Hi all! I know everyone is different, but I'm curious as to how after surgery did it take for your swelling to go down? I'm 4 weeks post-op (ETT, BL, AL) and still have quite a bit of swelling. Mostly I'm just sick of the compression garments. I appreciate any information you can provide. I need to see some light at the end of the tunnel!

Check with your surgeon on when a mammo is OK...usually I like to wait 4 to 6 months. There can be areas of scar or fat that warrant further workup after any kind of breast surgery, and its never a bad idea to get your PS involved as they may well know what or where that area is (usually at the bottom of the breast.)

yea - that's why I went with someone in Chicago, even though Dr. Zachary is more expensive than some of the other superstars. I'd have to factor in the travel expenses (plane tickets for two, plus a couple of weeks at a hotel), plus I'd only be able to go to maybe two post-op appts, and there's the issue of what do you do if there are complications... Figured in the long run, it was just better for me to stay in the area (Chicago is a couple hours from here, but it's do-able. I made it to four post-op appts after phase 1, and if there was some serious complication, it would be easy enough to drive down there...)

I'm sure there are people of Dr. Michaels' caliber on the west coast. I've heard Dr. Katzen in Beverly Hills mentioned quite a few times, for example. I'm sure there are others - it's just that I didn't research west coast possibilities at all since I'm east of the Mississippi and there are a handful of well-known specialists on this side of the country, too. There are also a couple of very well-known specialists in Mexico, too (Dr. Sauceda and Dr. Cardenas). There may even be one or two up in the PNW - just check around....

You can call them and see if all the documents were submitted. This is the most common delay. Id say it usually takes a couple of weeks to get approval.

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0211.html

AETNA requires the skin hangs below the pubic area and you have 3 months of documented skin rashes that don't respond to treatment for surgery approval.