Lipo swelling or not?

[Ibanez99]

Good morning doctors!
I wanted to ask a few things regarding post op. A brief recap of my profile .  I had liposuction and I'm 20days post op.( had surgery on 23rd june). Here are my pre/post op pics to have a look at-
http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=20965.0

I had consultation my my doc 7days post op i.e. 30th june so he told me I should wear the compression for the next 2 weeks and then I could take it off. So today (after  2 weeks) I took off my compression pad and went out , had great fun looking flat in the tshirt. but after taking it off I saw that my nipples had swollen up a little(not puffy though). My PS had told me that I'd be seeing my final results after 4months or so and the swelling stays for the next 3 months. So is this just the swelling due to lipo? Is it natural for it to swell a bit 20days post op after liposuction? I have put my compression pad again so I'm a bit confused what it exactly is.(I cant feel any gland and I was flat after op so excision was not needed..maybe  u can see that in my pics).  Can you please tell if it's pretty normal to have the swelling cause I kinda got worried about this. Also does it take 3months for lipo swelling to go down and I should wait and not panic? Any advise on this would be helpful Thank you so much !

Sid

[Litlriki]

Sid,

Based on your pre- and post-op photos, your result seems quite reasonable, but it's tough to comment on the presence or absence of gland that might have required excision. I tend to do some excision along with the liposuction in most of my patients, in order to avoid the potential puffiness in the nipple that is characteristic of many gynecomastia patients. 

Your surgeon is correct in suggesting that you will have some swelling in the area for several months, and indeed, I will hold off on revisions for at least six months, and usually even longer, since some things that will require revision may be related to swelling, and these will resolve over time.  That can take up to a year in some instances. 

The other thing that I tell my patients is that when they stop wearing compression, they will notice some change in the chest, since it will swell more after the compression is discontinued.  This goes on for a few days, and then the body generally seems to adjust to the absence of the compression, and the swelling dissipates for the most part.  Just think of what your feet do when you wear socks or you don't wear socks--They will swell less under the socks, just as your chest swells less under the vest.  Remove the source of compression, and the swelling returns to some degree--less and less the longer after surgery.

So, yes, you should wait and not panic.  You may require something more, but at this point, it's too early to say.

Good luck,

Rick Silverman

[Ibanez99]

Thanks for your advise Dr.Rick. 
You mean since I removed compression so it will swell up a bit more yes I understand that. But this swelling will eventually go away right cause I thought once the compression is removed then whatever puffiness/swelling remains is gonna be there forever. But if  it can go back to what it was when I put the compression then I'm happy. I will try posting some pics today after removing compression and focusing on the swelling. When I press my areola region I feel as if I'm touching my muscle. I can't feel any gland when I pinch the region. Earlier(pre op) when I used to press my areola I could feel  a spring like movement but it's not so now.  It's just that the areola feels a little soft ,this could be due to the swelling maybe?
Thanks alot again
Sid

[Litlriki]

It's still very early to say how things should "feel" in the long term.  Softness, bogginess, firmness, tenderness...all of these feelings are typical in the early post-op period, and each may have some significance, but they are usually transient conditions that eventually evolve to feel "normal."  Swelling is characteristic of the early post-operative period, since all sorts of healing activity is going on under the skin, and that involves all sorts of cells that are doing their job--sort of like construction workers on a construction site.  As long as they're there, there is swelling, firmness, maybe some tenderness...And the acute healing process goes on for weeks.  You're barely three weeks out. 

RS

[Ibanez99]

gud morning doctor! thanks for your reply again. i had a review yesterday. my doc said that my results are great and there is almost no swelling now however he has advised me to continue with the vest for 2 more months. im confused about this. but i don't mind that if its needed. . so does it mean these are my final results ?
thanks a lot again
sid

[Ibanez99]

Hello again
i wantd to tel u that til around 21 days post op my swelling was nt that bad and i was told i cud take off the compression pad. i went out a day without it and i felt it swelled up more than bfore. so i put it bak on. since then whenever i take off the pad for a shower it swells up more than it used to at 10 days post op. how so? how can my swelling increase 3 weeks post op.isnt it supposd to go down.? im scared is it the gland thats coming out . . . my ps told me to wear a compression vest for 2 more months. wil this fix it? my swelling comes about 15 mins after i take the compression off. plz tel me is this normal ? im worried
thank u so much