Author Topic: My Story... and successful revision by Dr. Jeffords.  (Read 3334 times)

Offline macman213

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Just wanted to share my story in one thread- which I’ll update with some pictures later on. Hopefully someone here, while I update it, will find it useful in dealing with their own personal situations. As I did with MANY threads in this forum.

I’m thin (5’11, 158lbs) and have always had super puffy nipples. They stuck out of my shirt, they were embarrassing and have prevented me from taking off my shirt for the last 15 years (I’m 30) and have been something that has been on my mind daily for as long.  

Eventually, I got up the courage to discuss it with my wife, who was super supportive. Scheduled my consultation and was elated that I was finally, FINALLY going to get the procedure done. Did some research, found a board certified plastic surgeon in my area that seemed to get good reviews and scheduled a consultation. I should’ve research the questions I asked better, but I figured, for a PS this must be pretty straight forward.

The first thing that should’ve tipped me off was the fact that I did not see a lot of before/after photos, however, when he started feeling around, he said I was an idea candidate for Lipo and that if he felt it was needed, would perform excision (but also said he didn’t feel hard glandular tissue that would warrant it). He seemed SO confident, I was sold.

Day of the surgery, I was marked up, sedated (w/ Local) and he did his thing. I was told 200ccs were removed. It seemed low to me since I’m thin, but figured it was primarily comprised of glandular tissue. He did not do any excision. 3 days later, I took off my binder for the first time and the contours were awesome, but the nipples, the reason I had this done didn’t look as flat as I would’ve expected for this surgery, especially the right one. I read on this forum that the body heals asymmetrically, so I figured it would eventually get where it needs to be, after all, the left side seemed improved (though also not what I would’ve expected).

During my first consultation, he was telling me how I looked great. I told him how I didn’t feel it and it didn’t seem like things were great.  He was telling me how I’m early on and just kept smiling and telling me how great I looked. I was reassured and told myself that at the next apt, the swelling would go down and I’d have the chest I wanted.

Over the couple of weeks that followed. The bruising went away. The swelling went down, and the nipples were as puffy as ever (and actually seemed more prominent since I guess some of the fat around the area was removed) and I was devastated.

At the next consult, when CLEARLY my chest looked the exact same as the day before surgery, the PS told me I looked great and I could finally go running without my shirt. I explained my concerns and he told me that I just have more skin on my nipple and that is just the way it was. I found that hard to believe since 1. It looked the exact same as before surgery, when I ‘was a great candidate’ and 2. Because it’s a horrible, but fairly common condition we all have and I’ve seen people with the exact same ‘Befores’ as me with perfectly flat and great chests ‘After’.

A few months later, I booked a consultation with Dr. Jeffords, who met with me, walked me through an ungodly amount of pictures of Before/Afters of people that had exactly the same type of chest as I did. He knew exactly what he was talking about as far as undermining the skin, even if I didn’t actually need lipo to get the chest totally flat. Further, his PA, Ben was SUPER INSANELY good at answering my questions over the following weeks with questions I had, concerns I had, etc and never seemed frustrated at the 1000 questions I’d asked.  Everyone put me at ease.

Simultaneously, I had another meeting with the original PS, where he finally agreed to do a revision. He said he would ‘donate his time’ and all I’d have to pay for was Hospital fees. I was put off by the fact that he was making it seem like he was doing me a favor, when I had the same exact nipples before and after. I was just 3K poorer. He told me he would perform the excision, but did not mention anything about Lipo-ing or undermining the skin. I knew at that moment that while he was a cheaper option, I couldn’t be reasonably confident that I was going to walk out with the results I was paying for.

I ended up booking with Dr. Jeffords and have the revision surgery on Friday and will keep everyone posted about how it goes. Its going to be full anesthesia with lip/excision this time and I’m hopeful that everything will go smoothly without any problems this time.

Please let me know if you have any questions I can help answer.

I’ll posts pictures later tonight.
« Last Edit: August 31, 2014, 09:41:23 PM by macman213 »

Offline macman213

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Pictures below. First one is pre op and the second one is pre-op revision. As you can see. Looks identical :(

Offline Dr. Elliot Jacobs

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I agree -- it looks very close to your pre-op condition.  Good luck with your revision with Dr. Jeffords -- he has an excellent reputation.

Dr Jacobs
Dr. Jacobs 
Certified: American Board of Plastic Surgery
Fellow: American College of Surgeons
Practice sub-specialty in Gynecomastia Surgery
4800 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
561  367 9101
Email:  dr.j@elliotjacobsmd.com
Website:  http://www.gynecomastiasurgery.com
Website:  http://www.gynecomastianewyork.c

Offline macman213

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Thanks so much!

I had the revision done friday and everything went great.

