NOLA in September?
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Hi ladies
I am finally here in new orleans!
Running for sanity i will have surgery @ 7 and hopefully i will b up to meet u. If not we can sure connect a day or two after. My name is lori and my husband wull b with me. I am staying at the marriott but was thinking of changing to homewood suites for a more comfortable stay. Any experience with homewood?
hBDavis thank u for the airport security info I guess it's pretty random day to day.
Denouement so glad to hear u r getting back to you exercise routine. Keep me informed as I am very active and can't wait to get back into zumba, weight truing and surfing.
Checking out now. Love you all
Springtime thank u for adding me to the list so I can get connected.0 -
Lori... Homewood is great... breakfast included, light dinner during the week included... the center has discount rates, so ask katie... and there is lots of room in the bathroom, which is great with all the surgical dressings... beds are super comfy too... and if you ask, they will bring you a shower chair.
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Hi...thanks for your response. In my case, the insurance problem is not the doctors---they are all covered (though at a much lower rate as they are "out of network"). But St. Charles hospital is not covered at all. Fairview is I believe. However, my oncologist is familiar with Dr. DellaCroce, so I was hoping to have him and Dr. Sullivan do my surgery. However, Dr. DellaCroce apparently does not work at Fairview. So, the hospital is the limiting factor to me not being able to have Dr. DellaCroce be my primary surgeon... which makes me so upset since I have a PPO for the express purpose of wanting the flexibility to pick my doctor. If anyone else has faced this problem, I'd love to know how you solved it! Thanks!!
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I know people have used Dr Sullivan and Dr Massey at Fairview... Dr Dellacroce was my primary, but they really are all great.
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Remembering those lost and the the men and women who have made the "ultimate sacrifice" so that we have the freedom and ability to pursue and move forward with our lives...
9/11/2001
Marcia0 -
DJWeinstein - You can call NOLA and give them your insurance information and they will do all of the checking for you and tell you exactly what you will need to pay (make sure you get both the surgery and the hospital as they are separate). Have you already done that? If not - they will do that. They will also work with you if need be - so if it is a huge amount just ask if anything can be done to reduce that. I have heard that in some cases they can and do reduce it.
Running - Your husband will have his choice of several places to wait. The waiting room in the lobby of the hospital, the waiting room/family room in the hospital on the same floor as the rooms (with the Icee machine in it), or your hospital room. All have wi-fi and the your room has the TV and DVD player (and a murphy bed if he wants to nap). My husband used all three since it was a long time. They did take his order for lunch and bring him lunch in my hospital room. They also took his cell phone # and called him each hour with an update (which he really appreciated). I tried to get him to leave during the surgery and go to the WWII museum which is just down the road from the hospital as he loves that kind of thing. But he wouldn't leave the building even with them calling him periodically. I hope that your sense of peace continues as you go into surgery! We will all be thinking about you!
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Hi Los Angeles/S. Cal. women (Sandy, or any others out there?) I didn't know enough about LA options for DJWeinstein since I went straight to NOLA and didn't explore options in LA. But my understanding is NOLA is the only one doing hip flaps, right? I think there are one or two doctors doing GAP in LA with more than one surgeon at a time - is that true? Also, DJ, since microsurgeons doing hip flap is so specialized, I would stick to talking about that with your insurance not GAP. When you say GAP, there are many more doctors through the country that are skilled (although most are not as skilled as the NOLA docs) and I'm sure if you open that door your insurance will find you someone else cheaper who can do it. Try sticking to hip flap- since I am certain no one in LA does them.
Any other advice for her? I know the insurance is a tough thing to deal with and many of us have tried to navigate through it.
Good luck and let us know what happens!
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JustLaura - Thanks so much for asking (I know you asked pages ago but I had no childcare last week and it was crazy with two boys and two jobs!...not to mention my husband! Lots to take care of.)
I am doing sooo much better. But still swollen from Stage 2. I'm going to wait until 4 months post stage 2 (mid-October) and see how I look. If I still am swollen then I'll send photos. Not sure if there is a lot of scar material in there or not - but if so it may need to come out. Oh joy, that will make 4 surgeries in under a year. Nonetheless, hoping for a flat stomach before the end of 2011 (a girl can dream, can't she?)
I don't know if I mentioned the outrageous rash I developed about two weeks ago. It has mostly gone away (after prednisone, 2 steroid injections, cortosone cream, allergy meds, etc.) Although every AM I wake up with a small rash somewhere on my body. Dab it with the cortosone cream, then again at night and it's gone the next day. Still waiting for the biopsy (on Monday it will be 13 days). Thank goodness it isn't a cancer scare or I'd be pulling my hair out waiting for the results.
I can't believe you're a month away from stage 2. I'm sure it will be a piece of cake. I have a friend going for Stage 1 around that time. I'll get her dates and see if anyone else is there at the same time. She's not on the boards but maybe I can make some private introductions and she can have a surgery buddy or two.
So many surgery dates coming up. +++ Thoughts to everyone!
