right side and a month later they placed the left side. Now every 6 months he is in for surgery to expand the veptors or have them replaced when he out grows them. Here is a picture of the x-ray that was last done. You will be able to see just how small the chest cavity really is and how the veptors have helped. when I am able i will have to place an before picture, but for now all I have it a after one.
Here is the definitions that I found on chest cavity.
Small Chest Cavity
The thoracic cavity (or chest cavity) is the chamber of the human body (and other animal bodies) that is protected by the thoracic wall (thoracic cage and associated skin, muscle, and fascia).
Structures within the thoracic cavity include:
- structures of the cardiovascular system, including the heart and great vessels, which include the thoracic aorta, the pulmonary artery and all its branches, the superior and inferior vena cava, the pulmonary veins, and the azygos vein
- structures of the respiratory system, including the trachea, bronchi and lungs
- structures of the digestive system, including the esophagus,
- endocrine glands, including the thymus gland,
- structures of the nervous system including the paired vagus nerves, and the paired sympathetic chains,
- lymphatics including the thoracic duct.
It contains three potential spaces lined with mesothelium: the paired pleural cavities and the pericardial cavity. The mediastinum comprises those organs which lie in the centre of the chest between the lungs.
chest cavity - the cavity in the vertebrate body enclosed by the ribs between the diaphragm and the neck and containing the lungs and heart
bodily cavity, cavum, cavity - (anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body
mediastinum - the part of the thoracic cavity between the lungs that contains the heart and aorta and esophagus and trachea and thymus
chest, pectus, thorax - the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
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