Got my x-mas present - A nipple!

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SusanAnne
SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
My plastic surgeon wasn't sure he had an appt. before the end of the year to do my nipple but I got in yesterday! He also gave me the best news, he was forgiving the $4,000 balance left on my revisional surgery. Merry Christmas he said! Breast cancer patients and children with cleft palates are his passion. All his other work subsidizes this work. Thank you Dr. Harris!

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  • mc2001
    mc2001 Member Posts: 343
    #2
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    Ho Ho Ho... Meeeryyyyy Chriiissstmaasssssss!
    Glad to hear you got your new.... thing! Could you please post some more information about this wonderful Dr Harris? ty... and a Merry Christmas to you!
    -Michael (leukemia survivor)
  • bunnie
    bunnie Member Posts: 233
    #3
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    Hi glad too hear that you got your nippel also gald to heart the doc worte off your balane that you oweec him i gusse there are still a few good people out there.take care of ourself and merry chrismas.Bunnie
  • inkblot
    inkblot Member Posts: 698 Member
    #4
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    Hey SusanAnne:

    This good news just warms my heart! The absolute best thing about this time of the year is the warmth, caring, sharing and joy it brings out in people, who may, the rest of the year, not ordinarily be very generous, caring or interested in sharing. Sooo, acts of kindness, generosity and caring are so WONDERFUL and each one does much to restore our faith in humanity and the goodness of people! Something sorely needed in our troubled world.

    We can all soar and often, all it takes is just one other person who cares, to help lift our spirits a bit. Next thing you know, we take a little turn down the runway (encouraged and buoyed by someone's caring) and we're off!!!

    The GOOD DR. HARRIS has certainly put a fresh breath of air into your balloon (and mine too, just by hearing about it)and may we all pass the caring on. Thanks so much for sharing this story with us. I could just listen to stories like this all day long! Cry with joy and then listen some more! Now THAT would be THE life, wouldn't it???

    Love, light and laughter,
    Ink
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #5
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    mc2001 said:

    Ho Ho Ho... Meeeryyyyy Chriiissstmaasssssss!
    Glad to hear you got your new.... thing! Could you please post some more information about this wonderful Dr Harris? ty... and a Merry Christmas to you!
    -Michael (leukemia survivor)

    Hi Michael,

    I met Dr. Harris in the hospital when I had my mastectomy. My general surgeon had just left my room and ran into him in the hallway so he brought him in to meet me. Now it was a year later that I booked my consultation with him for my reconstruction and I walked in and he said, didn't Dr. DeAngelis introduce us in the hospital? How he even recognized me (no hair)I'll never know. Anyway, while searching for a plastic surgeon here on LI, NY every doctor I asked, every patient I polled all said go to Dr. Harris. The thing I wasn't sure about was the fact that he doesn't participate in any insurance plans. What he does is this. You use your out of network benefits and whatever your insurance co. says is the reasonable fee for the procedure, he will accept. Therefore if his fee is $20,000 but the insurance says $10,000 and pays 70% of that, then all you pay is $3,000. Evidently he is even flexible with that.

    My friend went to see him yesterday. She is considering having some liposuction. When she mentioned she was my friend, he said he would give her 10% off! Monetary considerations aside, he is a very caring, compassionate and well trained doctor. I am so happy he is a part of my medical team.
    Susan
  • chinablue33
    chinablue33 Member Posts: 2
    #6
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    inkblot said:

    Hey SusanAnne:

    This good news just warms my heart! The absolute best thing about this time of the year is the warmth, caring, sharing and joy it brings out in people, who may, the rest of the year, not ordinarily be very generous, caring or interested in sharing. Sooo, acts of kindness, generosity and caring are so WONDERFUL and each one does much to restore our faith in humanity and the goodness of people! Something sorely needed in our troubled world.

    We can all soar and often, all it takes is just one other person who cares, to help lift our spirits a bit. Next thing you know, we take a little turn down the runway (encouraged and buoyed by someone's caring) and we're off!!!

    The GOOD DR. HARRIS has certainly put a fresh breath of air into your balloon (and mine too, just by hearing about it)and may we all pass the caring on. Thanks so much for sharing this story with us. I could just listen to stories like this all day long! Cry with joy and then listen some more! Now THAT would be THE life, wouldn't it???

    Love, light and laughter,
    Ink

    May I ask how it compares to your original or remaining nipple, as I also had the nipple part of reconstruction done and it's different from the left (remaining). ..somewhat disappointing. Good for you---good news. Love, Kate (chinablue33@hotmail.com)
  • mc2001
    mc2001 Member Posts: 343
    #7
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    SusanAnne said:

    Hi Michael,

    I met Dr. Harris in the hospital when I had my mastectomy. My general surgeon had just left my room and ran into him in the hallway so he brought him in to meet me. Now it was a year later that I booked my consultation with him for my reconstruction and I walked in and he said, didn't Dr. DeAngelis introduce us in the hospital? How he even recognized me (no hair)I'll never know. Anyway, while searching for a plastic surgeon here on LI, NY every doctor I asked, every patient I polled all said go to Dr. Harris. The thing I wasn't sure about was the fact that he doesn't participate in any insurance plans. What he does is this. You use your out of network benefits and whatever your insurance co. says is the reasonable fee for the procedure, he will accept. Therefore if his fee is $20,000 but the insurance says $10,000 and pays 70% of that, then all you pay is $3,000. Evidently he is even flexible with that.

    My friend went to see him yesterday. She is considering having some liposuction. When she mentioned she was my friend, he said he would give her 10% off! Monetary considerations aside, he is a very caring, compassionate and well trained doctor. I am so happy he is a part of my medical team.
    Susan

    The man is an angel. Thank you for the information on him. God bless you.
    -Michael
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #8
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    chinablue33 said:

    May I ask how it compares to your original or remaining nipple, as I also had the nipple part of reconstruction done and it's different from the left (remaining). ..somewhat disappointing. Good for you---good news. Love, Kate (chinablue33@hotmail.com)

    Hi Kate,

    It's hard to tell right now since it is encased in a contraption that he should probably patent. He takes a portion of the plastic part of a syringe, the bottom part of which has a base, and they steristrip it to hold it in place around the nipple and it protects it from any clothing rubbing against it. I do not expect it to match my existing nipple since that one is extremely large. He actually suggested that I do what they call nipple share, where they take half of the existing one and transplant it on the other side. However I did not want to compromise the sensitivity I have left so I chose to not do that. What he did was construct the nipple from the skin on the breast. What method did your surgeon use?
    Susan
  • vac
    vac Member Posts: 97
    #9
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    merry x-mas to you i got the same thing but my insurance paid for it. it is so wierd after 2 years of nothing i got 2 brown circles.

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