abdominal binder???

For those of you that has already been to the castle. Is it worth the money to buy a swelly belly band or the one you put ice packs in for robotic vag assisted hyster??? I'm debating if I should buy one or not. I'm not going to be cut except for the robotic holes.

I have had two surgeries. One was a large incision in 2007 and then the rob vag assisted hyst. I did not use an abdominal binder for either. I have a large cold/hot gel pack that I use occassionally. I have been fortunate to not have major swelly belly from the hyst. I find it more comfortable to not have anything pressing on my incisions. Your incisiosn will be along you belly button height. I bought granny panties but do not wear them because the waist band hits right where my incisisons are. I just wear my regular Hanes boy shorts.

Good luck to you

I bought the abdominal pocket binder and used it the first day home and that was it. I personally found that, as stated above, I did not like anything too tight on my belly at first. I also found the area covered by the cool pack to be too small for me since I have three incisions spaced apart. I used, instead, a large ice pack thingy that goes in the freezer from one of our old coolers. It covers the whole area I need covered, stays cold longer, and doesn't put pressure on my incisions. The downside to that, however, is that it is not secured in any way and I can't use it when I walk around at all. Hope this helps you!

I didn't use one at all. I found that I much preferred just holding a firm, flat pillow across my belly.

My hospital gave me one, but I only used it for about 4-5 days.

I had to send DH out for an ab binder the day after I got home (day 5) but yet I had a very difficult TAH with a huge incision so my situation was different. I loved wearing it when walking, etc, just for extra support.

Agree with Carebear. I had one and LOVED it. I actually wished I had one for each of my surgeries prior to the hyst. It really does help with walking, etc. Also, I recommend the swelling belling band. I used both at the same time, which helped the swelling significantly.

I'm a PRO--
I had the DaVinci procedure and I liked having the binder for belly support. Guess I always felt like I needed to "hold on" to my stomach and it did it for me. I used it while up walking around and felt much more supported.
I did purchase the one with hot/cold packs and used the cold packs frequently. It was really more for the swollen feeling in the belly than for the very small incisions.
Best wishes to you!

I think you are going to find a wide variety of answers here as each will be according to personal comfort and preference. I had a da vinci procedure 1 week ago and have not used any type of binder. I have utilized my pillow pet often for support when sleeping, when coughing, and when sitting to make sure my fur babies (cats) do not jump on me.
Being a nurse who has taken care of multiple post op patients with abdominal surgeries of various types, some patients swear by the binders and others absolutely hate them. In your case, I would advise finding out for yourself. If you have insurance, ask for a binder while you are in the hospital post op. It will be charged to your bill and covered by the insurance. It will not, however, have the additional option of a cold pack which is available from the store on this site and cold does help a lot with inflamation after surgery.
I guess I probably haven't been really helpful in answering your question, but as you have already seen from the previous responses, everyone has a different opinion about them and you will most likely have to depend on your own feelings after surgery. Wishing you the best.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by katina For those of you that has already been to the castle. Is it worth the money to buy a swelly belly band or the one you put ice packs in for robotic vag assisted hyster??? I'm debating if I should buy one or not. I'm not going to be cut except for the robotic holes.

I think it is individual preference. You will need ice packs on your tummy for pain and swelling - that is a given. But I chose not to use and abdominal binder because my abdominal incision felt like a clydesdale horse had kicked me in the stomach and it itched really bad. Early on when I would turn over in bed it felt like my entrails were rearranging themselves. Worst problem was having phantom cramps in my phantom uterus when I did too much. Still have to be careful of that! If you are having a vaginal hysterectomy, maybe you should get one because you'll be on your feet sooner that us TAH/SAH women! Good healing!