(there's a bit of repitition in the threads on this board, so I'm going to post this as a new topic and also insert it within relevant threads. It is lengthy, but I think gynecomastia is an important enough topic to merit the detail: "its not worth saying anything unless it takes a long time to say")
First off, I apologize for not having posted earlier, especially since I’ve come to this board a few times before now and it is where I was directed to Dr. Lista. I now consider myself cured of gynecomastia, and its only been ONE MONTH after surgery with Dr. Lista. I’m posting this to give any of you who are still selecting a surgeon a clear idea of the high caliber of treatment you get with Dr. Lista. When I was first researching gynecomastia, I wanted all the first-hand info I could get, so assuming you’re the same, I’ll relate a lengthy version of it all. If you just want to read my recommendation for Dr. Lista (and his staff), then skip down to the asterisks. But, it really is a bit of a quest, as I’m sure you all know, so I’ll start from the start:
I started researching the whole male breast business in February, when I was serious about getting a surgical correction for my problem. Until a couple years ago, I didn’t even think there was a surgical solution, until I found one site for some surgeon in the states who provided gynecomastia corrective surgery. But this guy, if I remember right, charged something like 8 000…per side! So I figured, ‘well that’s great. At least I know its possible, but that’s like buying a new car…well half of one… (not that anyone sells half-cars, but nevertheless, it was expensive)’.
I resolved to wearing thicker shirts, and I developed a tendency to hunch over a lot. (I feel like I’m on Oprah). I’m sure you all can relate to these pretty desperate non-surgical solutions. You’re basically in a state of hiding.
So then I figured, ‘alright fine, I’ll just have to work out a lot to try and counteract my anatomical anomaly’. That worked to a degree. But the thing about gynecomastia is that it is a combination of fat and hard glandular tissue --- and the latter does not go away with any amount of exercise. I had abs at one point, yet I still had puffy nipples and an abnormal conical shape to my chest. And the tricky thing is that when you have that glandular tissue there, any weight that you gain (even if just a little) seems to kind of pile up around that tissue and just make you look worse. It’s like a lose-lose situation.
So then I started looking up surgical options again and came to these boards. I narrowed it down to three names: Edelstein, Fielding, and Lista. I was overwhelmed with the opinions about Lista; his credentials pretty much amazed me. Call his office – the recording gives you an option to press something to hear his credentials…they go on forever! I think I actually had to hang up before reaching the end. But I still needed proof that he was legit – it all conceivably could have been an elaborate hoax somehow. Seeking some kind of official validation, I went to my family doctor. I hoped he’d mention Lista and then I’d know he is for real --- To tell the truth, however, I felt a bit uncomfortable asking a general practitioner about plastic surgery, because you know that doctors see people who need surgery to SURVIVE. I kinda thought he might be judgmental about it. In a sense, though, plastic surgery IS about survival, but in the psychological rather than the literal sense – and I figure doctors know this. My doctor didn’t mention anything about plastic surgeons, strangely. He referred me to a general surgeon, whom I in turn asked about Lista. “Oh yeah, Frank?” he said, “Yeah, he’s a colleague of mine, he’s great”. Then I figured, “good, he’s for real”.
So I got my consultation booked, thinking I should have saved myself a month and a half and just went straight to Dr. Lista. You can go to him without a referral (this I wasn’t sure of in the beginning)
***********************
The staff:
…is incredible. The four secretaries are extremely pleasant, patient, highly knowledgable, helpful, and incredibly informative. I’ve experienced some rotten secretaries in the past, so this team (and you get that sense of a team) was a welcome change. They form a sort of unified front – like a crack team of professionals who manage all the clients. You want that sense of a solid grounding, especially in something like a plastic surgery clinic. It just makes you more confident in the whole thing. Its kinda like being in a really expensive hotel, I guess that’s how to put it. They sat me down and went over everything quite thoroughly – all the forms and the pre-op steps. There’s just nothing to improve upon. They were awesome. They even walk you to the office from the waiting room – so there’s none of that “so-and-so….3C” and then you get to aimlessly wander around feeling lost and confused.
The nurses:
the nurses are really supportive and helpful as well – especially when you wake up from the surgery. One of them stays with you for about a half hour and makes sure you’re not going to die (exaggeration… Nobody ever dies – Dr Lista assured me of this).
The anesthesiologist:
I cant spell his name, but he was pretty cool. I just liked how he called the injection that puts you to sleep “the c-o-c-k-t-a-i-l” because “a very nice feeling will come over you and then you will wake up, and not know where you are for two minutes. It is always like this.” I actually knew where I was right away – it was probably reversed psychology.
Dr. Lista:
Well I suppose the credentials say it all. He’s really calm and relaxed and you get an obvious sense of his experience after the first consult. The first consult is what sold me. The previous doctors I had been to earlier were at first hesistant to even diagnose me with a gynecomastia problem - to me, it was REALLY obvious. Dr. Lista took two seconds to confirm it: "yep, gynecomastia". It was actually very relieving to hear it straight-up from an experienced surgeon.
I was quite impressed when he summarized his method for gyenecomastia correction. I had read quite a bit on the procedure in general and in all cases, the ideal method of extracting the glandular tissue was through the ‘periaureolar incision’. On the normal nipple, the aureola is the flat round circle around the nipple itself (which ideally is a small protrusion). In my case, the nipples were puffed out, so there was pretty much no distinction. The peri-aureolar incision is just a cut that goes around the bottom half, or the bottom third of the nipple’s edge. I had seen some images of the procedure being done under other surgeons, and it looked like they basically flipped back the nipple and pulled out the gland. Of course this method ends in a lot of stitches and a large scar that is hopefully disguised on the edge of the nipple.
