This is my thread for the operation. I'll always update this very first post so that all the day by day info is together and then the future updates. I've got the before and after photos, then I'll have the 6 weeks post-op photos and eventually the 6 month post op photos too.
The average cost of the whole thing is just under £2,000. I would say get £2,000 and then you'll probably need less.
The operation was £1,430 (accurate at time of booking)
Hotel Ibis was around £130-£140 for 5 nights.
Ryanair flights in total were £103.98 + £20 check-in fee
Interglobus transfer to and from airport was £62
Average cost of taxis to and from clinic was 21 Zlotys
Medications afterwards were 110 Zlotys
Disinfectant and 4 gauze pads was around 13 Zlotys
Water is around 1.78 Zlotys for 1.5 litres
Pictures on the 9th June (night before surgery)
Pictures on the 14th June (4 days after surgery).
My swelling had already started the morning after my op, so I have quite a lot of fluid building up already, so they don't look as flat as they will do. She assured me that the gland and fat are gone and that once the fluid has gone down, I'll have a nice masculine chest:
Day 1: 09.06.13So I flew out from Stanstead at 6:30 AM (I did originally have a later flight but Ryanair changed it a few months ago, whcih I wasn't happy about, but whatever). I, being a fool, tried to squeeze evertyhing into a little messenger bag to comply with the baggage limits. I get to the airport and EVERYONE has a proper sized wheelie bag as their carry on and I feel like an idiot, because I had to bring the bare MINIMUM of everything just to fit into the tiny bag.
The flight was quick, I'm not a fan of flying but I fell asleep for most of it. It was just under two hours.
When I arrived, there was a man with the 'Follow Me' sign from Interglobus but it had some other guy's name on it and I was like 'Ok, where's my guy?!'. I walk outside and can't see anything so I begin to get really anxious, because I'm a really nervous guy and I hatttttteeeeeee when stuff doesn't go to plan, makes me super uncomfortable. Anyway, I got a call from Interglobus saying that the driver is picking up me and a different guy and that he's holding a card with the other guy's name on it, so he was my driver after all! I had a feeling he might be but I didn't want to go ask him and he had no clue who I was and I'd feel like a div.
Anyway, the car was a Mercedes and was the smoothest ride I've ever taken in my life, I wish I could be in posh cars all the time! The city looked nice, like every other city in Europe really and we dropped the other guy at the Atrium before coming to the Ibis. The woman at reception was really polite and gave me my key and 5 24hr internet log ins for the duration of my stay. I came to my room and I was SUPER impressed! The room was clean, quite spacious, a super nice bathroom and shower and a window overlooking the street with great light. I followed Zack's instructions and went to the local shop. I got 3 bottles of water and some crisps. I have meal replacement bars with me because I'm vegetarian and didn't want to accidentally eat stuff out here that had animals in it, so I just got crisps and water cos I know that's safe and I brought sum other bits from home.
Day 2/3: 10.06.13Ok so at 7 o'clock I got a call from Tomek saying he was going to pick me up from the hotel at 8:40 for blood tests. I went down to reception at 8:40 and Tomek got here about 5 minutes later. Tomek is the nicest guy, he speaks a little bit of English and is very funny. We had to stop by the Atrium to pick up another guy, and lo and behold, it was the guy I shared the airport transfer with.
So we went to get our blood tests. Tomek comes with you everywhere to speak to the receptionists and get your forms and so on. The other guy had his blood taken first and then I went it. The other guy really hates the sight of blood and talking about things that can go wrong and stuff, so he found the blood tests a bit hard to deal with. I was ok, I'm not scared of needles or anything and the nurse took 4 vials in total. After this, Tomek us back to our hotels and said he'd be back to get us at 2:15.
I went back to my room to watch some shows on my laptop then went back down to reception at 2:15 where Tomek came to pick me up. We went to the Atrium to get the other guy, then went to Ultrasound. It's a small building and we went in and up a flight of stairs and then waited outside a little room. The woman gets you to lay on a table (the woman I had spoke english) and she puts the gel stuff over your chest and then scans your chest and around your armpits. It reallly tickled on my left side and I wanted to laugh so bad, but I didn't! She then prints off two pictures of your sonogram and gives you some tissues to wipe up and then sends you on your way.
After this, we had to go back to my hotel because I'd forgotten my medication money, but from there we went straight to the clinic.
