After 17 years, I'm finally on the other side

[puffynipsman]

After 17 years of puffy nipples, I finally had surgery yesterday with Dr. Dennis Hammond in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My puffy nipples showed up during puberty and never went away, despite my low body fat and healthy lifestyle. They messed with my head for so long and prevented me from being the person I wanted to be, so this year I decided I didn't want to live with them any longer. It was tough to decide to have an elective surgery, but I knew it would be even tougher for me to keep living with them. With the help of the posters and doctors on this board, I was able to make a very educated decision in my choice of surgeon. He's not well known on this board, but he has a wealth of experience with gynecomastia and surgeries of the breast. His before and after photos were very impressive, and his technique was very similar to the best doctors on this board.

24 hours later, I have some chest soreness and swelling, but the pain is already half of what it was yesterday. I only took two Vicodin yesterday, and none today so far. Feeling good!

While my BMI is about 23 and I had very little chest fat, the surgeon did use a combination of lipo and excision. I believe he said he took out 150 CCs of fat from one side, and 225 CCs from the other. I think that's about 12 ounces of fat. He also said he left a thin layer of tissue under the nipple to prevent a saucer deformity.

I haven't looked at my chest yet, but the nurse let my girlfriend look down my compression garment right after surgery and her response was, "Wow, babe! Your chest looks so flat!" I asked how my nipples looked and she said "Flat and normal! Just what you wanted." That was music to my ears. She never thought I needed the surgery, but when I opened up and explained to her earlier this year why I never wanted to go swimming with her or take my shirt off in general, she was sympathetic and very supportive.

I go for my first post-op at the end of next week. I'm keeping my expectations low but hoping for the best. I hope to fill you guys in as my journey progresses. I didn't take any before pics, but my surgeon took a bunch. If all goes according to plan, I'll see if I can have him send the before and after pics to me so I can share them with all of you.

Now only if this compression vest didn't itch so much...

[xelnaga13]

Vicodin makes the itching worse. Glad your surgery went well, just in time for summer.

[puffynipsman]

Update: 48 hours after surgery.

I looked at my chest in the shower yesterday and couldn't believe how flat my nipples are. They're smaller in diameter and the edges are essentially level with the surrounding skin for the first time since I was probably 13 years old.

The top half of my left nipple is a bit swollen and puffy, but the bottom half is flat. My right nipple is flat with a few minor creases in it. I also have a six-inch strip of bruising below my pecs. Overall, my swelling and pain are minimal, but my left side is swollen more than the right. I had some tenderness extending all the way up to my collarbone yesterday, but that has mostly subsided.

I know healing is a process, so I'm really looking forward to watching my chest change and improve over the coming weeks.

[nogojoe]

Congrats! I just had mine done on Thursday! We're healing together! Glad things are healing well!

Did you get drains?

[puffynipsman]

Congrats! I just had mine done on Thursday! We're healing together! Glad things are healing well!

Did you get drains?

I did not get drains.

I hope your surgery went well and that you heal up nicely!

[Mothas]

I see you got your surgery a day after i did. Your a year older than me so we were probabbly in the same boat.Hope you heal well my chest is slightly swollen on the right but mostly flat and my left is more swollen just glad my nips are flat. So how is your compression vest mine is tight and uncomfortable.

[puffynipsman]

So how is your compression vest mine is tight and uncomfortable.

Mine is tight and uncomfortable as well. There are three different rows of hooks for varying levels of tightness, and the surgeon put mine on the middle row after surgery and asked me to keep it there unless it became too tight. Yesterday I put it on the widest setting because I was sore and swollen, but today I'm back on the middle row over my chest and widest row over my stomach because it's just too tight down there.

One thing I don't like is that there are about 30 hooks on this vest like the ones on a bra. A zipper would be a lot easier and quicker to use, but I guess then I wouldn't be able to use the looser setting for my stomach.

It sounds like your surgery went well, and I hope you heal just how you want. Be sure to keep all of us informed on your progress.

[puffynipsman]

Update: 5 days after surgery.

Swelling has gone down considerably, but more so on my right side than my left. Pain seems to improve exponentially every day--the first day I could barely drag my fingers over my chest, but today I can press around a little bit without much discomfort. Perhaps most exciting is that I can raise my arms high enough to give my armpits a nice washing in the shower!

I mentioned that I had a strip of bruising below my pecs. That's still there, but it's turning yellow and starting to fade. (I don't expect that bruise to fade for at least a couple of weeks, though.) I've also got quite a bit of yellowing on my pecs now, which before yesterday didn't look bruised at all. Hopefully that's nothing to worry about.

I still can't believe how small my nipples look. Every time I look down in the shower, it feels like it takes my brain a few seconds to catch up with this new reality.

I have my first post-op tomorrow and I'm excited to hear what the surgeon thinks of my results thus far. I should be able to post another update by the weekend.

[puffynipsman]

Update: One week after surgery.

