MAG-3 Test

I don't really know why this is called a MAG-3 test, but it tests the functioning of her kidneys and bladder. They wrapped Catherine up in a huge strait jacket, and they velcroed her to the table with huge straps. The technician said that he has actually had kids wiggle out of the test. Catherine, however, was great. The technician put some Barney DVDs on for her to watch and she was still for an hour - with no sedation meds or anesthesia!!

The technician had to put some radioactive liquid into Catherine's IV so the machine could record where it went within her body. He told us not to worry about giving our daughter radiation, but the syringe of the radioactive liquid came in a lead container.

Here's a shot of the radioactive material in her body. The screen on the left was not being used for her test, only the screen on the right. The little white dots are the drops of radiation spreading throughout her body. The machine recorded it for an hour. At times we could see big pockets of radiation in her kidneys and bladder.
The great news is that the urologist feels that we can have a D-flux procedure done, which is a less invasive (20 minute, outpatient) procedure done to fix her bladder reflux. We have know her whole life that she would need surgery to repair her bladder. However, we had thought that she needed an open bladder surgery, would be a few hours and require a hospital stay. The urologist wants to try this procedure first and see if it works. Apparently we will know in a few weeks after the surgery if it works. The bladder surgery is scheduled for 10-30-08.