ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: wendysig on January 06, 2009, 08:56:13 pm
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(http://i385.photobucket.com/albums/oo294/wendysig/P1010060.jpg)
Hi everyone,
Here are the gorgeous pictures I promised you. I just know you'll all love my headwrap -- it is really quite lovely. ;D Did anyone else have one like mine or did Dr. Choe design it just for me? If so, he certainly is gifted ;D ;D ;D I was surprised at how small the BAHA healing cap is. I also expected to lose a lot more hair so I was quite impressed with how little he shaved off. I think I actually dozed off for a few minutes as he was shaving my head. I remember him telling me he was doing it and then I remember waking up and he was asking the nurse for a 10 blade. I was awake for the rest of the surgery and found it very interesting. Of course, I only heard what was going on, I didn't see it. Anyway, I look forward to your comments -- I'm sure I'll get lots of complements! ;D ;D ;D
Wendy
(http://i385.photobucket.com/albums/oo294/wendysig/P1010064-1.jpg)
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Looking good Wendy, mighty good!
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You are stylin'...however, I like to go for a little color with my wraps... ;)
K
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Nice hat, Wendy ;D I'm with K, though. A little color - say pink or red to match your robe - would have been more fashionable :D
I always find it interesting the different things the docs do - like different hats.
My cap was the same as yours, but I had a square pink foam bandage between the abutment and the cap. The cap actually held the bandage on and it was supposed to stay that way for 1 week. The second time I showered post op, I pulled my shirt over my head and prompted removed this bandage :o Since the bandage had dried blood on it neither of my kids would put it back on for me, so I had to go to the doctor's office and have him do it. I felt like a complete idiot!
Like you, I was surprised by how little hair was removed from around my site - I thought there would be a huge bald spot and that isn't the case.
I also was surprised how close my abutment is to my skull. Post op I had a square area of my head that was kind of sunken and the abutment seemed to stick out a lot (at least IMO). With time, this sunken area "filled in" and my abutment became much closer to my head.
Jan
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Jan~
While I do think that a colored bandage would add some zing, I was trying to be funny about all my colorful bruising!
;)
K
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Hi everyone -
I'm glad you all enjoyed seeing my pictures, I knew you would!
Thanks Marci and Donnallynn -- I just knew you would love my lovely hat and picture of my tiny BAHA healing cap! I'm not sure I'm brave, just determined to get everything I can back.
K and Jan - As Lori said earlier -- I really am a fashionista (cool word Lori!!). Actually I did have a little color under the healing cap -- the bandage was actually yellow it just didn't peek out! It was a sitting there like a little surprise when I knocked off the healing cap -- kind of like when you wear fancy under a tee shirt and jeans.
K -- Funny zing about your colorful bruising. You certainly were colorful!
Wendy
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Wendy -- Wired for sound! Yea!
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Neat O Wendy. Keep us posted. I like to hear (hehe) the progress as I am SSD and was thinking of a Transear, which is not available to us in Canada yet. You never know maybe a BAHA is in the future.
Michelle ;D
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Hi David -
Yes, I've got the wiring -- now I just have to wait 3 (whole!) months for the processor. Now that the surgery is behind me I hope the next three months fly by!
Michele -- I know you've been planning to get a TransEar, but have you tried the BAHA demo? It truly is amazing and convinced me it was what I wanted. I know some people love their TranEars but I knew it was not for me. The BAHA surgery sounded simple when I read about it and it was not bad, really. The surgery took about an hour and there is really not much pain afterwards. I've had a headache that has gotten increasingly better since Monday afternoon/evening and I have some mild jaw pain (the surgery involves cutting through the temporalis muscle which is a muscle used for chewing). I used Vicodin Monday and Tuesday but nothing today. Not bad at all.
Best wishes,
Wendy
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Wendy -
I'm pretty sure your doctor gave you an original headwrap! He may have a secret desire to be a fashion designer!
I will have to find a picture of my bandage, which was definitely weird. I had the little yellow bandage under the healing cap, but then over that I had about a 2 inch "envelope" of gauze which had cotton balls soaked in mineral oil in between the layers of gauze. That was put over the healing cap and actually stitched to my head. There's a post here somewhere about it looking like the string they use to tie up a cake box at the bakery. You couldn't even see it under my hair. I was allowed to shower from the very first night, so each time the gauze got wet and then dried, it would shrink a little. Once it was getting loose under the cake box string, he said I could either come in to have him remove it or just have James do it. I guess I had it on for about a week and then I had James snip the strings and that was it - just the healing cap was left on until my next appointment.
