Author Topic: Wendy's BAHA Pictures  (Read 12527 times)

lori67

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #30 on: January 11, 2009, 02:00:22 pm »
Lacey - I didn't have a head wrap at all after my BAHA surgery.  I'll have to look for the pictures of my very unique bandage so I can post it here.

Jan, I think you should be on an episode of LA Ink and show off your tattoo!   :D

Lori
Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

lori67

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #31 on: January 11, 2009, 02:29:57 pm »
Ok, I found the picture... I'm always so proud of myself when I figure out how to get a picture posted on here, but do you think I can ever remember how to do it the next time I need to??  Of course not...  But I think this should work.  Sorry the bottom of the photo is cut off - blame the photographer...





Lori
Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

wendysig

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #32 on: January 11, 2009, 05:26:26 pm »
Hi Lori -

Wow -- This has to be an original concept by your doc and very smart too.  I'm sure your healing cap never fell off he really had it covered.   Thanks for the great picture even if it was missing a small piece.

1.3 cm at time of diagnosis -  April 9, 2008
2 cm at time of surgery
SSD right side translabyrinthine July 25, 2008
Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Extremely grateful for the wonderful Dr. Choe & Dr. Chen
BAHA surgery 1/5/09
Doing great!

leapyrtwins

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #33 on: January 11, 2009, 09:53:31 pm »
So, Lori, was this bandage actually stitched to your head?  :o

It's interesting to me that I'm kind of shocked by that concept - especially since I had a titanium rod implanted into my mine  :D

Wendy is right - no chance of that "hat" falling off.  Bet our docs wish they'd have thought of that   ;D

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

lori67

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #34 on: January 12, 2009, 08:31:27 am »
Yeah, stitched right to my head.  Definitely unusual, but it did the trick.  As the bandage started to shrink, the "cake box strings" became too loose and then I could just take it off and James snipped the stitches out.  It probably stayed for about a week or so, then I just had the healing cap on there.  I was able to wash my hair right away, but obviously I couldn't really shampoo under the bandage, but I was able to get it wet in the shower.

Who knew my doctor had so many hidden talents - first hair cutting and now embroidery!!   :D

Lori
Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

Pooter

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #35 on: January 12, 2009, 04:37:02 pm »
Okay, I'll say what's on everyone's mind......  OWWWW!!  That just looks painful for some reason.  ;)

Carry on..

Regards,
Brian
Diagnosed 4/10/08 - 3cm Right AN
12hr retrosig 5/8/08 w/Drs Vrabec and Trask in Houston, Tx
Some facial paralysis post-op but most movement is back, some tinitus.  SSD on right.
Story documented here:  http://briansbrainbooger.blogspot.com/

"I must be having fun all wrong!"  - Roger Creager

lori67

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #36 on: January 12, 2009, 05:22:47 pm »
Ah, yes, the benefits of being a numbskull!   :D

It probably would hurt if I had any feeling over there at the time!  Good thing I didn't!   :o

Lori
Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

wendysig

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2009, 06:26:59 pm »
Lori -
I had to laugh when I read your remark about your doc's embroidering skills  :D :D :D!  He certainly is multitalented and very imaginative.  If he ever gets tired of being a doctor it's good he has skillls he can fall back on.  ;D ;D ;D  I still think you missed your calling -- you really should be a stand-up comedian or comed writer -- you'd be great!

Wendy

P.S. Sometimes being a numbskull pays off.  I'm not that numb and every now and then I get a quick shrp  pain near my implant -- glad you didn't have that problem.

Wendy
1.3 cm at time of diagnosis -  April 9, 2008
2 cm at time of surgery
SSD right side translabyrinthine July 25, 2008
Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Extremely grateful for the wonderful Dr. Choe & Dr. Chen
BAHA surgery 1/5/09
Doing great!

leapyrtwins

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #38 on: January 13, 2009, 10:41:28 am »
Brian -

you are so, right!  I wanted to say OWWWWW  :o

But, then again, Lori was asleep during the sewing - and there's the whole numbskull thing (I know it well)  ;)

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

lacey7

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #39 on: January 18, 2009, 12:18:46 am »
Sorry I was gone for a few days.
Thanks, Wendy and Lori for showing me your pictures.  I'm proud of both of you that you were able to post them!!  Great job!!
I can handle the turban (like Whendy's), if it's for only 24 hours!!  It just brings back bad memories of my AN surgery.
Lori....yours looks cute!  And, like everyone else....OUCH.........but I too, know you are numb there, so that helped.
The picture.....it was hard to tell where it was on your head.  I know it must be about 2 or 3 inches above the ear, right???
I so wish I could have had the BAHA done at the same time they did the AN surgery.  I would already be able to be wearing the attachment, and hearing!! 
No one mentioned that option to me.  I've read on this board where several people had it done the same time.
Oh well............I'll wait until June.....(that's the next time I see the surgeon, and he will be seeing my first MRI after the surgery).  At that time, I can set up the actual appt. day that I will have the BAHA. 
Thanks everyone....you are all sharing so much with me, and helping me walk down the BAHA road!  ha.  (Are there any scarecrows there?)  ha.
Love,
Lacey
Diagnosed 4/15/08.
AN - 1.4 cm.  Translab surgery 6-26-08.  SPF leak 7-5-08, and went back into surgery 7 -6-08.
SSD left side, after surgery
Dr. LaRoure - Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI.

leapyrtwins

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #40 on: January 18, 2009, 11:27:15 am »
Lacey -

some docs combine the BAHA surgery with AN surgery, some don't.  My doc typically doesn't.

