Author Topic: 4 Weeks Post - Surgery done with Dr. Levick - 2/10/13 + Pre/Post Photos  (Read 7652 times)

Offline Osian123

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Hi
I'm 21 years old and I first noticed something wasn't right in the chest area when I was around 13.
 I went to the doctor at 15 and he just said that it would go with time.
 When I was 19 I saw a NHS consultant, he wasn't really happy about doing the procedure because of my age and said that my nipples would not look that good after surgery. His method was to cut around the whole nipple and then take the tissue out, really didn't want that!
He was obviously a little inexperienced as I soon found out other/better methods of correcting gynecomastia.

After that I decided to hit the weights, my intention was to build the chest muscle so the gyne would not be so pronounced.

Start 2013 -
I was still hitting the weights and cardio 5 times a week.
 I looked pretty good in a t-shirt (except from the sides).

July 2013 -
I started looking for Surgeon's
This forum was a massive help, and I chose Dr. Levick because of his reputation as one of the best gyne surgeons in the UK.

Consultation 2013 -
I sent the first e-mail to Dr. Levick on the 25/7/13 asking when I could come in for a chat.
I was booked in for the free consultation on 19/08/13.
  
On arrival I was made to feel at ease straight away, he was cool as a cucumber, easily understood and generally happy/funny man.(Possibly because he was raking it in!)

He went through the whole procedure showed me pics explaining everything. I had no worries and was completely confident and very eager to have the operation.  

I then went through to his Secretary(Wife)- Mrs Gail Levick, discussed the cost and surgery date options.

I was given the option of a few dates and advised to contact via e mail to confirm.

Date chosen:- - 2/10/13, which gave me enough time to finish off some deadlines at work and also to ensure that a family member was available for support and to drive me home from hospital!


Day before Surgery -
 I lived approx 3.5hrs away from the Hospital and the surgery was at 8am, so I had to book a hotel near the hospital (I chose the IBIS Budget, Birmingham City Centre, it was the closest and cheapest I could find)travelled up on the 1/10/13, did a little shopping and chilled out.

Day of Surgery -
 Arrived at 8am sharp, within 5 minutes a member of staff showed me to my personal room with bathroom, giving me tutorials on how the bed + tv works. Couple of minutes later a couple of nurses turn up with my gown and paper Y-fronts,also had to fill some other forms, the most important one being the menu for lunch and dinner after surgery, good choice of food, went with the soup and chicken sandwich (Sandwich bad choice because your mouth is so dry after anaesthesia, I didn't eat mine)

So I'm now sitting in the theatre room while the anaesthesia gets prepared and Dr. Levick takes some Pre-op pics of me.
Then I feel the anaesthesia going into my blood stream, and the anaesthetist says to me, "It's Gin & Tonic time".

I wakeup after its all over, feel really tired, then I'm wheeled back to my room.

From the moment I stepped in theatre to being back in my room was about 90mins.

I slept on/off through the day until around 6pm, when I start to feel a little better, I had some pumps around my calfs called "flowtron" that just help with the circulation of the blood in my legs and had tubes hanging out of my armpits following small incision that was made, collecting any excess fluid.

I think I got about 1 hours sleep that night because of how distracting those "flowtron" pumps around my calf's were.
I listened to music all night and put the tv on around 5am (rubbish programmes that time!)


Next morning-
  Nurses came in to check the tubes, I got had a good breakfast and some painkillers.
Dr, Levick walks in around 8:30am and gives me photos of the pre op and a photo showing the size of the tissue he had removed. The nurses and Levick confirmed that they were happy with everything, I asked him a couple more questions, then the nurse took the tubes out,(not as painful as I thought it would be, jus ta slight burning sensation.

I'm out of there by 11am and was on my way back home.

I would like to thank all the staff at Priory Hospital, Birmingham and of course Dr. Levick

Just hoping now that all goes well in recovery

**(I will be uploading photos every week on my recovery)**
« Last Edit: October 31, 2013, 05:33:41 PM by Osian123 »

Offline Osian123

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Offline Osian123

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Week 1 Pics

Feel quite happy, thought there would me more swelling.

The nipples are still numb and will be probably for another few weeks,

I feel a little swelling at the sides & bottom of the chest

**More Pics Next Week**
« Last Edit: October 10, 2013, 01:50:32 PM by Osian123 »

Offline ScaredGuy

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Congrats mate you were there the far before me. Looking at your pics I wouldn't have even has the surgery if the gyno was that small for me. Take a look at my thread if you wanna see some "whoppers" as Dr.Levick called them.

