Tag: hospital stay

DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Sights and Sounds of the Hospital

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DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Sights and Sounds of the Hospital Your senses can become fine tuned to the sights and sounds of the hospital stay after your DIEP flap breast reconstruction.  Whether you have been in hospital before or not there are many things to deal with when you are out of the comfortable environment of your own home and bed.  Our five senses, taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing, connect us to everything around us.  Let’s look at what that means while recovering from DIEP flap breast reconstruction during your hospital stay. Tastes The taste that you have in your mouth post-surgery can only be described by the individual.  My perception is one of a medicinal, antiseptic taste.  You have been anesthetized for a long period and the drugs used will linger on the tongue.  Your mouth will be dry and you will not be allowed fluids of any kind Continue Reading →

5 Things to Look for: Hospital, PRS: DIEP flap Surgery

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5 Things to Look for: Hospital, PRS: DIEP flap Surgery Here is your list of 5 things to look for in a hospital and plastic reconstructive surgeon (PRS) before your DIEP flap surgery.   The list could fill a book; however, the purpose of this blog is to hit on five important topics that may well be priorities on the patients’ list of items to inquire about before surgery. No. 1 ~ Hospital Accreditation This might not be a question that you would even think to ask.  But, the reputation and accreditation of the hospital facility that your plastic surgeon practices at should be of great importance to you for your reconstructive surgery.  Odds are, you have been extremely wrapped up in the details of your breast reconstruction surgery and the outcome itself, but knowing the official endorsement of the facility is just as important.  When hospitals are accredited through national Continue Reading →

DIEP flap surgery: Packing for your Hospital Stay

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DIEP flap surgery: Packing for your Hospital Stay Here is a simple list of what to pack for your hospital stay for DIEP flap surgery: First and foremost: ID, insurance card, glasses and holder or contacts and case, and any medications your physician would like you to take in hospital. This might include the ever important stool softeners, daily meds you normally take and/or your pain meds if they were ordered ahead of your surgery to take with you. Pillow ~ I brought a very soft & squishy micro bead pillow with a removable/washable cover.  This is not the exact one I had but a suggestion of something similar. Why? You will be lying on your back and I like having a pillow up next to my face to “mimic” side sleeping. It was cozy and there were times when the nurses told me it looked so comfy they were Continue Reading →