After several months of talking to doctors, researching different reconstruction techniques, getting additional testing and scans, and working with my naturopath, I have a concrete plan of action. On November 3, 2017 I will have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. My breast surgeon is Dr. Linda Liu with the Comprehensive Breast Center of Arizona and my plastic surgeon is Dr. Tim Matatov with the Aesthetic and Restorative Breast Center.
I’m very happy with the surgical team I put together and I’m glad I took my time asking a lot of questions and doing research. I will address more about the details of the surgery in other posts, including the type of reconstruction surgery I will be having.
One thing I learned this time around is that you can decide if you want to have your surgery in a dedicated surgery center or a general hospital. I was unaware of this distinction when I had my lumpectomy in 2013.
My mastectomy will be at the Greenbaum Surgical Specialty Hospital in Scottsdale, AZ, which is part of the HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, but it is located in a stand-alone building on the campus. Statistics show that dedicated surgical facilities generally have a lower rate of infections than general hospitals. Read about additional differencess between the two types of facilities here.
In the coming weeks, I will continue to prepare, both mentally and physically, so I can sail through the surgery and recover as quickly as possible. Stay tuned for more updates and thank you for following along!
Love to you.
Thank you for keeping us in the loop! You are gonna do fantastic! Love you! <3 <3 <3
Thinking of you, wishing you all the best! Keep your chin up and you will do fine! 🙂
So happy you found a team you are comfortable with. That made my experiences so much easier with both Russ & I always having questions and our team was always generous with their time to answer them. I did get an infection and after that I only had any surgeries at the Piper Outpatient center which is the partner with Scottsdale Honor Health on Shea. I did stay 23 hrs after one surgery ( implants & hysterectomy) but even that was a wonderful experience considering the reasons. You are in my prayers and know you will be fine. Attitude is 95% of the cure for cancer. Learned that while I did months of treatments.