Art of Transliness

Things to Pack (or Buy) for Top Surgery and Recovery Part 2

Now that I (Zak) have had top surgery and are currently recovering, I have some things to add to the article we posted a little while ago on things to pack for top surgery and recovery. These are a few items I have found really useful over the past 24 hours:

1. Water jug (like one you would get from a hospital). I bought mine at Publix, which is a grocery store chain in Florida. It holds a good amount of water and is easy to drink out of.

2. Large plastic bendable straws. These go with the water jug. You can get them in rainbow colors at Bed Bath and Beyond.

3. Incline wedge pillow. This is really good for sleeping because you’re supposed to sleep on your back and slightly propped up during your initial recovery (I think for the first 2 weeks). I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. There’s actually one extremely close to Dr. Garramone’s office so I got a lot of my recovery stuff there right after my pre-op appointment.

4. Baby wipes/acne face wipes/sponge bath wipes. You can’t shower for awhile after surgery and so sponge baths are recommended. I’ve heard they make really nifty sponge bath wipes, but I wasn’t able to find them before my surgery. I’m using acne face wipes from Neutrogena on my face and back to prevent breakouts and baby wipes on the rest of my body to keep clean.

5. Baby powder. This helps with chafing from the surgical compress bandages.