Preparing for BAHA surgery

[Sue Vogel]

I meet with my surgeon on Tuesday for my BAHA surgery (next week) and thought it was time to line up my questions and concerns.  Can some of you BAHA veterans fill me in on what to expect with surgery and recovery?  I was wondering about things like headaches, dizziness, sleeping, driving, returning to work (11 hour days on my feet all day,) washing hair, bandage, stitches, "looking human enough to face the general public," care for the incision, fatigue, what is the "cap" that people reference?, etc.  I was originally going to return to school on Monday after Friday surgery, but I am thinking that I might need at least one more day.  I would appreciate any advice you can offer.

My BAHA recovery kit arrived this week, and I was moved to tears at the generosity of Jan and Lori who put together this wonderful  bag of goodies to eliminate fears and to offer support in the preparation for BAHA surgery.  The forum is just the best thing out there for all of us touched by acoustic neuroma.  Thank you Jan and Lori and bless you for your kindness.

SUE

[Cheryl R]

I am not a BAHA person but just wanted to wish you a day late Happy Birthday!      I hope you got to celebrate and at least yesterday was a nice day in Iowa.     Today is back to the foggy dreary.               I have read of others who received theirs and was no big deal afterwards.         So I hope this goes well for you and know it will be a big help.
                                                       Cheryl R

[lori67]

Sue,

Glad your recovery kit arrived safely!

My first bit of advice - don't worry!  This is an easy one!

Every doctor seems to do things differently as far as bandages, shampooing, etc.  I had a very small bandage that was well hidden under my hair and I could shampoo the night of my surgery.  The healing cap is just a little washer-like thing - feels like very thin foam with clear plastic in the middle.  It snaps onto the abutment and just helps with the healing.  It's small - maybe the size of a penny.  I wore mine for 2 weeks.  After that, I just put some bacitracin on it until it was healed (hence the need for Dawn
dishwashing detergent!).

I didn't have any issues with added fatigue, headaches, etc.  I had the surgery in the morning and that night I drove my daughter to her gymnastics class and just went about my business.  My stitches were the the kind that dissolve, so I didn't need to get them taken out.

I think you'll be amazed at how uneventful it will turn out to be.  Sure sounds like it would be a huge deal, but compared to the AN surgery - not a problem.  You'll do great!

Lori

[leapyrtwins]

Sue -

glad you liked the kit and it arrived in time for your surgery.

My answers are similar to Lori's.  The surgery is very fast and very simple.  You usually have the choice of general or local anesthesia - depending on your doc.  I chose local and found the procedure a lot like being at the dentist's office to have a cavity filled.  I could hear the drill and feel some pressure when my doc was using it, but I felt no pain whatsoever.  I talked to a nurse at my side the majority of the time and had occasional conversations with my doctor. 

After the surgery I spent a few minutes in recovery and then walked out of the hospital - they wouldn't let me drive so I had my sister go with me.  We went to lunch and then attended my son's volleyball game.  I had a "hat" consisting of a plastic cup over my BAHA site with lots of gauze wrapped around it - pictures are on the Forum somewhere.  I had to wear the "hat" for 24 hours, then the "cap" Lori mentioned and a small bandage for the next week.  After I removed my "hat" I was able to shampoo, but couldn't get my site wet; I had to hold a plastic drinking cup over it when I shampooed.

I had slight pain the day of the surgery and the next day (similar to a headache), but I took Extra-Strength Tylenol and that solved the problem.  My doc gave me a Rx for vicodin in case I needed it, but I never had it filled.  I returned to work two days after my surgery - the first day I still had my "hat" on and figured my colleagues would freak out so I waited until I had removed it and shampooed. 

As Lori also said, the bandage is well hidden under your hair - and my hair was extremely short at the time.  My stitches also dissolved; I also had to use bacitracin.  The biggest issue I had post op was intense itching while my BAHA site was healing, but that was it.

Your doctor may have some "rules" that are different than Lori and my doctors have, but I don't think anything will be drastically different.

Good luck.  Please let us know how it goes.

Best,

Jan

[shashank]

One more thing you might notice is the numbness in the abutment area. I've heard that it gradually reduces but not sure if it goes off completely.
I had my surgery in Nov-2009 and i was able to shampoo it from day 3 after my surgery. So, no issues there.

[pjb]

Just wanted to say good luck with your BAHA surgery.

Best Wishes,

Pat

[JerseyGirl2]

One more thing you might notice is the numbness in the abutment area. I've heard that it gradually reduces but not sure if it goes off completely.

