2018 DIEP Surgery
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OCDAmy-Barnes Jewish in St Louis, MO?
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Yes, Lula in St. Louis.
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I just had my CT scan on Monday and did have an IV, I agree it's standard procedure.
My surgery date is just 2 weeks away ( DM on May 17th) while I knew this was coming I can't help but feel nervous about it!
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Hi Primrose, will you have your reconstruction at the same time or delayed?
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Yes - reconstruction at the same time. From what I have read on this post sounds like everyone makes it thru with varying levels of pain. I am planning on an uncomfortable 1st 2 weeks and hoping for the best after that. Any suggestions as to what I need to prepare/have ready for after surgery and need for when I get home are welcomed! Curious about what type of clothes I will need and that will accommodate the drains in the abdomen area.
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OCDAmy- my grandmother was treated there for mets to her liver and lungs from colon cancer. She received such great care there from her surgeon, MO and all the nurses. It's one of the good ones. Did you know Barnes Jewish is best known for being the hospital that pioneered prostatectomies that do not adversely affect erectile function for men with prostate cancer? Pretty cutting edge stuff.
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Primrose24 - The pinned post at the top of each page in the 2017 DIEP surgery thread has a list of helpful stuff to take to the hospital and to have at home for after.
My P.S. prescribed two surgical camisoles with pockets in front to hold the drains. Those were covered by my insurance. I had 3 drains - one on each side of the abdomen and one for my breast. I stuck the lines and drains in the pockets and pinned the pockets closed with big safety pins so the drains wouldn't fall out. Loose shirt and cotton exercise pants went over that.
For me, the biggest necessities when I got home were lots and lots of little gauze pads, paper surgical tape, and alcohol wipes for stripping drains. Also, the PS gave me a bunch of steri-strips to put on the incisions, the kind with yellow gunk on them. I was really paranoid about getting an infection through the drain tubes, so I used a lot of gauze, wipes, and tape.
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Thanks this is very useful information, I have 2 surgical bra's and 2 camisoles already will look for some loose shirts - Thanks for the tip about the safety pins, gauze pads, surgical tape and alcohol wipes will have to pick some up. Also glad to hear that cotton exercise pants will do the trick
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Cindyanne, do you have a new date? Hope your lungs are cleared up.
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TWills,
My stage 1.5 is May 30th. The countdown begins.
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dawnann--Liz still has not called me back to reschedule and I can not get another chest x-ray until after the 14th. I think I am now back to square one with NOLA. I am afraid that all the dates will be taken and if I do not get one fairly soon I will have to delay until around the middle of October. Our oldest is getting married 10/05/2018. On top of all that we just sold our house after being on the market for three days. I am kind of beside myself right now
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Cindyanne- trust me when i say you’re not at stage 1 again with NOLA. I developed blood clots in my lungs from tamoxifen between stage 1 & 2. I had been on anti-clot meds for a month when stage 2 surgery date rolled around. NOLA required a CT of lungs which showed all clear. But Dr D decided he’d rather wait until at least 3 months had passed on the anti-clot meds just in case there were clot pieces which we couldn’t see. This was literally 2 days before i was to leave for NOLA that the decision was made. By the time the 3 months passed, and I had the CT it was getting near the holidays and everyone and their sister was trying to get in before their deductible started over. everyone on the NOLA FB page was either scheduled or being told the schedule was full. I felt just like you do right now. They finally called me with 2 dates-one 3 weeks later and one 7 weeks later. They can and do make things happen. And women just like you & I sometimes have to reschedule creating a new opening that NOLA will fill even at the last minute. Hang in there!
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cindyanne, omg that sucks!
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I'm very frustrated with NOLA right now. I emailed Liz 2 weeks ago--no reply. I sent a message through their contact page on Wed; they promised to be in touch within 24 hours--no reply. I'm going to call the Center directly tomorrow.
