Post Op Supplies for Brachioplasty and Upper Back LIft?

I know you're not asking me but, I'll butt in ;)

I had slightly different combinations of surgery as you know/can see in my signature. But, that said. Neither my brachioplasty or UBL impeded my bathroom stuff. I was able to wipe my own butt throughout the healing process of both (and I had an LBL to go with the brachioplasty!).

I used a shower chair after both surgeries just because of fatigue if nothing else. For the brachioplasty I needed someone to wash my hair initially.

I slept in an anti-gravity lawn chair initially and then transitioned into bed with a wedge pillow or crazy huge U-shaped pillow to keep me from rolling. I only used a cane after my first surgery and that was more of a "hey, don't bonk the person with the cane" when I was out of the house thing than a necessity.

Getting up from chairs was hard initially, I had to sort of scoot to the edge of the chair so I could then use only my legs to stand. Initially having a helper for this was good and having the helper provide momentum with a wide strap under the line of my UBL incision.

Getting in and out of bed has only been challenging due to the LBL and muscle repair. None of the other surgeries have impacted getting in and out of bed.

I didn't have a great desire to eat after any of my surgeries, but I had to keep my protein up so I did a lot of protein shakes. Flexible straws were really, really important :D Since the whole "bringing drink to face" thing was too challenging.

I think you'll be peachy. UBL and brachioplasty were pretty easy procedures in the scheme of things for me!

Thanks for the information, Gwen. I'd wondered how challenging movement is when you have an incision across the upper back and down the arms, all healing at the same time. I feel like I'll need to keep my arms plastered to my sides when rising so no risk of pulling any of those incisions while keeping upper body as erect as possible. Unfortunately the calendar indicates I'll likely be dealing with female issues at the time of surgery so there's added concern there. There's just some things I don't want to ask of my hubby hence the toileting questions.

Do you feel the antigravity chair is a sound investment for this? I think in Canada they run $80-150, if I can find one this time of year. Or, could you have managed getting in/out of bed if you had wedge pillows behind your back and stool to step onto? I don't mind sleeping sitting up at all. I know the first week is going to be ****ty anyway. thanks.

Sorry for the delay in reply, I had to think about this and I'm still not 100% sure.

I don't really feel that my UBL has impeded my movement very much. But it's also hard to tell.

For me, the chair was definitely a good investment, but then I planned to use it for multiple surgeries, so that changes the cost-benefit analysis. I actually ended up using it between surgeries too, just because I've found the straight back to make it the most comfortable chair for my body right now. However, as a full time online student, I spend a lot of time sitting in my chair so..

I THINK I could have managed in bed with lots of props and a stool to step onto.