Procrit shots before surgery

SusanAnne
SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Has anyone gotten procrit shots before reconstructive surgery? Evidently that is what bloodless surgery is about. They bulk up your RBC count artificially so when you lose blood, they don't need to replace it. I'm having a TRAM flap procedure on the 12th and my surgeon suggested it since the herceptin I'm on makes me mildly anemic. Trouble is, I don't think my insurance will pay and procrit is expensive. Did anyone who had TRAM flap surgery need a transfusion?

Susan

Comments

  • DeeNY711
    DeeNY711 Member Posts: 476 Member
    #2
    Susan, minimizing blood loss is accomplished in a completely different way and is a separate issue. Anemia impairs the ability of the blood to carry oxygen to the cells, and Procrit is able to assist the body in carrying out this vital function. Please clarify this with your doctor so that you can choose what is right for you. You might want to see whether Ortho Biotec has a program to assist you with the cost of the treatment. I'm thinking that Ortho Biotec recently merged with another pharmaceutical company and may have a new name, but give it a try under the old name and see what happens. It must be great to look forward to reconstruction. Please come back and let us know how everything went.
    Love,
    Denise
  • Sandis
    Sandis Member Posts: 85
    #3
    I had a bilateral mastectomy and tramflap and had 2 units of blood. My friend had one unit. I was anemic before the surgery. I had procrit after the surgery before chemotherapy. The doctor said something about the healing of the reconstruction needing additional blood (Or something like that, I admit I was fairly out of it when she explained it to me. Good luck
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #4
    I've really been diligent about eating right and have brought my numbers up naturally. Doesn't look like I will need the procrit afterall! Thanks.
    Susan

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