Post Surgical Camisole that Does It All

Before each of my surgeries I went to support group meetings at the Young Survival Coalition and got advice from the ladies there about preparing for surgery. Everyone wanted to share their favorite items that helped them get through recovery at home. All of my favorites are listed in the right frame under "Useful Items, Gift Ideas, Book Recommendations" but I want to spotlight my absolute favorite item in today's post. 


The post-surgical camisole from Amoena got me through the entire recovery process. As advised by my YSC friends, I brought the camisole to the hospital with me for each of my surgeries, along with a button-front soft flannel shirt. These are the items I left the hospital wearing. The camisole has removable (velcro) pockets inside to conveniently hold your JP (Jackson-Pratt) drains. Other options are to let the drains dangle (uncomfortable) or sew your own pockets that you can safety pin into your clothes (too much work when you are already dealing with so much). The camisole also comes with removable boobie inserts (actually called fiberfill leisure forms). I never used these because my expander was already partly filled when I left the hospital.

I wore this camisole everyday, while recovering at home and when traveling to follow-up doctor appointments. I sometimes still wear the camisole around the house or to sleep at night, just because it's soft and cozy and a bit of a security blanket for me - - D finds this creepy. I only had one that I wore many times between washes, but it might be handy to have two on hand.

The camisole can be purchased at Underneath It All, which has two locations. I went to the boutique inside the NYU Langone Medical Center at 34th street off of 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. The saleswoman was very nice there. They take some insurance but not all. They can still give you a detailed receipt if you want to try to send it in for reimbursement. I think I got a discount for having an NYU ID at the time. You might be able to buy it online too.

Underneath It All also carries many other items that you might find useful after surgery, like scarves and headwraps, swimwear, breast prostheses, etc.