Elisha Enrique Ramirez: August 2009

To see updates and such on the Twins please visit our new blog at TheRamirezTwins.blogspot.com . I am going to delete the posts on this blog as I dont want to take away from my son Elisha's story. Thank you and I love you all!

What is Anencephaly?

Anencephaly is a neural tube defect like Spina Bifida, but instead of he neural tube not closing in the spine it fails to close in the cephalic portion or the top of the spinal column. When this happens the brain and the top of the head cannot complete forming. So the top of the head is exposed openly to the brain. With Anencephaly there is typically not much more brain than a brain stem, sometimes more. The skull and skin does not form above the eyes, ears and back of the neck. Anencephaly is one of the most sever nerual tube defects, and there is no cure, and is a disorder that is "incompatible with life". Babies who make it to term will pass away within minutes or hours after birth. Most babies do not cry and are unable to suck or swallow to eat.

Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

The septum is a wall that separates the heart's left and right sides. Septal defects are sometimes called a "hole" in the heart. A defect between the heart's two lower chambers (the ventricles) is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
When there is a large opening between the ventricles, a large amount of oxygen-rich (red) blood from the heart's left side is forced through the defect into the right side. Then it's pumped back to the lungs, even though it's already been refreshed with oxygen. This is inefficient, because already-oxygenated blood displaces blood that needs oxygen. This means the heart, which must pump more blood, may enlarge from the added work. High blood pressure may occur in the lungs' blood vessels because more blood is there. Over time, this increased pulmonary hypertension may permanently damage the blood vessel walls.
If the opening between the ventricles is small, it doesn't strain the heart. In that case, the only abnormal finding is a loud murmur.