He even gave me the healing cap - "just in case" I need it because he said you wouldn't believe what they actually charge for those things. I'm not sure why I'd need it, but I guess it's a nice keepsake. ??? So, if any of you need a gently used healing cap, give me a call and we'll make a deal! :D
Lori
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Hi Lori,
In reading about your healing cap it made me wonder if you could have it plated with gold and made into a necklace or charm for a bracelet. Maybe you could even have your name and date of your surgery engraved in it. It certainly would be unique and would be a wonderful keepsake! My niece has a friend who is in the jewelry business (her family has a booth in one of the big stores in the diamond district on E 47th Street in Manhattan) so I think I'll see if she can find out. It might be the start of something big for that garage business you and Jan have talked about!
Wendy
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Someone told me I should start a charm bracelet (sp?) with the eye weights I have collected - I have a gold one and a platinum one now! You could go for that!!
K ;D
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Ah, Wendy, you trend-setter, you! You could definitely open a sushi bar with that bonnet! I'd be your first customer...
Can't wait for show-n-tell on Saturday!
Debbi
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Hi Wendy,
I am not sure if we have the BAHA in Canada. I will check with my ENT. When I saw her intially she suggested the CROS. I need to do a bit more research.
Michelle ;D
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Michelle -
Come on down to Nashville! We've got BAHA's here! ;D
Wendy -
I think if we're going to start dealing with gold plating and jewels, we might need to find a nicer place than the garage! Maybe a shed or something? We want to maintain that "fancy" atmosphere! :D
Lori
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I'm not sure I'd want to gold plate my healing cap, but I have been thinking about another tattoo.
So if anyone attending the symposium in August would like to take a little side trip to the Jade Dragon we could plan a field trip.
Jan
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Maybe Steve could get a tattoo of a BAHA on the side of his head! :D Then he'd be ALMOST as cool as us!
Lori
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Yeah! Let's take Steve on that field trip ;)
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I have always wanted a tattoo on my toe but I hear that is not a good place to get one b/c the skin sluffs off so much...What are you thinking about Jan?
I got a daisy on my toe, it is not real, it does not grow...it's just a tattoo of a flower, so I look neat taking a shower...
It's on the 2nd toe of my left foot...a stem and flower, but there's no root! because, that wouldn't look good!
I've got a daisy on my toe it is not real it does not grooooooooooooooooooooooooow!
(anyone ever heard that song?)
K
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Lori,
I was re-thinking that and gold plating might get a little pricey -- maybe we can just spray paint them with gold Krylon paint and write the surgery dates with a Sharpie! Still quite lovely and inexpensive too! ;D ;D And no need for fancier digs either -- a win-win solution! As for jewels, we could get fake birthstone jewels for the appropriate month of each person's surgery and glue them into the snap part of the healing cap -- I can picture it now!
Jan - Tattoos look nice on other people and the fake ones are okay, but I can't say I've ever wanted real one of my very own. I wouldn't mind coming on the field trip though, especially if we can talk Steve into getting the BAHA tattoo. The tattoo artist would have to shave Steve's hair to do the tattoo, so he'd really look authentic, at least until his hair grew back! :D :D :D :D :D
K - I can't say I've ever heard that song before -- I thought you made it up, but I also thought it was very clever of you ;D
Wendy
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Wendy~
I'm not that creative - you must have xonfused me with Lori for a sec there! ;D I wish I was creative like that!!
K
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Oh, great - now you know the real reason I moved to Nashville.... I'm an aspiring songwriter. I'm just trying to support myself with the garage surgeries - and now the garage arts and crafts studio, until my music career takes off! :D
Wendy, great idea - I've got lots of beads and shiny things for the girls creative endeavors (we may have to empty the vacuum cleaner bag for the glitter though - I'm pretty sure that's where most of it's ended up). And I got a package of 50 different color Sharpies for Christmas! (I love Sharpies!). I think we're in business! Now we just need some customers.
Kay, I have never heard that song before. Must be a Texas thing. ;)
Lori
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Michelle -
I'm glad to hear you're looking into BAHA. Let us know if that is available in Canada and if you think you might go for it! I just can't wait to be able to use my processor. I'm sure I will be very happy!
