NOLA in September?
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I know several of you ladies have already had stage 2 surgery and I thought you might be able to answer a question for me. I am going for my second stage 2 DIEP surgery in Charleston on the 13th by Dr. Massey. I was wondering do you always get drains after lipo? I am planning on extensive lipo along with some scar revisions and removal of a small area of fat neurosis in my right breast. I will also be getting nipple construction.
Thanks!
Sandy
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Sandy - I had lipo and no drains for my stage 2 Hip Flap.
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Sandy, gee, that is so sad, but glad you are on it. I have noticed a few machines at the gym that my back to not like, and I avoid those. Do you see a chiropractor? I see mine about 4x a year just to keep my spine in alignment. Since I started with Yoga several years ago, my back has been better - it seems to like Yoga. And my chiropractor agrees.
I hope you find what works... it is so important to have a strong healthy back!
Bennets, I will add you to the list. I had drains, but I had abdominal plication. I don't think you need drains from normal lipo?
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melindastn - do you want to be added to the listing above? let me know some info and I'll add you.
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Bennetts are you in St charles @ NOLA? If so we'll be there at the same time!! As well Jaimieh
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Thanks Spring...I am going to ask about having the stomach plication too. I have had 3 children so I know my stomach muscles are really separated!!!!
Dragonfly...Dr. Massey will be doing my surgery in Charleston. Best of luck to you in you surgery. I know you are extremely excited!
Sandy B.
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Sallym--you are right, my daughter is a gem! I'll tell her you said so!!! Hope the draining eases up...
My recovery is continuing to go well. All remaining stitches were removed on Friday. My local plastic surgeon couldn't believe how great everything looks--he said don't let anyone do anything more to them as they are now, at long last "perfect." (-: He called in a woman associate who was also amazed. She said that she used to do trams and latissimus but said that insurance doesn't pay anything for it and she quit doing them--she couldn't believe the work they do for as little as they end up reimbursed. Anyway, I'm glad we all found NOLA.
Dragonfly--you've gotten good advice on packing. I wore capri's with drawstring top and baggy shirts and did fine. I did get a "Marsupial"--it's a terry cloth belt with large pockets for drains. They aren't cheap on line, but I got mine for free at my prosthetic store and have totally loved it during 4 surgeries. The center gives a belt with drain pockets too, but the marsupial pockets are oversize and easier to work with--you can stuff the tube as well as the bulb in it and fit multiple drains if necessary and cram it all under most shirts. Not an essential, but definitely made my life easier.
Also, I agree that walking is good--but after my first surgery I measured it in laps around the hallway, room or to an outside chair and back...Not blocks. It all depends on how things go for you, so don't be discouraged--do what you can, not what you can't.
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It has been a long, long time since I was here last!
Bennetts...I had one drain coming from my hip incision at my stage 2 from the hip flap. I also had extensive lipo on my buttocks and legs/knees. But I only had to wear the drain for a few days after surgery, much shorter amount of time than with stage 1.
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Holtbolt,
Well my NOLA boobs were touched by a rock star! And we all know who he is! And what is this PG-13 photo?! I want to see it! (My NOLA boobs touched and were seen by a Blues icon - but that's quite a long story)
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lol... it's only PG.. I was only kidding... you probably saw it on my FB but I'll pm you........ but now you have me curious on the Blues icon.. lol... I should know not to try and compete.... I've seen you girls in here competing before and it scares me.. lol
Question about my Stage 2B if anyone has any input. Re: SGAP... if after Stage 2, your backside is still somewhat dented... is it possible to inject fat along the incision line and try to poof it up a little back there without reopening the incisions? Has this ever worked in filling in the donor site a little more?
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Yes please add me to the list.
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LOL Holtbolt! Oh no - I hope I'm not coming across as competitive! (You had better be afraid. Be veeeery afraid... It's a good thing we both have the same doctor...) But I'll certainly never be able to compete with Steve Tyler! My backside is looking good after stage 2, but I don't know how much of it may still be some swelling. I don't know why fat injections wouldn't work to poof out the back, but maybe someone has some experience with this. I'd be curious to know, too, just in case.
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Bennetts I had Stage 2 surgery on August 20th and I still have 2 drains in (on Sept 6th). I will say that I dont heal as well as most women on this site. It has always taken me longer. I did have a ton of Lipo done too. Good Luck
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Thanks ladies...I am going to have to have a repair done to my lower incision. She will probably have to open it up. Had major issues with it first surgery with it coming open. I am probably like you Sally...don't heal very good! But if it takes drains, I guess I will have to deal with them! I am planning on just taking a week off teaching...only have 6 sick days left. Cancer, chemo, and surgery used my sick days up fast! I hope I can stand up and teach a classroom of highschool students without being in too much pain!
