Preparing for your hospital stay after DIEP Flap or PAP Flap surgery can help make your in-patient recovery more comfortable. Most often, DIEP Flap and PAP Flap patients will stay in the hospital for at least a few days following surgery. Here’s a comprehensive packing list based on firsthand experience and advice from a fellow patient.
You can pack these items either in an overnighter type of bag or a large backpack or a small rolling carry-on suitcase.
Essentials
When you download The Comprehensive Packing List for your DIEP Flap or PAP Flap, you’ll get a PDF with specific items & notes about each of these:
- -Essential Documents
- -Comfort Items
- -Clothing & Post Surgical Garments
- -Toiletries & Hygiene
- -Support & Entertainment
- -Items for your Support Person
Final Thoughts
Packing thoughtfully can ease some of the stress of hospital recovery and allow you to focus on healing. Keep it simple but intentional: bring what makes you feel comfortable, supported, and at ease.
I have made a Top Must Haves list for once you get home from the hospital for PAP Flap here and this Top List for DIEP Flap here.
Wishing you a smooth recovery!
Want to chat 1-on-1 with me about the PAP Flap or DIEP Flap experience?
It can be reassuring to talk to someone like me who has actually gone through the procedure. I’m a fan of being real. We can talk about preparing your space before your surgery, dealing with ICU and what to bring to the hospital, what to expect as a patient who’s actually gone through it and worked hard to support my body using nutrition and supplements as well as using the “best of both worlds” with the surgeon’s recommendations and RX.
You are welcome to read up on all the blogs I make about it here on my site and look behind the scenes on my instagram story highlight called “surgeries”. And still there’s nothing like talking in real-time one-on-one about your actual questions and thought process. I have some 1-on-1 spots reserved each month just for this! Go to my coaching page here, fill out your name & email address on the bottom of that page and click submit. I have a special rate/session for surgery clients that I’ll share in our emails, so make sure to mention you are a Flap surgery patient. It will then automatically send you a quick email to reply to and we’ll get a time to talk set up from there.
These are my own recommendations based on my experience having several procedures, DIEP flap surgery, and PAP flap surgery as a breast cancer patient. This is not medical advice. Please follow the recommendations of your surgeon. This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you chose to make a purchase using my link. Any commissions I earn from my work, time, energy, and effort spent on Shrink the Mutant go back to paying for the resources needed to keep this running or to my on-going medical treatment. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and support of my work.
