NOLA in September?

Gram, I had to have mine aspirated a couple times after Stage 1. My left hip drain was in for 7 weeks and still outputting a lot. My stage 2 was 4 months following Stage 1, and it was just the right amount of time.  You will be glad you did them rather close together. I couldn't help but compare it to having a second child before the first is out of diapers. It's better to get it all over with while you are atill in "surgery mode". 

sydgrace I had a cold start 5 days before my last surgery.  Still had a touch of the sniffles and a cough but all turned out well. No fever...so I think that is the decision maker for the docs.

Grama...I had to have my donor site drained 2x and then finally had to have Dr M remove a pseudo bursa that formed.  Make sure you are wearing your compression to help the fluid from building up

Mags

Thank you for adding me to the surgery schedule Springtime! Stage 2 is only 6 weeks away and it's been a long time coming. It's been 3 years since stage 1 DIEP. I've been working out and losing some weight to be in the best possible shape for surgery. I have butterflies of excitement/nervousness just thinking about it. This will be my first time in NOLA and it could be scary traveling across the country for surgery with a Dr. I've never met in person but I feel so confident about being in good hands from reading of other peoples experiences on this board. Surgery is with Dr. Wise who is fairly new there, has anyone here had surgery with him yet? 

hi seashellie. Just had Dr wise do my repair work this morning.  My surgical onco was there too.  All very kind , professional, AND compassionate.   Still hooked up to antibiotics but enjoying my icee.

Does anyone know if dr. D is still answering questions on ask the doc? I have not gotten a response. Maybe he is out of town? Sick? Or possibly no longer answer ing questions?   Pm me if u want..

speaking of which, does anyone know what happened to Erin?

She wasn’t there for my stage 2. After 3 surgeries with her, I missed her!

Heather... How did it go?

Erin was there this past June... didn't say anything about leaving. Love her.

Any idea when Dr. D is coming back from China??   I have a question for him...  WOW- it must be a great feeling to know your needed......  He can't even go on a trip but people inquiring about him... .  He has a great Life!

Zenful,

I need to start planning what to pack for my Stage 1.  Any tips?

Merrill - there is a link to a packing list at the top of the page for this thread.  Might help.

I fly into NOLA tomorrow.  Will see Dr. D on Thursday afternoon.  Will any of you be at the Center during that time?

I was surprised at how much they provided--surgical bras, girdles (only for Dr. M patients, I think) or panties, and belt with pockets for drains.  With the girdle it would have been better to have had some skirts with me.  Instead, I had shorts, and they didn't cover the girdle.  As I was leaving Walgreen's after discharge with my medicines and moving very slowly, there was a drunk man sitting on the concrete up against the wall.  The girdle lace hanging out below my shorts was right at his eye level.  He perked up and said "how YOU doing?"  I thought my sister would pee herself laughing.  I took a step or two, turned around and said "not that well, really."  

Things I took and didn't use:  sleep masks, ear plugs, post-mastectomy surgical vest with drain pouches, underwear.

And if somebody can find out what the name of the Philosophy shower gel is, I would greatly appreciate it as I want to order some.  I called the hospital to find out, but never got a call back.

They really supply almost everything for you. You usually get 2 bras sometimes more, I did get 2 compression girdles and Dr T is my doc, pads, betadine, pouches for your drains. I brought button down pajama shirt and pants to wear but you wear a gown for the first day or two. Just toiletries if you need them, the have shampoo, shower gel, etc. So not much needed for your care in the hospital. I now have about 6 black bras in an assortment of sizes,lol!!

hi, this is my first time posting here, I think. I will be having my stage 2 in about 3 weeks and I don't really know what to expect. My surgery will be 6 months to the day of my BMX DIEP/SGAP. All though everything looks good, I think I have a partial flap failure. I had stacked flap and outer half is still very hard. I call it the tip of the iceberg. From the front you feel a small firm tip and then lower area of firmness but when I turn on my side it is like this massive hardness flips to the surface. I don't know how they will fix that. I don't want to think about losing the entire flap because I don't know where they would get another one.