With Dr. Lista, however, he simply makes a tiny incision (2-4 mm) off to the side of your chest, and kinda lower down – so its where the pectoral reaches the rib cage…that kinda area, but off to the side, so its inconspicuous. He pulls out the glandular tissue from beneath the nipple through the incision. I don’t understand why any surgeon does the periaureolar incision when they can do it Lista’s way. Then he goes in with lipo to remove the excess fat in the area. Someone on this board said that he does not excise the glandular tissue…that is not true - of course he does! Otherwise its not gynecomastia correction…its just liposuction. He uses both, as is the convention.
Dr. Lista also uses dissolving stitches, so they come out with washing. The scars are quite small – mine look like two little scratches right now. They’re obviously still red because its only been a month, but when it heals fully I imagine they will be quite invisible. I don’t know if this was on purpose, but it was pretty clever where he positioned the scars relative to each other. One incision is 45 degrees from the nipple, and the other is about 60 degrees from the nipple. This way, they end up looking like a randomly occurring differentiation in skin pigment, or something - because they are not aligned. I actually have a pimple on my chest that looks worse.
My response from the surgery was pretty immediate. You go home feeling rather inebriated and you wear this tight fitting vest with dressing underneath for the scars. Just as the anaesthesologist promised, the only lasting pain I had was a feeling as though I had just worked out – a general soreness. Quite mild. And of course you have pretty tough painkillers when your actual incisions begin to hurt (and wow, talk about being Comfortably Numb). I only needed to take two of those though. The following day, you return to the clinic and you get up-keep instructions – like how to wash, etc. This is when you get to see what you look like. I had seen enough episodes of the Swan and Extreme makeover to know you look terribly worse following the surgery. I was actually really happy with the immediate result, however. I was purple and inflated from the swelling, but everything was board-flat. I looked better every day following. It’s been a month now and I’d take off my shirt anywhere.
Now, I don’t think it is realistic to expect totally flat nipples after everything. There’s two kinds of nipples I classify as normal-looking: either totally flat, so they are on the same plane as your skin, or the ones with a few millimeters protrustion. The latter is what I figure most people would end up with, including myself…I think its impossible to get them totally flat following gyno surgery – but you never know. My right nipple is actually really close to being totally flush, and my left one comes out a bit further, but I still think they are a da/mn sight better than before – neither of them are puffy and they are now totally normal looking. If full recovery is supposed to take a year, then it might even get better, but I’m happy right now. Prior to surgery, my nipples came out probably close to a good 2 cm. Now, the furthest one comes to maybe 3-4 mm, and its not puffed. It does look like theres some more healing for it too. As of right now though, I can wear any shirt I da/mn well please.
The sculpting he did of the remainder fatty tissues around the gland was flawless. He took out all the bulk. Looks like it was never there. I have a perfect contour. There’s no asymmetry or any anomalous areas. Right now there are the usual hard lumpy areas which I think are scar tissue – I hear those will go away with time, but they make no visual impact. I’d say overall, the results at just one month are a high 9.5 - 9.8/10. And I’m a pretty tough critic (scroll down – re: the plaza). From reading around however, it looks like recovery time varies from individual – and I hope that is true for you, fishy.
I’d say my recovery was pretty fast. I think it was just over a week that all the bruising subsided. There was virtually no pain during any of it. Also, be prepared to do ABSOLUTLEY nothing for a week following surgery. Before your surgery, collect a bunch (like thousands) of movies you plan on watching, otherwise you’ll be bored to tears.
Oh but first a warning – the plaza that the clinic is in looks pretty terrible at this moment. Pulling in, you wont think it’s an appropriate area for a plastic surgery clinic until you actually see the building (which is a bit better than the plaza), and get inside the clinic, and experience the staff – then it all changes. Once you’re inside the actual unit – the clinic itself, it certainly looks as it should, so don’t worry about that. It looks like they’re getting a new building, too: they have a painting displayed of a nice glass/concrete building. Beneath the building it says “The Plastic Surgery Clinic” and then some different address. The new location looks much more appropriate for the caliber of service you get. So they are clearly expanding…out from the pot-hole parking lot area.
I haven’t been to Fielding or Edelstein or whoever else there is, but I really cant imagine getting a better result with anyone other than Dr. Lista. As for price, I thought it was pretty good – considering it’s a life-long thing (provided you don’t get fat or smoke pot [THC acts as estrogen in the body. Sorry, stoners.] or take ‘roids). I guess you’re paying for his more advanced method of glandular extraction (the subtle incision), his extensive experience, the unparalleled staff, and the convenience of having it all done within his clinic. I think that really makes it a lot easier, psychologically – not having to go to a hospital to do it. Its all very relaxed and organized. clockwork. ALSO, Lista says he does around three gynecomastia corrections A WEEK. So yeah, there you go. Now, plastic surgeons aren’t like cars which you can test drive, so I can only speak for the results you get with Dr. Lista…but considering my results, I cant imagine recommending any other.
I hope I’ve helped you in your decision, and good luck.
Topic: Dr. Lista or Dr. Fielding (Read 9045 times)
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