I had my first post-op visit yesterday. My surgeon removed the dressings and told me my scars were barely noticeable and that my swelling was minimal--so minimal that he said I could stop wearing my compression vest if I wanted to. I definitely feel swollen and tender, so I think I'm at least going to wear it until the pain goes away.

I came home and looked at the scars and they're maybe a half-inch long on the bottom of my areola. They're pink but healing well and already very unnoticeable. Once the hair on my chest grows back, I'm confident that you won't be able to see them at all.

One thing that's slightly concerning, which I didn't ask the surgeon about because I didn't notice in the office, is that my nipples (the tips, not the areolas) are very dark and almost black. It almost seems like they're covered in dried blood, but it doesn't peel off. I'm hoping it's just some kind of bruising and eventually fades because it's very noticeable.

My next post-op is five weeks away, but my surgeon said he thinks we can call me healed at this point. So far I'm thrilled with the results. Right now I'm sitting in a white t-shirt and looking down at my chest and I can't believe how good it looks. I don't have to sit or stand with bad posture anymore to hide my puffy nipples. I can even sit up straight as an arrow and push my chest out...and it looks good. Last night I was walking around without a shirt on. Every once in a while I'd look down, half expecting to see my big, puffy nipples hanging off my chest, but they weren't there. My brain is still getting used to this.

I'll probably upload some photos after my swelling and bruising goes down some more, and I'll see if the doctor can give me the before and afters at my next post-op.

[fnnewguy]

Good to hear man, I had my surgery on the 2nd and havent taken off the dressings yet, as I can shwer with them on and stuff. Hopefully it looks good!

[puffynipsman]

Update: 10 days after surgery.

Everything is looking good still.

The black skin/scab on my left nipple peeled off, revealing a normal looking nipple. The scab on my right nipple peeled halfway off in the shower today, but I left most of it on as the skin underneath looks raw and pink. I'm not sure why I have scabs on my nipples unless something rubbed on them during the surgery. I thought maybe blood had leaked out of them or the incision during the surgery and dried on them, but that doesn't explain why the skin underneath is raw and looks like it's healing. At any rate, it appears to be temporary at this point.

My bruising has almost faded, but I still do have some pain and I've noticed some hard lumps on my chest—especially under my nipples. It seems to be worse if I don't wear my compression vest for a few hours. I hope it's just swelling or scar tissue that fades with time. Even when the swelling is at its worst, the contour of my chest still looks great. It's a night-and-day difference from my pre-op appearance.

I also noticed today, when I logged into my health insurance account, that my surgery is pending approval. I should find out over the next week or so whether they're going to cover it. When I say cover it, I don't mean the whole thing. I had to meet my $1,000 deductible first, plus pay another $1,000 toward the surgery, plus pay 20% of anesthesia, plus pay for the liposuction. If they decide to cover the surgery, and they should because I met all of their requirements for it, it should save me about $2,500 from what I would've paid had I not involved insurance at all. I'm not holding my breath, though.

[Pearlsnap]

Sounds like you have had very good results. Im having surgery in a few weeks so its reassuring to read positive results. I'm getting anxious to finally take care of this now that winter coats are shelved.

Cingrats and good luck with continued healing.

[puffynipsman]

Sounds like you have had very good results. Im having surgery in a few weeks so its reassuring to read positive results. I'm getting anxious to finally take care of this now that winter coats are shelved.

Cingrats and good luck with continued healing.

Good results so far! I kind of wish I took care of this over the winter because I'm itching to get active now and still have a few more weeks of waiting left (my surgeon said I need to wait four weeks before any aerobic activity). But there's no time like the present, and I definitely didn't want to go another summer with puffy nips.

Best of luck to you--if you've chosen a good surgeon, chances are you won't regret your choice. Keep us all informed of how it goes.

[puffynipsman]

Update: Two weeks after surgery.

Swelling and pain has gone down significantly in the past couple days. It was almost like magic. My left side, which was very swollen as soon as I got out of surgery, went down so much in the past couple days that it almost looks just like the right side. My skin is still tender and somewhat numb.

Some areas of my chest are getting very hard--not lumpy, just hard. I also found a pea-sized nodule in my chest near my armpit. It's a little tender. I'm assuming it's scar tissue and will eventually go away.

When I woke up yesterday, my right nipple had a significant crease in it. Today that crease is almost gone. It's really pretty remarkable how much and how fast my chest has been changing since surgery. Now I understand why many say it can take months to see your final result.

My surgeon told me I could probably stop wearing my compression vest at my one-week post-op, but I kept wearing it. Now, with my swelling down so much, it almost feels like it's not even helping. I might try going without it today to see how I feel and how my chest responds.

On a very, very positive note, I found out insurance is partially paying for my surgery. I'm thrilled to say the least. This would've been a $6,000+ surgery, but with insurance it's going to run me about $3,500.

[fnnewguy]

Good news man. Yeah my left side is a little puffierthanthright but it was before surgery too. I'm hoping it's just swelling. Im only ten days out. Hard to tell much of a difference right now... Also I bet that pea sized nodule is an inflamed lymphnode responding to injury.