Now the travel to and from the blood tests and TO the ultrasound is free. The ride from the ultrasound to the clinic has to be paid for. I paid for the ride and was going to ask the other guy to go half with me, but I chickened out and I HATE asking people for money so I just left it. It was 27 Zlotys (i think the 7 zlotys were because we had to go back for my money). However, me and the other guy split the taxi back from the clinic the morning after and we're going to split the money to and from the clinic for the check up.
The clinic is in a kind of culdesac place with new looking apartments. There's a few shops on the ground floor which include a chemist. The clinic is SUPER nice looking, like really modern and clean, and straight away you feel at ease. After a minute, Katryzana came out and she looks so different from her pictures on the website, she has really nice brown hair down to her shoulders and a really kind looking face. She took us into her office to explain the procedure and the risks. She was so nice and very funny. The other guy got freaked out because of the risks and had to go outside, so we all went outside and the other guy like completely blacked out and I swear to God i thought he was having a seizure! It was so scary! But he just kind of fainted for like 30 seconds. I think he just psyches himself out when he sees blood or thinks of complications. Anyway, he was taken to the other room and Katryzana asked if he still wanted to go ahead and he said 'yes', so she said to me that he was going to go first now because they had to give him an injection to calm him down I think.
She took the other guy in for his op. It took about and hour and a half til it was over and then she took about half an hour just to relax and have some tea, and then it was my turn. I had to change into this blue gown and just keep my boxers and socks on. I did and I walked into her office. She felt my boobs and made some markings then sent me into the operating room. I lied down on the bench and the nurse put an injection into my arm and gave me a relaxant and then she put the mask over my mouth and I was waiting to pass out and then it was all over! And I said '.....has it started already?' and the nurse went 'It's all finished' and I was like '........wow'. I was shivering quite badly, so they put me in a blanket and took me to the recovery room. The other guy was there and we were talking and Dr Clark came in to ask if I was ok and stuff and then said that the nurse, Agnes, will be looking after us that night.
Agnes is the sweetest nurse EVER, and she really appreciates 'pleases' and 'thankyous', so make sure you say that for everything because she does such a good job. She came in every hour or so to check on us, give us something to eat or whatever. She gave us a painkliller in a drink and that helped me a lot because my chest was sore. She helps you get out of bed to go to the toilet, but that's just so you don't fall or rip anything out because you have drains in each side. You can go in the toilet and go back to your bed by yourself and it's ok. You have to stay lying down to avoid blood clots when you're in bed.
The night was fine, just went to sleep after chatting with the other guy.
Woke up at 5 and Agnes came in to check on us. She said I had barely any bleeding over night so my drains would come out today. I asked her for something to cover my eyes so I could sleep again and she gave me a sleep mask. The blinds don't really block out the brightness outside, so that really helped.
She said Dr Clark was coming in at 11. I went back to sleep and woke up at 8 and then continued chatting to my friend in the room, we just talked about stupid stuff and movies and stuff. I got up about 10:45 to get changed and brush my teeth and all that jazz and when I came out the bathroom, Dr Clark was there. She took me into he operating room and took off my bandages which HURTS because the tape proper sticks to your skin. I had shaved all my hair, but it didn't help!!! She then took out my drains and that was painful aswell. She took me to the mirror and my chest was almost flat, just a bit of fluid. She said 'this is just fluid, so once this has gone it will be flat!'. It was so weird not having the moobs anymore, it was very pleasing but also a bit anti-climactic in a way. I jsut don't think it hit me as hard as I thought it would. It did look great though.
She laid me down and said 'Your skin is quite loose around your chest, I think you must've been a lot chubbier at one time than you are now' and I was like 'yeah, i used to be bigger' and she said 'yes, you will need to do some vigorous massaging and pinching of the skin to make it tighten up over time'. I'm going to ask her to show me what I need to do exactly when I go back for check up tomorrow.
They then bandaged me back up and saw the other guy. She then gave us both information forms and our prescription. One form told you what the absolute minimum of after care was, and the other one told you what optimum after care is.