Lori -- I meant to say that your BAHA head wrap sounds very unique -- if you can find the picture I would love to see it. ;D
K - I'm sure you can be creative, you just need to be inspired!
Debbi - Glad you liked my head wrap -- as for the sushi chef thing, I totally think I could pull it off! ;D
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Just as an aside, TransEar claims they'll be in Canada this year. Per the TransEar website (http://www.transear.com (http://www.transear.com)), "TransEar is presently available only in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland (the latter two beginning 2009). Plans are in place to expand to Canada and Australia by the end of 2009, and we welcome distributor inquiries and recommendations from other parts of the world."
It's a viable option for many.
On with the garage business talk. I'm with Lori in that most everything can be found in our vacuum bag. We need a supply of duct tape or Elmers glue or something, though. ;) And, it must be a NORTHERN Texas thing cuz I've been here all my life and never heard of that song.
Regards,
Brian
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It is by the Smothers Brothers (I don't think they were from Texas?) - I heard it at a girl from church's house when I was in Jr. High and have sung it ever since!! ;D I really have always said that the only place I would get a tattoo is on my toe!! I would have to be VERY inspired, but it has been known to happen!! ::)
I have found that Duct Tape now comes in COLORS! Of course, I found this at WalMart (I go everyday!). I have flourescent pink & green and purple! i used it to put a basketball court on my driveway. I could have had SOOOOOO muck fun with this while I was teaching - especially PE!!
K ;D
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Did someone say Tatoo Party??!! I may be in! I got a little rose on my shoulder for my 40th birthday (that was before I met my rather conservative husband). I had intended to get another for my 50th, but never got around to it - now that I'll soon be 53, maybe I need to get with the program! I got my first one in NYC when I lived there - got my doctor to prescribe one percoset to me so that I wouldn't run screaming from the tatoo parlor - apparently it worked. The friend who went with said that I kept telling the "artist" that he should stop tickling me.
Okay, Wendy - get your sushi hat ready! You know that they customarily only allow men to be sushi chefs, but I feel quite certain that exceptions could be made when one has had brain surgery!
See you tomorrow!
Debbi
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Debbi -
I'll sharpen up my knives and practice my carving skills. Maybe I can ask Dr. Choe for a lesson or two -- surgeons are probably great at carving meat and fish! ;D ;D ;D
See you tomorrow!
Wendy
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I was surprised to see the "hated turban" on your head. Do you have to wear one after your BAHA surgery, too????? I was so sick of wearing one when I had my AN surgery......x 2 (b/c I had the spinal fluid leak). I think my doctor insisted on me wearing one wayyyy longer than everyone else. It was at least the second doctor appointment after I went home from the hospital.
How long do you have to wear it?
Your surgery site looked good.
Thanks for showing us the pics. Yours looked good.....but it just surprised me.
Lacey
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Hi Lacey,
I had to wear my head wrap for 24 hours after my BAHA surgery -- I got to take it off myself the day after the surgery since it is out-patient surgery. If you are thinking about it , I can tell you as Jan, Lori and Tammy told me -- it really is a piece of cake, especially compared to AN surgery. If you have any questions, feel free to ask or PM me.
Wendy
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Lacey -
my BAHA "hat" was similar to Wendy's, but a little different. I actually had a large hard plastic "cup" that covered my AN ear and my BAHA site. Then I had the white wrapping. Pictures are on this forum somewhere if you want to search.
Anyway, the BAHA wrap isn't tight like the mastoid bandage they wrap your head with after AN surgery. And, as Wendy mentioned, you only wear it for 24 hours. I'd be happy to answer BAHA questions for you too - as would Lori.
Debbi -
glad to see you're up for a tattoo party. The Jade Dragon isn't downtown, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get transportation there. I'll bet if we can get Wendy there, we can convince her to get a tiny one ;)
Wendy -
my tattoo isn't huge and the majority of people I know don't even realize I have one - it's well covered by my sleeve. I'm not the average person who gets tattooed, in fact I told Gary, who did mine, that I felt really out of place. Here I was this middle-aged suburban woman inside a place full of people with tattoos and piercings. There were motorcycles parked at the curb, which I found hysterical as I parked my "mom" van. I confess, I almost didn't walk into the place. I was thisclose to chickening out :D
I always said I'd get a tattoo if I could think of something that had meaning to me - so my surgery date was perfect. Afterall it was a day that changed my life forever - just by making me SSD if nothing else.