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Hi All - Just checking in one day (eek) before we leave. SurfaGrl, so glad you are there and it sounds like you are in a good state of mind about everything. I will be there on the 14th for my preop stuff and will hope to say hi. If that doesn't work, I am sure we can connect later. I will also have my eyes out for Kait's Mom and Celtic_Antique.
Today was my "booby shower," which was lovely and left me awed by the generousity and thoughtfulness of my wonderful group of friends. Many of these friends have had a lot of personal and financial hardship in the last year, including job loss, divorce, bankruptcy, and foreclosure, yet they pooled together and bought me a Kindle and some other very thoughtful gifts to help with the recovery. It was warm and lovely, and I am floating on a raft of wonderful female community energy.
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Kathryn... For what its worth, including port surgeries, I have already had 5 surgeries this year, 4 since July... so I understand your apprehension about more.... I need to ask, since you are having abdominal swelling, what compression did you wear post surgery? and for how long? I have been wearing a girdle nonstop and have no swelling there.. my boobs are swollen, but not my abs.
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DJWeinstein, I don't know of anyone in CA doing hip flaps, which Dr. Sullivan innovated. GAP is available, but I don't think simulataneous bilateral is done here. I did start my DIEP here in L.A., but when I developed complications and headed for NOLA, my insurance had no issue with that. I fought and fought with them over stage I at home, and appealed twice before they finally paid a decent amount. The worries over my potential financial obligation caused me a great deal of stress for the two months before my surgery and for many months after. I never had to make a single phone call to my insurance company about my NOLA surgeries. That in itself was one thing that made my experience with the Center so peaceful and easy. My advice would be to let the Center deal with your insurance company unless they ask you to contact them.
I'd like to caution everyone to please not discuss your fees and insurance payments on this board. Everyone's insurance is different and all of our financial situations are different. The Center does everything possible to help make our reconstruction affordable for us and we need to keep specific information off of public bulletin boards. This is information better saved for PMs.
I had a large area of necrosis (about 1/3 of my left breast) after my stage I because that side began to die about a week post-op. That was one of many reasons I needed NOLA. Dr. D poked small holes in it with a lipo cannula to help it resolve, but it took a couple of years before I couldn't feel a hard lump there. I can still feel a small area, but it's surrounded by fat now and never bothers me at all. I had some hard areas after a couple of my revisions but they are completely gone now due to that great medicine called "tincture of time". After these surgeries, results tend to improve over a long period of time, and for me, scars take 18 months to completely fade. Be patient with the healing process and you will be rewarded with great results!
The House of Pink fundraiser for Breastoration was a huge success. I did not attend, but gave my tickets to a local Dr. D patient who enjoyed it very much. I had posted announcements here a few times, including dedicated posts, but I guess some ladies still missed out---seems that Facebook might have been a more effective way to get the word out.
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Betsy - I wore the dom that the center gave me to start. Because I had lipo on my knees they then gave me a calf-to-shoulder garment by Veronique (loved this one but boy was it a PITA with 103 degree weather while I was in NYC.) After about 3 weeks I also included a great Spanx garment that goes mid-thigh to under my breast. Only recently did I stop wearing one at night (was just too hot) but 3 months post surgery I'm still wearing something every day. I actually feel better when I wear something.
The difference for me is that I had excessive bleeding during surgery and a hematoma that created a huge bulge in my stomach. So you hopefully should not have what I have. My fear (which was put there by too much internet reading and some local doctors) is that I have a lot of scar tissue that formed there and that the bulge may never go away. So basically I have a bigger tummy than I started with! The local doctors feel that I will need surgery to get rid of it, but NOLA says I should give it time (Sandy's "Tincture of Time" therapy!) but I'm not sure how much. Honestly, just ready to be done with surgeries.
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Well, I have a big lump where my port was (upper right chest)... you would think I still have the port... I have scar tissue that even runs where the tubing was... looks terrible, so Dr D will be working on it at stage II... he wouldn't want it ruining my breasts... but the lump is huge... He says time will reduce it, but we'll see... Kathryn... in your case, I say to give it a year and then deal with it UNLESS you have met 2011 deductibles and want to get it in this year... but Dr D did say it can take 18 months for everything to settle.... so my plan is stage II in November and then tats in the Spring and then wait... If in a couple of years I need a tweak, I will deal with it then.
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Re: necrosis vs. swelling - I asked Dr. D about an area of concern on a recon breast I had. He pushed hard on the area with his finger and kind of made circles of pressure on there (hope that makes sense!). After he had done that for maybe 15 seconds, he pulled his finger away and you could see that there was a little indentation in the hard area. He said that this showed that it was swelling. He said that if it's necrosis, it is "hard as a rock." I know this is probably harder to determine if the area is deeper, but if it's closer to the surface, it's a very good test.
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My breasts are for sure firm, but I really do think its just swelling, nothing is ROCK hard, and no nodules, just general all over firmness... I can be patient... When I had my breast redone though, I had a huge area of a black scab (maybe 3-4 inches in diameter) and think that was skin necrosis... all gone now as Dr D replaced it with ab skin when he did the DIEP... he just replaced that scabbed area and where my incision had opened and was all flapping about. That poor breast is firmer and bruised but it has been through a lot these last two months... Still 2 months til Stage II so, I'm good. And another reason I think mine is swelling, when I take my bra off there is an indentation that is deep where the seam was.