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Hi Everyone...This is the first time I had internet since getting home from hospital.Surgery was Tue-Single mast.with Diep reconstruction. Surgery went well but I am having trouble with pain meds even with anti-naus. med. Have horrible upset stomach, pain meds give nightmares so taking xanax to sleep. Trying to walk around as tolerated but it's hard to imagine how exhausted your body is after everything.Haven't had post op visit yet but of course I have lots of questions about recovery and how things should look. Drains are tolerable and I hope they remove them because putting out very little ccs now.
The hospital is spotless and relaxing. The nurses are amazing! I especially loved Erin and Nicole-they took extra care to your comfort! I even called on Sunday with some questions that Erin answered for me. No calls to check in on me yet but maybe holiday week-end?!
So much to talk about but soooo tired, will try to get back on later and talk about thoughts for those coming. Thanks for all advise given to me.
Good luck to upcoming surgeries.
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Ladies
CTA ? Are they doing something different at the center now? I had stage 1 Diep done in June 09 by Dr. D. He never asked for a CTA. Is that just a Sullivan thing? I know Dr. Massey did some type of test to find the blood vessels. Maybe she brought the procedure to NOLA?
Sassie
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I am told a CTA scan is with an IV, and a dye to find out where your blood vessels and such are located, and to find out the best ones to use for the surgery. Sounds like the same thing? I'm having Dr Sullivan though so not sure?
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Hi chimama05, So glad you finally made it to this board. I think most of us found out about the NOLA docs on our own, too. So glad you are doing well. Have a good trip to NOLA tomorrow and keep me updated on your progress. Big hugs, Amy
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Mamaluch - Glad you're home from the hospital and so glad to hear your nurses were great. I wish I could remember the names of all my nurses! I had Nicole, too. Her name is one of the few I remember! She's absolutely wonderful - so, so, so friendly and warm.
Sassie - Yes, the CTA thing is new. I didn't have it in '06 for DIEP, but had it this year for SGAP. Dr. D. is doing it, too. And Dragonfly is right about it providing another look at the vessels.
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Say a prayer for me this week that COBRA will get worked out. I'm a week away from surgery and don't know still if I'm good to go!!! So strsesed.
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I had CTA last August for my hip flaps. When I went for my consult in Texas prior to deciding on NOLA, they said they only use the US/doppler to find vessels... Sassie - maybe you just had really good vessels and they were easy to find. Dr. S found several of mine prior to my CTA - it just confirmed them since I had my pre-op with him before my scan.
BTW, Sassie - I forgot to mention before about your heel pain. I would bet 10 to 1 that it is coming from your back. This could be from compression at the L4-L5 level, as the dermatomes for the back of the heel are at L4-L5. Here is the thing, the more compression on the nerve root in the spine, the more distal the pain. I personally would have someone take a look at your back - not necessarily a chiropractor either, I mean an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist and even a good spinal PT. If it is disc related - ie herniated, then specific exercises and modalities such as traction can help to move the disc more centrally and relieve some of the pain. Have you tried laying on your stomach, gently propped up on your elbows? (Think sphinx pose in yoga. This is a simple extension exercise that I would give someone with a posterior hernation - if you do this and the pain moves further up the leg, that is actually a good thing. You want it more central - closer to the cause. If the pain gets worse in the heel, more distal on your foot or stays the same, it may be something else causing it - possibly even boney in nature.) Having good posture with a neutral spine is beneficial too. Definitely check into it.
CCBaby - We've missed you!
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Dragonfly, I can't imagine how tough it must be to not know at this point! I will be praying for you and I am hoping that you will be in NOLA next week!
Nordy, exercises that put traction on my spine are a big part of what I learned the past few days. I was starting to have pain in my left buttock due to compression at L3-L5 and we learned how to manipulate them forward, upward and inward, as well as a lot of other stuff.
I'm sorry for posting so much about scoliosis recently, but several ladies from this thread have PM'd me, and the one who originally told me about Schroth may end up seeing the therapist I worked with this past weekend because she is not happy with the one she went to. Women are more prone to develop scoliosis and mild cases are pretty common. Unfortunately, it can become painful as we get older and at that point, surgery is usually the choice. Schroth is for those who do not want back surgery. Now I will shut up about it and keep it to PMs, but feel free to message me if you want to know more about it. LOL
I received a call from the Center last week, and they have me down for bilateral breast revision, donor site (abdominal) revision (gulp!) and lipo, which surprised me. I guess they are just booking Dr. D for enough time in the OR, but I was thinking I could probably get away with one tiny incision for this last (I will promise Dr. D it is the last!) revision. So, Eve and Spring, plan on hanging around for a while that day!