As for Steve's BAHA tattoo, we could ask one of the docs at the symposium to do the head shaving part. They have lots of experience and it would save money.
Kay -
never heard the song; thought you wrote it also.
I'm not that adventurous when it comes to tattoos. If anything I'd have the date of my BAHA surgery added to my arm - and possibly the date I got my processor.
Jan
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Lacey - I didn't have a head wrap at all after my BAHA surgery. I'll have to look for the pictures of my very unique bandage so I can post it here.
Jan, I think you should be on an episode of LA Ink and show off your tattoo! :D
Lori
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Ok, I found the picture... I'm always so proud of myself when I figure out how to get a picture posted on here, but do you think I can ever remember how to do it the next time I need to?? Of course not... But I think this should work. Sorry the bottom of the photo is cut off - blame the photographer...
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj237/lor1parrot/IMG_1600-1.jpg)
Lori
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Hi Lori -
Wow -- This has to be an original concept by your doc and very smart too. I'm sure your healing cap never fell off he really had it covered. Thanks for the great picture even if it was missing a small piece.
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So, Lori, was this bandage actually stitched to your head? :o
It's interesting to me that I'm kind of shocked by that concept - especially since I had a titanium rod implanted into my mine :D
Wendy is right - no chance of that "hat" falling off. Bet our docs wish they'd have thought of that ;D
Jan
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Yeah, stitched right to my head. Definitely unusual, but it did the trick. As the bandage started to shrink, the "cake box strings" became too loose and then I could just take it off and James snipped the stitches out. It probably stayed for about a week or so, then I just had the healing cap on there. I was able to wash my hair right away, but obviously I couldn't really shampoo under the bandage, but I was able to get it wet in the shower.
Who knew my doctor had so many hidden talents - first hair cutting and now embroidery!! :D
Lori
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Okay, I'll say what's on everyone's mind...... OWWWW!! That just looks painful for some reason. ;)
Carry on..
Regards,
Brian
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Ah, yes, the benefits of being a numbskull! :D
It probably would hurt if I had any feeling over there at the time! Good thing I didn't! :o
Lori
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Lori -
I had to laugh when I read your remark about your doc's embroidering skills :D :D :D! He certainly is multitalented and very imaginative. If he ever gets tired of being a doctor it's good he has skillls he can fall back on. ;D ;D ;D I still think you missed your calling -- you really should be a stand-up comedian or comed writer -- you'd be great!
Wendy
P.S. Sometimes being a numbskull pays off. I'm not that numb and every now and then I get a quick shrp pain near my implant -- glad you didn't have that problem.
Wendy
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Brian -
you are so, right! I wanted to say OWWWWW :o
But, then again, Lori was asleep during the sewing - and there's the whole numbskull thing (I know it well) ;)
Jan
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Sorry I was gone for a few days.
Thanks, Wendy and Lori for showing me your pictures. I'm proud of both of you that you were able to post them!! Great job!!
I can handle the turban (like Whendy's), if it's for only 24 hours!! It just brings back bad memories of my AN surgery.
Lori....yours looks cute! And, like everyone else....OUCH.........but I too, know you are numb there, so that helped.
The picture.....it was hard to tell where it was on your head. I know it must be about 2 or 3 inches above the ear, right???
I so wish I could have had the BAHA done at the same time they did the AN surgery. I would already be able to be wearing the attachment, and hearing!!
No one mentioned that option to me. I've read on this board where several people had it done the same time.
Oh well............I'll wait until June.....(that's the next time I see the surgeon, and he will be seeing my first MRI after the surgery). At that time, I can set up the actual appt. day that I will have the BAHA.
Thanks everyone....you are all sharing so much with me, and helping me walk down the BAHA road! ha. (Are there any scarecrows there?) ha.
Love,
Lacey
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Lacey -
some docs combine the BAHA surgery with AN surgery, some don't. My doc typically doesn't.
I don't know how they decide on that, but in a way it makes perfect sense to me. Lots of people on this forum who are SSD adjust very well and choose not to get any type of hearing aid (TransEar, BAHA, or otherwise). In my case, I was glad I had a few months to decide what I thought of being SSD before I went ahead with the BAHA implant. I was so aggravated by my SSD that the BAHA was a no-brainer for me. But if I would have adjusted well I might not have had the surgery.