She told us that the receptionist will call us a cab and in that time we can go to the chemist a few doors down and pick up our meds. She said the painkillers and antibiotics are to be taken 3 times a day and the antibiotics twice a day. She gave us the times to take them too. The third item on the list is the anti-blood clot cream I think, called Herapin and she said that she would show us how to use that tomorrow. Then she waved us off and said 'See you tomorrow at quarter to 3'. So we went to get our meds, which came to 109 Zlotys and then we got in the taxi waiting outside for us and came back home. The taxi ride back was 20 Zlotys and 60 chrona (I think it's chrona for pennies).
Now, I'm sitting on the bed and I feel fine
Day 4/5So I went back to the clinic the day after a check up and shared a taxi with the other guy. From the clinic to the Ibis/Atrium it's always around 20 zlotys, maybe going up to 21-22 zlotys. We were seen individually by Dr Clark and taken into the operating room. She removed my banadage and dressings and asked if I'd like another look at my chest. It is so bizarre looking at it because it was like I couldn't remember what it looked like before. There was some fluid and swelling and she said that I will get quite a lot of swelling as there was a lot of room in my chest for the swelling to occur as I had quite a lot of fat removed. She then laid me down and explained how to change the dressings. She took off the bandage and wiped my chest with some wipes, then applied some of Heparinum cream. She then disinfected the nipple and then applied a Jelonet to each nipple and then put the sterile gauze over that, and then wrapped the compression vest back around me. I asked her to write down the name of the disinfectant so I could get some later. She did so and gave me some Jelonets and a sterile guaze to take with me. SHe then arranged for me and the other guy to come back tomorrow.
The next day we went back for another check up and she repeated the process of changing the dressings. SHe explained the process better this time:
First shower
Then apply Heparinum cream and rub in, let it sit for a few minutes
Then apply Bio Oil and massage.
After massage, disinfect the nipple
Then apply the Jelonets over each nipple
Then apply gauze
Then wrap compression vest around you
She said to do this until the stitches come out, which is 12 days after the op. She also said I could switch to the Macom vest as soon as I wanted as she was satisfied with the way I was healing. I asked her how long to wear the vest and she said 3 weeks full time, then 3 weeks at night time. She advised me to wear it for 6 weeks 24/7 though as it would help with my fluid build up and my skin tightening. I don't mind wearing it and alternating it with my Macom vest for 6 weeks, it doesn't bother me as much as I know it does some other people. I then asked if she could call me cab and she got Tomek (who was waiting to take the other guy and his girlfriend sightseeing afterwards) to radio and get me a cab back. Me and Dr Clark said our goodbyes and then me and Tomek left the clinic and he radioed a cab for me and said it would be here in 5 minutes. I went to the chemist and showed the lady behind the counter the note with the name of the disinfectant on it. I also pointed to the gauze Dr Clark had given me and gestured for 4 of them. It came to 11.50 Zlotys I think which is welllll cheap. I wish I'd got more gauze cos I ordered some on Amazon when i got back from my first check up so that it would be at my house by the time I'd run out of gauze I'd bought here, but I looked in my e-mails today and it said that the estimated delivery will be the 22nd June which is when I'm getting my stitches taken out, so it'll be useless! I'm going to have to buy some in the chemist back at home I guess, but I bet it costs way more there
I then got in the cab and came back to the hotel. I haven't done any sightseeing or anything but it wasn't really of interest to me and I've been quite tired as I haven't been sleeping well. I've been quite happy to come back and watch all the tv shows I had on my laptop, lolll. The area is nice though and I think anyone who likes looking around will have plenty of stuff to enjoy doing here. The Galaxy centre is really close and looks really nice.
One little tip I will say is that if you go to a shop to get water, make sure you read the label because I kept on thinking I was buying normal water and then I'd bring it home and it'd be fizzy!
Sparkling water says either 'Gazowana' or 'Lekko Gazowana' on it.
Still water says 'Niegazowana' on it.
I'm assuming Gazowana means 'gas'.
Tomorrow the Interglobus car is coming to get me at 9:50, then it's off back to the airport!
It's been a really simple and easygoing experience and I can't thank Dr Clark or sing her praises enough, she is so nice and funny and makes you feel like you're just going for an eye test, not a big surgery! I'm very happy with her work and her aftercare and I really do wish her all the success.
I encourage anyone thinking of getting it done to just do it. Don't let gyno ruin anymore of your life and don't waste anymore years trying to decide if it's the right thing to do.
I will update this post with pictures tomorrow morning
Topic: Surgery with Dr Clark 10/06/13 (Read 7199 times)
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