Travel after surgery

noni458

My 36 year old daughter (working mother of a 4 & 5 year old) has non invasive DCIS grade 3 with necrosis, double margins taken in 2 places & one positive margin under the nipple, so there's still some in there; right breast, lumpectomy about 3-4 weeks ago removed 8x5x2 cm tumor. Had an MRI today, BRCA not back yet. Is having at least a mastectomy, possible double, (hopefully around the end of October) with sentinel nodes removed, depending on MRI & BRCA results. We have to go to Duke for a consultation 9/30 to discuss all this with Dr. Whang (?) because she thinks she wants to have a DIEP flap due to her age & no one near us does them. At this point, no radiation or chemo is planned, given what the labs have shown thus far. My concern is getting her back home as we live 4 hours from Duke. How long will it be before she can travel that distance & is it possible to go by car with the front seat reclined or does anyone have any suggestions? Also, any suggestions from anyone who has gone to Duke as to the best hotel to stay in close to Duke that offers medical discounts? And any suggestions about which plastic surgeon to recommend at Duke? Thanks so much for any suggestions/experiences.

fotogirl

hey there! I wasn't able to read your whole post as my eyes are bleary from meds, but I will respond to more tomorrow. But very importantly, I highly highly recommend Dr. Scott Hollenbeck at Duke for plastic surgery. He just did a bilateral DIEP on me 9/8. He removed my previous implants from a poorly done prior reconstruction in 2012-2013. He said that my surgery was a very challenging one due to some complications caused by my anatomy, but I am great and am looking forward to a great recovery.

Dr. Hollenbeck's education and experience are immense. His office's number is 336-684-4114 if you'd like to set up a consultation. If you have any trouble with that number please let me know. I will send you a private message in regard to the rest of your message and more on why Dr. Hollenbeck is the best choice at Duke in my opinion.

I still haven't figured out the signature thing, but I will!!

E

noni458

fotogirl,

Thank you so much for the recommendation...I saw his name on another post here the other day, so I will tell my daughter about him. If you don't mind my asking, how long were you under for this surgery? And how long were you in the hospital? I'm quite concerned about the length of time my daughter will be under general & was wondering what your experience was like. Also concerned about the 4 hour drive home with all these incisions & stuff...can't see how that is going to be done within any short time frame.

Thanks again for Dr. Hollenbeck's name & for you response...I appreciate it very much.

Tmgilbert1071

noni458- I can talk about the ride home. I just had DIEP on 10/6 in NOLA- 3 days in hospital then 4 more days in hotel before leaving for our 12hour trip back to Florida. My center had me put compression socks and a potable blood clot machine for my legs for the ride. We stopped every hour to hour and a half. While uncomfortable at times it was doable.

I agree with your daughter at her age DIEP is the way to go. It's as normal as normal can be, I had BMX, 3 reconstruction sx and finally the DIEP because the implants were horrible and I didn't want to look like that forever. I am sooo happy with my DIEP results!!

noni458

Tmgilbert1071,

Sorry I haven't responded before now, but since my daughter's surgery date wasn't scheduled until 12/16, we've sort of taken a break from reality & gone into "this isn't real mode". But now that surgery is only 11 days away, I'm starting to get antsy again, so I thought I would check back in to the forum...glad I did! She is having a double with DIEP flap reconstruction immediately, so it's going to be a long surgery with lots of incisions. Thank you for your post about your experiences & I will remember about the frequent stops. My daughter is hoping to head home (4 hour drive) as soon as she is released from the hospital, which I think is unrealistic. I have hotel rooms reserved for longer, so I guess we will just play it day by day & see how she does. Nice to know you are so pleased with your results...thank you again for your input...it does help to reassure me.