Anyone able to recommend a PS in Charlotte? for DIEP?

Anonymous

Anyone able to recommend a PS in Charlotte? for DIEP?

gnoz8

Hello! I saw a thread somewhere here that was related to a Charlotte group of ladies? I can't find it now, but was wondering of anyone had any recommendations for PS? I'm interested (maybe, don't know, uncertain) in the DIEP procedure, and if anyone in Charlotte could point me in the right direction that would be awesome. Of the Charlotte ladies....what kind of recon did you have done? Happy with the doc? The results? Words of wisdom? Thanks!!!

My mom used Dr. Capizzi and loved him. I want to talk to several docs beforehand.

(btw- I'm considering a pbmx, so if I'm out of line posting in the recon forum, just let me know. I've seen some pretty hard slams when the "not diagnosed yet" folks wander away from the high risk page. I just know you ladies likely have more info and insight to share. These boards were a lifesaver back in 2004 when my mom was going through treatment. I was her proxy here for all the info and correspondence because she was too afraid of stumbling across certain info. She was stage 3c...still cancer free!!!! 13 years!!!

Lula73

I'm just north of you. I went to NOLA for mine, but I've heard there's a Dr Kline in Charlotte that's supposed to be good. Think he's with Novant. If you go a little further south to Charleston, Dr Marga Massey is supposed to be phenomenal.

gnoz8

thank you! How did you work out the logistics of that? Did you stay there for weeks after surgery? Go back and forth for follow ups? You can PM instead of posting if that’s better.

Lula73

Most women who go to NOLA for their flap recon travel for it. They have a wonderful lady named Heidi who can help with the travel arrangements. You arrive a day or two before surgery day, pre-op appointment is day before surgery. Then you have surgery and stay in hospital for 3 nights. Released to recuperate at local hotel/Airbnb/stayalfred/etc. post-op appt is 7 days after surgery, then you are released to travel back home. If you encounter complications they are typically minor and handled over the phone and email with pics. So about 10 days for stage 1. Stage 2 is typically just 5 days with one of those nights in hospital. Honestly the most difficult part for us was making the arrangements because my surgery was during Mardi Gras. Recovering in the hotel/stayalfred was not a hassle and actually a blessing in some ways as Icould heal and recuperate in peace without someone always trying to see me/talk to me/ ask things of me/entertain. I don’t mean that to be mean, and I know visitor intentions are good, it’s just that visitors can be very draining and this allowed me to be totally in control of it as I was not physically accessible to them to just drop in. If I had it to do all over again, I would go back to NOLA again in a heartbeat. It’s care and quality that’s unlike any other. I actually look better now than I did when I started (and I looked pretty darn good then too). Not many recon patients can say that. I’ll PM you as well. Here’s the link for the NOLA website to check out:

www.breastcenter.com

SCGirl50

gnoz8 Dr. Massey in Charleston did my stacked-DIEP and SGAP. She is a wonderful surgeon and person. Trained in NOLA.

gnoz8

y’all are stinking awesome! Thanks for the replies. (Without a PS consultation yet) I worry about not having enough excess material to rebuild my ladies to my current size. The hybrid implant/flap combo is of interest. Hmm..

How do y’all feel about the scars left from the flap surgeries? Minor? Doable? Bothersome? Issues

Lula73

The really skilled Flap surgeons do a really good job of keeping the scars in “easily hideable” areas (under skimpy bikini lines). But even with that they do a really good job with closing the incisions so that the scars fade nicely. There is also something called a stacked flap where they stack 2 sections of harvested tissue to get the volume you need/desire so an implant is not necessary. That’s what SCGirl had done. You would be surprised though on what they can do with just 1 harvest site.