It does eventually, but you'll have to be patient! Try to ignore the numbness as best you can, and over time you'll notice that the area of numbness has decreased ... and one day you'll realize that it's gone.

Best wishes.

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[leapyrtwins]

My experience with numbness is the same as Catherine's.  When I had my BAHA surgery, my head was still numb from my AN surgery (9 months prior).  Over time I noticed that the numbness on the entire left (AN) side of my head went away, but I couldn't tell you exactly when.

Patience, patience 

Jan

[hearncl]

I am fortunate in that my hearing loss is related to childhood infections, not AN (I had to look that up). I've had middle ear surgeries with temporary, but not lasting, hearing improvement. I had my outpatient Baha surgery in early December under general anesthesia (the doctor didn't mention that local was an option). There was little or no pain following the surgery. I removed the protective "hat" after 2 days, then the doctor removed the "cap" in two weeks, along with the remaining stitches. For a couple of weeks it was uncomfortable to sleep on the abutment side, but that has gone away. There is some numbness in the vicinity of the abutment, but it's almost not noticeable. I don't have much hair, and was a little self-conscious about the abutment so used a band-aid to cover it when out in public. After six weeks, my hair has grown enough to almost cover the abutment. I also purchased an abutment cover from the Cochlear website, which helps make it less noticeable. Although my BP100, when I get it, will not be covered by hair, I think I will be comfortable wearing it.

I have posted some pictures of my abutment here: http://www.hearnweb.com/baha/

[noodlenoggin]

I had my BaHa surgery Sept. 17. I felt fine the next few days, just a little tired. I took two of the pain pills the hospital gave me, that was it. I couldn't wash my hair for 4 days and had to wear a big cup on my ear with a head band. My surgery was on Thursday, I went back to work on Monday. No pain or headaches, just uncomfortable pressure with the band. I've had numbness for slightly more than three months, not a big deal.  I just received the BaHa last Wednesday. It is remarkable!! I am so glad I had the surgery, it was worth it. I have noticed big changes in regard to communication with other people, I work with the public. I can hear the tv, I can hear the person to my right talking to me. I don't have to say "Excuse me?" or "What was that?". I was home today and didn't attach the BaHa. I truly noticed the difference. You'll love it!

[leapyrtwins]

I also purchased an abutment cover from the Cochlear website, which helps make it less noticeable.

Hearn -

an abutment cover is generally free of charge from Cochlear - comes with the Divino, and should come with the BP100 also to my knowledge.

Of course, you can always order more and pay for them.

You aren't our only BAHA wearer who didn't have an AN - we have at least 2 others.

Jan

[Sue Vogel]

You guys are the best.  I meet with my surgeon tomorrow, and surgery is a week from Friday.  Your comments and pictures tell me what I need to know about the surgery and the incision.  I hope I can be as helpful to others as you have been to me.  I'll keep you posted.

SUE

[leapyrtwins]

Although my BP100, when I get it, will not be covered by hair, I think I will be comfortable wearing it.

I have posted some pictures of my abutment here: http://www.hearnweb.com/baha/

Hearn -

just checked out your pictures; very nice     Your hair does a pretty good job of covering the abutment - and don't forget, most people don't look behind your ear.  I'm also assuming you ordered the BP100 in a color to match your hair, which means it will blend in very nicely.

I had very short hair (collar-length) when I first got my Divino and not many people noticed it at all.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how unnoticeable your BP100 will be.

Jan

[JerseyGirl2]

I had very short hair (collar-length) when I first got my Divino and not many people noticed it at all.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how unnoticeable your BP100 will be.

I'll chime in to say that I wear an Intenso -- it's a good bit larger than the Divino -- and I've never had a problem covering it with my even shorter-than-collar length hair. And, as Jan points out, the ability to match the device with your hair color makes it even more "invisible."

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[Kencutus]

Surgery is a piece of cake.  It can be done under local or general.  That is decided by you or your doctor.  Washing hair is out of the question until your first doctor visit a week after surgery.  Driving is out of the question for a few days.  If I were you, I would take a few sick days if you have any available at your job.

I've had two surgeries and the first one was done under local ( I was wide awake and talking to them) and the second one was under general due to being 3 hours surgery (bilateral).  My first surgery was a little over an hour long and it was like a trip to the dentist office (almost). 

For more info on me, see Link to Cochlear America community forum profile; Kencutus