mental healing after surgery

[jansport]

i had surgery a month ago exactly. i am very happy with the results -- hey, i can wear a normal shirt and feel comfortable now. it is surreal, really. i am still in the process of healing physically and so far it's going good.

one thing hasn't changed though; my anxiety. man... what a bitch. i feel great and I know I have  a normal looking chest now, but I'm still suffering from anxiety. specifically social anxiety.... and, to be honest, i'm just a worry wart in general.

i have read on these forums that after surgery it both time to heal physically and heal mentally. my question is this, how have you gone about the latter?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Emotional changes and changes in body image and self esteem are all anticipated changes after successful gyne surgery.  But they are not going to knock you out immediately.  The changes are extremely individual -- and always occur over time.

I have had some patients who were "different" men after one week from surgery.  And other men took many months or even a year.  There are no guarantees that you will feel different about yourself -- but only time will tell.

Be patient and keep a positive outlook!

Dr Jacobs

[jansport]

Thank you for your reply Dr. Jacobs. Very kind.

[DrBermant]

i had surgery a month ago exactly. i am very happy with the results -- hey, i can wear a normal shirt and feel comfortable now. it is surreal, really. i am still in the process of healing physically and so far it's going good.

one thing hasn't changed though; my anxiety. man... what a bitch. i feel great and I know I have  a normal looking chest now, but I'm still suffering from anxiety. specifically social anxiety.... and, to be honest, i'm just a worry wart in general.

i have read on these forums that after surgery it both time to heal physically and heal mentally. my question is this, how have you gone about the latter?

There is a great deal of emotional issues living with gynecomastia. Such a great factor that many years ago, I incorporated specific education component for each of my patients. For more than a decade, my patients look at their new sculpted tissues the day after surgery in a mirror surrounded by the before surgery photos. That means the day after surgery I am working with the patient on healing that issue. We then go onto to educate listening to the body for limitations of activity while I document the after surgery result with photos and then how the tissues move with video. The video permitted me to go a step further and document the emotional component of living with gynecomastia and then the emotions of getting over the psychological scars. The step missing in the many examples i have posted, for patient confidentiality, are the faces. Boy that would be fun to post and put on for the world to see. But for myself and our staff, watching the faces of our patients tells the story of the relief they have had. For those not in the room, the videos posted at least have the emotion in the words.

For my patients with this methodology, I see the change the day after surgery. When I am fortunate enough to see longer term patients, the process of the watching and documenting the emotional healing has been just as pleasurable as the evolution of the tissues and how the tissues move.

I have no doubt that the active efforts taken for the emotional component have sped the healing for our patients. When one of my patients decides to share their experiences in a forum like this one, it is even more fun seeing how short they tend to remain on the site. That is a sign of success, they move on with their lives.

Listening to the videos of these patients talk about the emotional component of their healing might be a starting point. Seeing and watching how others progressed can establish how it works. The problem is, each surgeon's techniques are different. The progression seen on my videos are how my patients evolved. However, there is an awesome amount of work in making and then publishing such works of emotion and motion that it is not realistic to expect all doctors to provide that material.

Good luck on your recovery.

Michael Bermant, M.D.