I had my procedure with Mr Levick 2 weeks ago last friday, and when you mention that his procedure seems slightly more elaborate, then that is entirely possible. However, having had a fairly disastrous NHS effort some years ago, i was delighted to find someone who was elaborate and thorough. Having lived with this for SOOOO long, i needed something that seemed like it was going to do the trick - however, if he had said that he was going to cut the boobs clean off my chest and replace my nipples with a couple of glace cherries, I would probably have said yes as having got to that consultation stage, the impossible seemed possible and i would have signed up to anything.
So, 2 weeks ago, on the 26th Sept, i turned up at the Priory Hospital in Birmingham for my op. I live on the South Coast so it was a bit of a trek, but after my consultation, i was reassured enough that Levick was the man for me. I really cant praise the whole process highly enough. The staff at the Priory were excellent. The facilities lovely and Levick and his Team did everything they could to make me as non nervous as possible.
The last thing i remember was the chat with the anesthetist and the anesthetic climbing up my arm after he injected it, and the next thing i know i was in recovery room. I remained there till i got taken back to my room -minus 450cc of fat and 24g of gland tissue removed from one side and slightly less removed from the other ( just to put that into context, a 450cc silicone implant is enough to take a woman from an A to a C cup). I was strapped up and with a drain tube coming out of the lipo hole at the top of my armpit in each side. No new hole was made for these tubes. The tubes were attached to the drain bottles - and they collected hardly any fluid during the night.
I had a restful night ( kind of !..there was a bit of discomfort when i tried to prop myself up in bed) and the only real adventure was trying to navigate your way to the loo with your drain bottles in one hand.
I was kind of nervous to get these drains out the following morning, but the time came and i have to confess to being completely fine - genuinely didn't feel a thing - and they are a fair way in - but it was pain free and very quick to have them removed.
for me the worst part came at the end of the following week when i was instructed to remove the strapping and bandage. It was easier to cut up the middle of the chest so i had a flap on either side which was stuck down to my flanks just below my shoulders. God know what sort of industrial adhesive they use, but it hurt like a bastard and removed some skin on the way off. The skin removal was probably partly my fault as i was going for the 'just remove it as quickly as possible' school of plaster removal....but these are not little elastoplast. The second side was much easier and i had bought a box of adhesive removal wipes from Boots. They came in little individual sealed sachets, which i think contained surgical spirit ( so you could probably do the same thing for less money by buying a bottle of surgical spirit) and with my wife rubbing the plaster where it joined my skin, everything just peeled away without pain or further skin removal. Useful tip No:1 if you have any hair on your sides/flanks, then it may be helpful to shave that area before the op.
Bruising??? of course, but it has gone in 2 weeks - so i am bruise free. Pain??? very little during the entire process. Uncomfortable, yes, but not really any substantial pain. I only took the pain killers for a day after surgery a couple of days after that.
Am i happy? Well, i had an emotional moment when the bandages first came off after that first week. I have been living with this since i was a kid, and here i am in my early 40's only now regretting that i didnt get it done sooner. With all the caveats and warnings that it takes months to settle down, i am really happy with the result just 2 weeks on. i am still in the compression vest 24/7 which is starting to annoy slightly, but my view is that i lived with this condition for so long, and felt the psychological discomfort of wearing t-shirts or being asked to go swimming by your daughter and having to say no because of my embarrassment....i can put up with what is actually just a little bit of actual discomfort for a small amount of time. i have even been wearing t-shirts with the vest underneath, or going out in a shirt without a jacket over the top. i keep catching sight of myself in shop windows or in mirrors and it just looks so different. I keep wanting people to stop me in the street and comment on my flat chest - but why would they, or should they? ....i now have what I consider to be a more 'normal' chest and in the 'normal' world people dont comment on the flatness of people's chests...so my excitement at my new shape remains mine. And my wife and daughters.....my wife because she says i seem happier and less self conscious when we are out already and my daughter because she is desperate for us to go swimming - and do you know what?....i will be happy to do so.
Oh - and i have to tell you my other bonus side effect.....all my life, over and above the boobage, my nipples were always much larger - or at least the areola around the nipple was always smooth skinned and quite large which gave my boobs an added female quality i despised. I mentioned this to Levick and he said because of the gland being conical under the skin, when it is removed, the nipple should settle down to more normal proportions - and he was right...i would say the areola around my nipple is probably 20% less than it was pre-op.
I know there is positive and negative feedback on most of the surgeons on here, and Levick has had his share of negative comments - but like anything in life, some people you get on with better than others. Based on my experience of everything from consultation, to the pre-op, the actual op, post-op and the result - i have nothing but the highest praise for Paul Levick, his team and the Priory.
Sorry for the slightly long ramble to an otherwise simple question, but hope that gives you a bit of confidence to push forward to the next stage. My scars are tiny and hidden in folds of my armpit. nobody can see them unless they are very, very close and i have my arms above my head....in which case there is probably a good reason for them being there and scars are the least of my concern.!!
Good luck with everything.
Garry
Topic: Levick's vs other procedures (Read 3380 times)
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