I have a few questions, regarding out-of-town pts if Dr. Luketich does the surgery...

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casp42
casp42 Member Posts: 79
in Esophageal Cancer #1
I have a few questions, regarding out-of-town pts:

-if Dr. Luketich does my dad surgery, how long can we expect to be in Pittsburg for?
-Is the Shadyside house closest to the hospital?
-how long should I tell them we are staying there for?
-What are the first 7 days like, should 1 of us stay with my dad around the clock?
-post-op appts with Dr. Luketich, is at 1, 3, 4, 6 month?
-After chemo/radiation how quickly did everyone have their surgery? 4 weeks out, 5 weeks out, 6 weeks out?
-How do I make sure that Dr. Luketich is the surgeon?

Anything else, please help? Thank you, thank you, thank you.....

Carolyn

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  • flmo
    flmo Member Posts: 65
    #2
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    Dr. Luketich
    I can answer some of your questions. My 76 year old husband was operated on by Dr. Luketich in Feb. We live in FL. We were in Pittsburgh almost 3 weeks. We went a few days before the surgery. My husband was in the hospital for 5 days, and he recuperated at Shadyside Family House for another 10 days. Of course everyone is different. Some patients stay in the hospital a lot longer. It really all depends on the patient.

    Shadyside Family House is not the closest to Presby Hospital. The closest one is University Place. Shadyside is really wonderful,though. They have 2 room suites which was nice for such a long stay. They have a shuttle that takes you to and from the hospital. It stops right in front of the door. You can stay as long as necessary. You don't have to tell them when you plan to leave until the day before. As far as I know the patient has to have a caregiver with them at all of the Family Houses.I didn't stay overnight at the hospital. I felt that the nurses were very competent. I'm sure you could stay if you felt more comfortable.

    I don't know what you mean about knowing the Dr. Luketich would do the surgery. If Dr. Luketich is the surgeon then he does the surgery. You have to know that UPMC is a teaching hospital, so some of the fellows will be assisting Dr. Luketich.

    My husband had his first appointment post surgery at 2 weeks when he was released to go home. They took out the feeding tube and chest tube at that time. We went back to Pittsburgh for a followup at 3 months. My husband's cancer was caught early. He did not have chemo or radiation so he doesn't have to go back for one year. I'm sure others on this site will be able to tell you more about their follow up visits.

    Dr. Luketich is a wonderful surgeon. He has a fabulous staff. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Luketich, his staff, the hospital(Presby),and Shadyside Family House. I'm happy to try to answer any other questions that you might have.

    Maureen
  • JimboC
    JimboC Member Posts: 264
    #3
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    flmo said:

    Dr. Luketich
    I can answer some of your questions. My 76 year old husband was operated on by Dr. Luketich in Feb. We live in FL. We were in Pittsburgh almost 3 weeks. We went a few days before the surgery. My husband was in the hospital for 5 days, and he recuperated at Shadyside Family House for another 10 days. Of course everyone is different. Some patients stay in the hospital a lot longer. It really all depends on the patient.

    Shadyside Family House is not the closest to Presby Hospital. The closest one is University Place. Shadyside is really wonderful,though. They have 2 room suites which was nice for such a long stay. They have a shuttle that takes you to and from the hospital. It stops right in front of the door. You can stay as long as necessary. You don't have to tell them when you plan to leave until the day before. As far as I know the patient has to have a caregiver with them at all of the Family Houses.I didn't stay overnight at the hospital. I felt that the nurses were very competent. I'm sure you could stay if you felt more comfortable.

    I don't know what you mean about knowing the Dr. Luketich would do the surgery. If Dr. Luketich is the surgeon then he does the surgery. You have to know that UPMC is a teaching hospital, so some of the fellows will be assisting Dr. Luketich.

    My husband had his first appointment post surgery at 2 weeks when he was released to go home. They took out the feeding tube and chest tube at that time. We went back to Pittsburgh for a followup at 3 months. My husband's cancer was caught early. He did not have chemo or radiation so he doesn't have to go back for one year. I'm sure others on this site will be able to tell you more about their follow up visits.

    Dr. Luketich is a wonderful surgeon. He has a fabulous staff. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Luketich, his staff, the hospital(Presby),and Shadyside Family House. I'm happy to try to answer any other questions that you might have.

    Maureen

    I just had surgery in July
    I just had surgery in July and my experience pretty much mirrored Maureen's. I was up there 3 weeks and stayed at Shadyside. I had several surgeons involved in my surgery and I found them all to be amazing. The impression I got was this is Dr. Luketich's program so he is very involved in the surgery. Everyone I dealt with was top notch which I suspect is why they are on Dr. L's team. I personally asked my family to stay the night with me when I was in the hospital. They took turns so it wasn't too bad. Good luck!

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