IS THERE ANYTHING ABNORMAL WITH MY SURGERY?

[needhelp_gyne]

I had a Gynecomastia surgery 4 years back. Ever since i have lost massive amount of weight. I went from being 85 kgs to 60.
This lead to a lot of lose skin around my stomach and chest area.

9 days back i underwent Abdominoplasty+Gynecomastia Revision Surgery. The abdominoplasty was absolutely fine

However there is something massively wrong with my Gynecomastia Revision i feel. I asked the doctor to only put a scar around the nipple area. And hence instead of putting any cuts on the sides of my chest, excess skin around nipple was excised and the nipple was repositioned.

Please look at THE PICTURES AND LET ME KNOW IF EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT. I'm extremely tensed because of it.

P.S. -  I cant upload photos here. Can i email it directly to any expert doctors on this forum?

[needhelp_gyne]

Its really nice how prompt the admins on website are and how they immediately rectified the problem of posting pictures. Thanks.
I am posting my pictures here and please let me know if there is some problem in m case.

[Litlriki]

Without seeing your pre-operative photos and knowing exactly what was done, it's difficult to comment on your result, but I don't think that anything "abnormal" went on in the procedure.  You have some fullness of the chest and some irregularity in your contour, but that could be related to swelling or it might be related to tissue that was left behind.  The pleated appearance of the skin around the areola is typical, since there is a mis-match of the circumference of the areola and the skin that was removed around it.  That will flatten over time.  Your areolae are dark, but I think that the blood supply is ok--that's something that your surgeon can tell better when he examines you in person. 

It's time to be patient and see how things look as your chest heals.

Rick Silverman

[needhelp_gyne]

The skin above the areola appears a little fluffy, kind of mounted.
The areola area seems to have gone a little bit inside compared to the contour of skin otherwise.
Will this flatten out eventually?

I would post a picture of my chest before surgery soon for a better judgement

Thanks

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Obvious, we cannot comment completely without the opportunity to see your entire set of pre-op photos as well as a complete, full chest set of post op photos.

Re the areolar color:  a bit dark but one cannot tell from the limited info you have provided.

However, one can comment on the nipples.  You had a peri-areolar mastopexy (frequently called a "donut" mastopexy) because a "donut" of excess skin was removed surround the areola.  This procedure tightens the chest skin but then a larger circle is sutured to a smaller circle.  The only way one can do that is with star-burst-like "pleats" which are easily seen in your photo.

These pleats usually settle down and flatten by themselves -- but it may take a number of months.  Your surgeonl should have prepared you for this so you wouldn't be so concerned.

Cannot tell anything more about the rest of your chest from these limited photos.

Best advice is to speak to your surgeon for explanation and reassurance -- and then be very patient for the results to emerge.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

I had a Gynecomastia surgery 4 years back. Ever since i have lost massive amount of weight. I went from being 85 kgs to 60.
This lead to a lot of lose skin around my stomach and chest area.

9 days back i underwent Abdominoplasty+Gynecomastia Revision Surgery. The abdominoplasty was absolutely fine

However there is something massively wrong with my Gynecomastia Revision i feel. I asked the doctor to only put a scar around the nipple area. And hence instead of putting any cuts on the sides of my chest, excess skin around nipple was excised and the nipple was repositioned.

Please look at THE PICTURES AND LET ME KNOW IF EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT. I'm extremely tensed because of it.

P.S. -  I cant upload photos here. Can i email it directly to any expert doctors on this forum?

Comfort after surgery is much more than just how many pain pills a patient takes. Working on emotional comfort is a key criteria of refined surgical sculpting. Did your surgeon show you before and after pictures?  Were you shown how tissues evolve after surgery? Having some idea what to expect as tissues evolve after surgery can go a long way to not having patients end up posting on forums in a panic asking about swelling, bruising, folds and creases.

Skin reduction surgery involves significant compromises.

IS THERE ANYTHING ABNORMAL WITH MY SURGERY?

will depend on what the original problem was, what was done, and many other factors. Just what happens will depend on how much skin was removed, types of suture used, tension on the skin, and many other factors that should have been discussed as part of any risks, benefits, and alternate methods of care. Have you considered posting before surgery pictures, and after surgery a more complete set such as my Standard After Gynecomastia Surgery set?

I prefer not to leave the operating room with that much initial wrinkling and swelling after surgery. You can see some minimal wrinkling and swelling on the examples on my web site and how that changes over time. Sorry, linking to such resources is no longer permitted on this forum.

The major concern will be the type of sutures used. The forces pulling on the areola over time can pull that tissue to a monstrous disfigured shape if not balanced by a permanent structure like a surface buried suture. Unfortunately I have seen quite a few patients asking for help for what I have coined the Large Areola Complication. That is why leaving some loose skin is often a better idea than adding wrinkling that remains behind. If your doctor's technique is such that the wrinkling goes away, then why not have such resources available to the patient before surgery to minimize emotional stress?

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, M.D.