I don't know how they decide on that, but in a way it makes perfect sense to me.  Lots of people on this forum who are SSD adjust very well and choose not to get any type of hearing aid (TransEar, BAHA, or otherwise).  In my case, I was glad I had a few months to decide what I thought of being SSD before I went ahead with the BAHA implant.  I was so aggravated by my SSD that the BAHA was a no-brainer for me.  But if I would have adjusted well I might not have had the surgery.

Your time will come; June will be here before you know.

Hang in there,

Jan

I think my abutment is only 1- 1 1/2 inches above my ear.

Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

JerseyGirl2

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #41 on: January 18, 2009, 03:38:19 pm »
Hi, Lacey,

Re:  your comments about wishing you could have had your BAHA surgery at the same time as your AN surgery, and that you weren't offered that option.

I had mine done at the same time and am glad I did, but I hope you'll see on this forum that everyone (I think without exception) who had the BAHA implant as a separate, later procedure has remarked that it's no big deal, comparable to a dental procedure.

I believe the "combined" surgery is fairly common at House Ear, but less common elsewhere.  Whatever the case, it sounds as though you'll be getting your BAHA before too long ... and that's wonderful!

Catherine (JerseyGirl2)
Translab surgery and BAHA implant: House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, 1/2008
Drs. J. House, Schwartz, Wilkinson, and Stefan
BAHA Intenso, 6/2008
no facial, balance, or vision problems either before or after surgery ... just hearing loss
Monmouth County, NJ

lori67

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #42 on: January 18, 2009, 04:06:03 pm »
Lacey,

 I didn't have my BAHA surgery done at the same time as my AN surgery because my AN surgery needed to be done fairly quickly (it was about 5 weeks after my diagnosis) and my doctor didn't want to hold the surgery up waiting for the usual nonsense they have to go through to get the BAHA approved through insurance.  That turned out to be a good thing because my insurance took forever to decide to pay for the BAHA.

As for the location of the abuttment, if you were to draw a straight line from the very top of my ear - it's right about there - I'd say about 3 finger widths back from the back of my ear.  (That sounds like a big distance, but I have small hands).

And I think I have seen a few scarecrows.  If I only had a brain.....   :D

Lori
Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

wendysig

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #43 on: January 19, 2009, 10:07:40 am »
Hi Lacey,
Glad you liked my pictures.  I have to get my husband to take some more now that I had the healing cap removed on Wednesday.  The BAHA site is very interesting to look at.  There is a very tiny area around the abutment that will remain hairless.  My doc told me that the trend now is to create smaller sites and that I can consider myself a trendsetter -- it just made me feel so special  ;D ;D.  I actually asked my doc about the possibility of having the BAHA surgery done at the same time as my AN surgery, but he prefers to stage them because the recovery from AN surgery can be tough and the BAHA site needs a fair amount of attention post-op.  I ended up having to wait until now because my incision leaked for so long after my AN surgery (from the beginning of August until the beginning of October).  So far, everything is going fine post-operatively.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Wendy
1.3 cm at time of diagnosis -  April 9, 2008
2 cm at time of surgery
SSD right side translabyrinthine July 25, 2008
Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Extremely grateful for the wonderful Dr. Choe & Dr. Chen
BAHA surgery 1/5/09
Doing great!

JerseyGirl2

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Re: Wendy's BAHA Pictures
« Reply #44 on: January 19, 2009, 11:55:48 am »
Wendy,

Your comment that your doctor mentioned that "the BAHA site needs a fair amount of attention post-op" provides yet another example of the wide range of differences AN patients experience, along with the differing approaches of doctors. I had my translab and BAHA surgeries done at the same time, and while the doctors looked at both sites when they made their daily rounds, other than removing the healing cap the day before I left to fly back home, they didn't do anything, nor did they indicate that my BAHA site was healing unusually well or was any different from any other patient's. It all seemed pretty par for the course from their standpoint.

Catherine (JerseyGirl2)
Translab surgery and BAHA implant: House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, 1/2008
Drs. J. House, Schwartz, Wilkinson, and Stefan
BAHA Intenso, 6/2008
no facial, balance, or vision problems either before or after surgery ... just hearing loss
Monmouth County, NJ