Offline Osian123

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Thanks mate,

I don't think it really matters how big or small the gyne is, still probably has the same psychological effect on you doesn't it. 

Hope your recovery is going well

Offline jamie10

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Offline Osian123

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Week 2 Photos

It's going really well, just a little more bruising and swelling on the left side and because of that I think the left nipple is a little stretched and there is a tinny dent there, I pretty sure the dent will go with time

Offline Osian123

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These are the incision points. Their nearly gone already!!

Offline ScaredGuy

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Wow, you look like you're healing brilliantly. How are you feeling mate? I still feel pretty sore, I'm not sure if it's down to how tight my compression vest it.

Also my incision points are no-where near as healed as yours are yet, that's amazing.

Few questions for you mate? Are you literally wearing your vest 24/7 except for when you shower? I currently am but it's getting a little annoying, I hope I get used to it.

Have you started any form of mild exercise yet? I was late for work yesterday and jogged from my car a little bit because I forgot and my chest started "burning" so I quickly stopped. I'm absolutely desperate to go to the gym to do at least something though because I'm just sitting at home doing nothing after work at the moment. I was thinking putting the treadmill on the greatest incline and walking up that at as fast a pace that I could go without there being too much "bounce". Also was thinking about the cross trainer or the elipltical or whatever it's called. Let me know.....

And are you taking anything to aid recovery? I'm having some Arnica and Vitamin C daily, nothing else. How about you?

Thanks mate!

Offline Osian123

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I'm feeling good thanks mate. I have little soreness still, its really hard to know how tight the vest should be.

When I put it on first time I put it on the middle 'notches' or whatever you call them, but I really didn't think it was tight enough, so I 'notched' it to it's tightest, it still felt quite comfortable.
I was right in between Medium or Large, it was advised that I go for the larger one, so that's what I did.

When I'm in bed my vest feels a little loose around the top of my chest, so I tighten the shoulder straps a little more.

I have it on 24/7 mate, and yeah it is annoying, but just think of the end result.

Exercising- all I do is bicep curls, bent over tricep extensions and bodyweight squats haha. I try to walk a lot too, so i would think walking on your treadmill with a good gradient should be fine.
Im exactly like you, bored and really excited to start back on my fitness regime

I finished my arnica tablets about 3 days ago, and probably won't buy anymore, I take Berocca and Centrum multi vits in the morning, accompanied with a clean healthy, high protein, medium carbs and low fat diet.

Hope that helped.


Offline JC901

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I don't think it really matters how big or small the gyne is, still probably has the same psychological effect on you doesn't it.

Completely agree with this; I've got it quite 'mild' as well - but can't wait to get rid of it! Sure guys with more advanced gyno might be happy with anything that's smaller, but even at this size it's still constantly on your mind...

Also, seems like Levick did another amazing job, your chest looks amazing mate! Will keep an eye on your healing progress as you're about 2 weeks ahead of me, so will give me an idea of what I've got coming up.

Glad everything went well!

Offline Osian123

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So, It's 3 Weeks since my op, feel really good. As I've mentioned before, the worst part is not being able to workout,

At the moment my left nipple is a little creased when tensed, but It's to be expected I think.

That's it really, I'm going to try the gym out tomorrow and try and just work on lower body.
 Dr. Levick advised me not work on chest for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Offline Osian123

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Hi Guys, its been 4 weeks!
Can't believe it!

Garment came off today, from now on I'll just be using it at night time.
Confidence is at an all time high.

I only have 1 compression garment, so over the past week in the gym, I used to take it off and apply a type of compression bandage (Mum's a nurse), it worked great, and meant the garment wouldn't get drenched in sweat!

All in all, i can't wait for a much deserved drink... it's been 8 weeks!
Any questions you have guys, I'm happy to help...





Offline Vesuvius

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Looking good osian! Glad to hear your recovery is going well! You must be feeling pretty pleased with your result so far :-D I'm one week post op today (Levick surgery) and have pain and swelling :p guess the rollacoaster ride is just beginning for me! Enjoy that well deserved drink!!

Offline Osian123

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Thanks bud, feel great.

Hows your recovery going?

I had my first chest session in the gym this tuesday (5 weeks post op)

Haha yeah i will!



 

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