SAPL

[Millie290]

Has anyone had SAPL with Dr. Chen at U of I? What is recovery like?

[CCT67]

You may want to post your question on a US platform (this is a UK site) such as National Lymphedema Network support forum on Inspire.com

Two US Lymphies I know have had SAPL and are very pleased, but must wear compression 24/7 to maintain the reduction (universal protocol after SAPL). They went to Dr Granzow in California and felt he and his staff were excellent. One of them who had nearly 18lbs removed from her lymphie leg experienced intense post op pain for 4 weeks She was on heavy pain killers but the pain was relentless. Once she got through that she started feeling very enthusiastic about the op. It’s been a year now and she’s over the moon having legs that look nearly the same. The other lymphie had pain but not as severe, possibly as her reduction was less. She’s also very pleased with the results

[Millie290 in reply to CCT67]

Thanks good to hear!

[riverqueenie]

Hi Millie,

I have had two surgeries with Dr. Chen. He is absolutely amazing. My first surgery was the SAPL and I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was a very painful recovery, but oh so worth the outcome! I had 6.5lbs removed from my arm. I went back 10 month later for a lymph node transfer. I am now a little over a year out from that and have started weaning off compression. My last SPY Scan showed lymphatic movement all the way up to my armpit. Before my SAPL the dye did not move past my wrist. Dr. Chen and his whole team are wonderful and very caring. Best of luck to you!

[Millie290 in reply to riverqueenie]

Thank you - i appreciate your reply