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Just two weeks to go. The excitement is building. I have almost been afraid to allow myself to get excited for fear of something happening to force a change of plans. I just celebrated my 1 year anniversary of my diagnosis on August 31st followed by my mastectomy on September 4th.
I have been trying to prepare my three year old granddaughter for the fact that I will be gone for almost two weeks -- she is accustomed to seeing me every day. I was talking to her yesterday about it and was helping her get a better understanding of how much longer until I will be gone. She has a birthday coming up on the 10th and her mom on the 16th. So I was using that as a reference, telling her first she will have her birthday, then her mom will have her birthday, then I will go get my new boobies. She said "Have you already picked out which ones you want?" I said, "No I don't get to pick them out. The doctor has to make them." She said, "Well, does he at least know your favorite color is yellow so he doesn't make them some other color? You better tell him or you might get stuck with some ugly color you don't even like."
Now that is advice you won't even find on a discussion board!
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I just had a DIEP with Dr D and did not have a CTA. He has said on the "ask the doctor" site that he doesn't feel they are necessary (for him) but they increase efficiency. I assume this means it helps him figure out more quickly where all the vessels are. So it sounds to me like a presonal preference/provider specific kind of thing. And maybe it's more necessary for SGAP because a friend had that procedure, also with Dr D, a couple months ago and she did have a CTA.
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Ann, that's priceless about your granddaughter!
I'm sitting at a friend's house right now, wondering what the hell has happened, if anything, to my house. We had to evacuate yesterday due to wildfire. It's 0% contained. Packed up the cats, some papers, some jewelry, and my bead stash (no small feat!) but only enough clothes for one day. Funny how the brain works under stress...Hey, that's what Target's for, I guess!
I'm posting regularly on Facebook. Ya'll keep good thoughts going that our house is safe, and for those who've already lost everything.
Anne
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I ended up with a DIEP last month with Dr S, and during my pre-op he simply marked me up and did no vein-hunting with doppler (like he did with both my GAP & Hip flaps previously). And he's never ever done a CTA. I asked him why he didn't check, and he said quite confidently, that those veins are "easy to find" and he wasn't worried about it. LOL! I don't see any rhyme or reason to what they choose with any of us...but whatever, it seems to work quite well.
I'm 4 weeks out now and doing great. I took a 7-mile bike ride yesterday evening with my 2-yr old sitting behind me. I only have swelling around my abdominal incision left over, and where he did lipo all around my abdomen. I still wear the binder for most of the day. But I can tell the results are going to be amazing, because they already are.
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Ann.. that is funny about your granddaughter!! lol. Maybe someday, boobs will be like Ipods and we'll just go in and choose a bright shiny color! lol lol That was so cute!!
AnnW.. oh no!! I hope your house is ok!! I have cats and a bead stash too and they would have certainly been on my quick list to get out!! Keep us posted!
Dragonfly - good luck with the insurance issue.. ugh... you don't need that extra stress right now...hopefully it goes away soon...
Re: CTA. I had a bilateral SGAP in February with Dr. D and I had a CTA... maybe he just does it on a case by case basis?
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Does the CTA/no CTA have anything to do with cancer status?
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Sounds like it's just something maybe Dr S prefers to do over Dr D? I'm not worried, if it means my surgery will go good and have nice boobies then I'm happy
What do you mean about cancer status? As far as I know it's only done to find blood vessels. I am having a DIEP no SGAP. Thanks Holtbolt...I'm going to be on pins and needles this week! I don't know how they can change it, my airfare is all booked, and everything!
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melindastn - I added you but typically we add a bit more info, see above and let me know if you want other info added. Compare to the others. : )
Sandy and Minn, My pre-op appt for my revision surgery is Thurs 10-28 at 3PM. When are yours? I received a letter in the mail with a script for blood work, chest Xray and EKG. Help. IT says this needs to be done 20-30 days prior to surgery. Does that mean, no further out than 30 days? I have an ONC appt next week where I could get a lot of that done, but that would be like 45 days out!!! ugh.
Sandy, how did you find out what they had you "down for" in terms of your surgery? I want no drains this time. He can go crazy, but no drains, please God!!!
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