Your time will come; June will be here before you know.
Hang in there,
Jan
I think my abutment is only 1- 1 1/2 inches above my ear.
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Hi, Lacey,
Re: your comments about wishing you could have had your BAHA surgery at the same time as your AN surgery, and that you weren't offered that option.
I had mine done at the same time and am glad I did, but I hope you'll see on this forum that everyone (I think without exception) who had the BAHA implant as a separate, later procedure has remarked that it's no big deal, comparable to a dental procedure.
I believe the "combined" surgery is fairly common at House Ear, but less common elsewhere. Whatever the case, it sounds as though you'll be getting your BAHA before too long ... and that's wonderful!
Catherine (JerseyGirl2)
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Lacey,
I didn't have my BAHA surgery done at the same time as my AN surgery because my AN surgery needed to be done fairly quickly (it was about 5 weeks after my diagnosis) and my doctor didn't want to hold the surgery up waiting for the usual nonsense they have to go through to get the BAHA approved through insurance. That turned out to be a good thing because my insurance took forever to decide to pay for the BAHA.
As for the location of the abuttment, if you were to draw a straight line from the very top of my ear - it's right about there - I'd say about 3 finger widths back from the back of my ear. (That sounds like a big distance, but I have small hands).
And I think I have seen a few scarecrows. If I only had a brain..... :D
Lori
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Hi Lacey,
Glad you liked my pictures. I have to get my husband to take some more now that I had the healing cap removed on Wednesday. The BAHA site is very interesting to look at. There is a very tiny area around the abutment that will remain hairless. My doc told me that the trend now is to create smaller sites and that I can consider myself a trendsetter -- it just made me feel so special ;D ;D. I actually asked my doc about the possibility of having the BAHA surgery done at the same time as my AN surgery, but he prefers to stage them because the recovery from AN surgery can be tough and the BAHA site needs a fair amount of attention post-op. I ended up having to wait until now because my incision leaked for so long after my AN surgery (from the beginning of August until the beginning of October). So far, everything is going fine post-operatively. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Wendy
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Wendy,
Your comment that your doctor mentioned that "the BAHA site needs a fair amount of attention post-op" provides yet another example of the wide range of differences AN patients experience, along with the differing approaches of doctors. I had my translab and BAHA surgeries done at the same time, and while the doctors looked at both sites when they made their daily rounds, other than removing the healing cap the day before I left to fly back home, they didn't do anything, nor did they indicate that my BAHA site was healing unusually well or was any different from any other patient's. It all seemed pretty par for the course from their standpoint.
Catherine (JerseyGirl2)
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Hi Catherine,
I didn't mean my BAHA site required a lot of attention from my doc, but rather from me and although I don't consider the care I give my BAHA site a big deal really - I just coat it with bacitracin adn use a q-tip to make sure the bacitracin gets under the rim of the abutment before and after my shower every day. I guess he and many other docs just feel that the AN surgery is enough to deal with since there is no way to predict its outcome for sure. I guess if I was dealing with other complications too, it might be a little harder to care for everything. Getting both things out of the way at the same time would have been great, but the BAHA surgery by itself was truly a piece of cake and I have no regrets.
Wendy
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I forgot to mention before that I've heard that BAHA surgery combined with AN surgery is a fairly good way to get insurance companies to cover the BAHA procedure.
Lots of patients have issues with their insurance companies agreeing to cover the BAHA surgery, but apparently (at least from what I've been told) it's often easier to "slide" the BAHA surgery through on the bill for AN surgery.
Kind of makes sense, since the implant only takes about 90 minutes and some of that time is prep - so combining it with AN surgery probably cuts down on the time and the costs involved. The insurance companies probably have the impression they are just paying for one surgery, rather than two - which surely makes them happy ;D
I'd also imagine combining the surgeries helps to eliminates the question of whether or not the BAHA is "medically necessary" for the patient. Since my BAHA surgery was 9 months post AN surgery, when I first approached my insurance company about coverage they asked me if it was medically necessary. I referred them to my AN surgery records - DUH! ::)
As for the "care" of the BAHA site post op - I found it required very little. Just gooping on bacitracin for a few weeks and you're good to go :D
Jan