My concern(ish) is where my port was (that has not much to do with my surgery) except that it got infected after my hip flap surgery when they couldn't get it out, and then I had it taken out at home... doctor had to cut me by the clavicle to get it out, and there is a huge firm area from that, like 4 inches by 3 inches... I read somewhere that a keloid can form?? Not quite sure what that is... Dr D said if its still there in November he will work on it... what a gem he is!!
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In-network denied. Poo. It begins! (c:
They say David Song can do it.
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who/where is david song? so what does that mean for you?
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He's a PS in Chicago and I don't know yet! Insurance... blech. (c:
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Minnesota - that is a good test. I am almost 15 weeks out and swelling is really gone. My left breast is definitely hard over almost 3/4 of the surface area. Don't have a sense if there is healthly deep tissue underneath. You can also feel edges on the fat necrosis as opposed to a general firm feel to the tissue. Just 2 weeks away from my stage 2 where any question about what this is and what to do about it will be definitively answered. Counting on Dr. S.
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Rhonda... I heard they can break it up... Did I say this before?? Maybe not all of it, but a lot... I believe that is what Dr Dellacroce said to me when i asked him 2 weeks ago, in a hypothetical situation.
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a good thorough listing of microsurgeons who can perform autologous breast reconstruction can be found at this URL. It is pretty thorough ... and doncha know our guys are there:
http://www.breastrecon.com/id10.html
I stipulate that one should beware of ones that your insurance recommends that are not on this list. It may mean that you might be headed for a "pressure" to have implants are looking (like my insurance did) or you are looking at a pedicled TRAM or a Lat Flap. Education is the key ... know what the procedures are ... pedicled TRAMS are still done and WILL leave one disabled as they cut the ab muscle. If insurance says this doc, they you should be asking questions like: How many of these have you done? May I see photos? What is your complication rate? and, specifically, WHAT procedures are you trained and certified for?
Looking at the list, it appears that Dr. David Song works with Dr. Marga -- and that's a GOOD thing!!
FWIW!
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Dr. Massey doesn't work with Dr. Song, they just happen to be next to each other in the list. The list isn't formatted very well.
Dr. Massey doesn't have any co-surgeons in Chicago and doesn't have hospital privileges here, so she doesn't do Stage 1 surgeries here. I'm guessing she recommended going to NOLA because she wants the particular expertise of the doctors there. I get the impression your case is particularly challenging.
Adey--you're having stacked bilateral, correct? Just one reconstruction but flaps from both sides? That's a procedure that's only done at NOLA, that should be your angle for getting an out-of-network exception. Dr. Song only does one flap at a time.
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Adey- Dr. Massey does see patients in Chicago. Not sure what surgeries she performs there, but it would be worth inquiring. She is awesome! Call Ashley ( her patient coordinator ), she can answer your questions. 866446-0962 , option 2.
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Betsy - yes, they can break it up but I think the question comes down to how much you have. A small amount may dissolve on its own and because it is a small amount you will not perceive any change in the appearance of the breast. With a large amount of necrosis, if it were to liquify you could lose a fair amount of the breast. That is why, I think, if you have a large amount of necrosis, it needs to be removed and replaced with new healthy fat that will not dissolve in time.
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Oh... I thought they could break it up and it would not dissolve... My mistake.
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Surfa and Amy and Running, GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK!!GO Surfa!!!Sept 13 - Surfagirl - Stage 1 DIEP with Dr. S, NOLA. SCSH. Sept14 - KaitsMom - Stage 2, Dr. D., SCSH, NOLA.Sept 15 - RunningForSanity - Stage 1 PBM with hip flap recon, Dr. Stolier, Dr. D., NOLA.0
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DJW, are you sure Dr. D doesn't work at Fairway or another local NOLA hospital in your network? If he's no longer using Fairway then that's new. Did you call the center and get all hooked up? they can help you navigate the insurance and hospital stuff.
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Hi ladies..I"M BACK! Sorry for the long delay.
I had surgery with Dr D early last year and had to delay Stage II because I got pregnant and gave birth to my beautiful baby boy in May of this year!!!
Now looking forward to Stage II in March of next year. (already scheduled) The young survivors have a conference the last weekend of Februrary and then onto surgery for me!!
So my biggest question is what can you ask for? I know face is off limits, but anything else? Sorry I can't seem to search the thread. I came back in at page 210..and now ynou are on 400+
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Thank u springtime. Had my pre op today and everyone was so cordial and sincere. Here I go!
Running for sanity I changed my hotel to homewood suites so we can meet up there too.
Bdavis thank u for the hotel suggestion. I agree that a suite may b more comfortable and larger so I don't go crazy in a little hotel room. I'll b there for seven days after being released from hospital.
Congratulations to mileha! that is awesome.0 -
Mileha - HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so very excited for you! I wish I could post a smiley face doing the happy dance! Congratulations!!! (And welcome back!)
Okay, I seem to recall someone on here that has had a clotting disorder that had surgery at the center? Anyone recall who? Anyone? Please let me know soon! Thanks!
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