I was taken quickly and got marked up by Dr. Jeffords, who spent a lot of time pre-surgery going over any questions that I had, exactly what was going to be done and generally putting me very much at ease. I was excited and anxious. Mostly anxious  about not coming out of surgery with zero perceptible difference (as above). They injected something in my IV and I was out like a light. It was my first time under general anesthesia and it was an interesting experience. One second I'm waiting for the drugs to kick in and the next second

... I wake up and its over. I was told everything went well and was already in my compression shirt and vest.I was in a little more pain than the first time with Original PS, but I was happy about that as it felt like 'more' was done... LIKE EXCISION! 

Just got back from followup/drain removal. When I woke up this morning, the drains were getting VERY uncomfortable, due to the fact that they exert negative pressure and at that point (2 days) had already removed all the liquid that it was going to remove. The drain removal was the worst part of the process. Having it removed was pretty painful, but eventually the pain subsided and I feel much better now that its out.

The results LOOK GREAT! A huge huge improvement over last time. Totally flat. I'll post pictures later. Right now I'm very very happy. I know there will be swelling and things like that over the next couple of weeks, but its such a huge improvement :) He also spent a lot of time with me today telling me how to care for the scars and just made sure I was totally comfortable.

I'll post after pictures that I got a little later on.

I've learned a couple of things:

1. Lipo ONLY is NOT enough
2. Going to an experience Gyne specialist makes ALL the difference in the word. Dr. Jeffords had a much clearer understanding than the original PS and its that knowledge and learning curve, of a very specific problem, that is worth the cost (and not having to get a revision).




Offline Dr. Elliot Jacobs

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Congrats on your surgery -- hope all heals well.

The two points you made are worth repeating for those who are reading this for the first time:

1. Lipo AND excision are needed for virtually every case. Any surgeon who cavalierly says that he can get it all out with lipo should be questioned thoroughly -- especially about his revision policy.

2. Going to a gyne specialist is worth it in the long run.  Even if it costs a bit more, consider that added cost as "insurance" that the surgery will be performed at the highest possible level.  Remember, disappointment with initial surgery may require revision -- which has additional cost and may never get you to the same result as you might have had initially.

Dr Jacobs

Offline macman213

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Here are some after pics... two days post op. Photo 5 is the best view in the world.

Offline macman213

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Congrats on your surgery -- hope all heals well.

2. Going to a gyne specialist is worth it in the long run.  Even if it costs a bit more, consider that added cost as "insurance" that the surgery will be performed at the highest possible level.  Remember, disappointment with initial surgery may require revision -- which has additional cost and may never get you to the same result as you might have had initially.

Dr Jacobs


I 100% agree. The biggest disappointment for me was that after living with this for 15 years, I finally decided to take the plunge...the anxiety, excitement all leading up to the initial surgery made the 'fall' even harder when I realized the results were nothing close to what I'd expected them to be. When I spoke to the original PS he came up with every excuse under the sun to basically say 'this is how my nipples just are and that i just had more skin on them than others'. Are you kidding me?
Speaking to an actual gyne specialist made a world of a difference and was worth every penny IMO. Its the knowledge (and comfort of that knowledge) they have of a very specific condition that is priceless and worth every penny in getting the results you want.


Offline macman213

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11 days post op and nothing to complain about so far. Still feels surreal that, even though I had to go through this twice, my chest looks SO normal now. Worst part right now is the compression and odd little pains here and there.  Bruising is about 70% gone and I'm gaining more and more mobility in my arms everyday. The only thing I don't do is lift my arms completely up or try and lift anything heavy.


Offline macman213

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I just wanted to share a quick update on my experience with Dr. Jeffords. I had my surgery about 5 months ago (pure glandular). After the initial healing stages, which has its own ups and downs that everyone who’s had this surgery can attest to (like the damn vest), the left side of my chest was perfect… I mean, picture perfect. The right was definitely 10x improved and it was clear that he removed all the gland, but for some reason, the nipple didn’t shrink and get taut like the left. My body just healed slightly differently on each side.  Dr. Jeffords suggested TO ME that we do a quick touch up (in office) to tighten things leveraging the first incision. This occurred today in under 20 minutes.

Heres what makes Dr. Jeffords stand out.


If you read my experience, you’ll know I went to Dr. Jeffords because I needed to have a revision done. With the FIRST doctor, I had to point out, in every. one. of. my. appointments. about how nothing had changed (and he kept making me feel like I was nuts and saying ‘You look great’) and finally by the 5th appoint, he very begrudgingly and arrogantly told me he would ‘donate his time’.

Doctor Jeffords told me today ‘I committed to making it so that you can take off your shirt confidently and I plan on doing that’.  He has probably been one of the nicest, most caring doctors that I’ve ever been to. As busy as he is, you can tell he genuinely cares about his patients, the results they get, and their happiness.

As has been discussed, the doctor you choose is so important.



 

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