I don't know if they've written me off or what. I was originally scheduled for DIEP in Jan 2017. My mother became extremely ill and near death, so I cancelled. Mom rallied and returned home, so I rescheduled for April 2017. She became ill again and was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer, mets to the liver. It was clear by then that she would not recover a second time, so i cancelled surgery again. I was fortunate to to be able to care for mother until her passing last summer. Now, having tied up all the loose ends, I'm ready to go again.
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Parachutes, what’s stage 1.5??
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TWills,
I really don't know where I fit in. It seems the way it was explained was Stage I was the MX with the DIEP and Stage II was the symmetry. I figure since I've already had my MX that I was at least partly done with stage I? It would be a mental downer to say the DIEP was stage I so I'm making myself feel better by adding a 0.5.
On another note, I received my pre-op paperwork and one of the forms is consent to remove a breast implant. I feel wierd signing it because I have a tissue expander and the form is specifically for those who have implants. Doesinsurance see removal of a breast implant and a tissue expander the same way?
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Gotcha Parachutes, that makes perfect since. I was Stage 1.75 then lol.
And yes, they would view them both the same:)
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Mitzi458 and Shaleae, thinking of you both as y’all prepare forThursday! We are all here for you and cheering you on!
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Good luck!
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I am scheduled for DIEP flap surgery on 6/4.
I realize this is a touchy topic, but I’m wondering if any other women were significantly overweight at the time of their surgery and if they felt it contributed to any complications? I was scheduled for surgery last June, but my PS was concerned that I was too overweight to safely undergo the surgery. (I was 205 at 5’ 3’’).
I’m now down to 175, but still concerned that being overweight may contribute to complications during and post surgery
Thanks! Carol
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I was 164 at stage 1, 170ish at stage 2 (honestly I stopped weighing as it was depressing to me). I'm 5'5" on a good day. No significant issues either time.
Personally I think docs say that just to motivate us to lose some weight - like we haven’t already been trying😠. And then they hold it over us til it happens. No surgery til you lose the weight... If you went in with heart attack, ruptured appendix, heart attack, etc they wouldn’t hesitate to put you under. Perhaps if they just asked what we’ve tried before and how can they help it would be much more productive.
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I was 180ish and 5’4”. Weight never came up as an issue. I am losing weight now for health and cancer recurrence concerns but it caused no complications at time of BMX with DIEP reconstruction
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Thank you for sharing your info with me. My PS has me terrified about complications due to my obesity!
Carol
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Carol- where are you having yours done? I wonder if perhaps they’ve never/rarely done a DIEP on someone with your BMI and it’s making them nervous...
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Lula,
My surgery will be in Fort Worth at Breast Reconstruction Associates. They specialize in the DIEP flap procedure. I'm sure 'Im not the first woman with a high BMI to undergo the procedure; in fact my PS warned me specifically that patients with a high BMI were more likely to have flap failures, slow to heal (sometimes requiring wound vacs for healing, etc. I know that my PS would prefer to operate on average weight women.
~Carol
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Carol, congratulations on your weight loss.I don’t know...maybe he is concerned about obtaining a good result for himself. Did you already have a mastectomy?
My PS was the one team member who could put my mind at ease regarding the outcome of my BMX. If you have any concerns about this PS being able to deliver a result that you will be pleased with maybe a 2nd or 3rd opinion is not out of the question.
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Caroldee- do you know if your surgeon is the one who performed the recon on the lady in the 4th before/after set of pics on their website? That is an excellent result.
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Lula, no, I don't know which surgeon in the group performed each of the before and after photos. However, I have a good friend who works at the Joan Katz Breast Center and “sees everybody's boobs" and says my PS does the best.
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thank you! How long did you wear your abdominal compression belt? They said 2 weeks but I still have it on because my stomach feels tight.
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marg2018, each PS has their requirements. My PS had me wear it for 4 weeks then switched to Spanx or a similar product. The longer you can wear something to support your abdominal area the better the outcome you will have. I liked the Spanx more so than the abdominal band because it gave me support all the way around my torso. Please see my post above about the details
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