Any words of wisdom or advice for someone with surgery in 1 week

[brittguy1068]

Hey guys,
2 weeks ago I finally took the steps to understand what could be done about my larger and perkier than average male chest, and now have surgery in less than 1 week, thanks mainly to this site pointing me in the right direction (regarding various UK & European surgery options). Thanks to all those who have posted their experiences and advice..

I'm 46 (in 2 weeks) but still go to the gym 3-4 times a week so am generally fit and relatively low bodyfat (14%) but have had the chest problem since childhood and have always felt this area let me down and made me somewhat self conscious. After reading so much on here about the success stories felt it was now the right thing to do.     

I initially had a consultation with the Hospital group, who over the phone suggested a price of £2,750 for the surgery including excision.  At this price I was curious, so had a consultation. Unfortunately at the actual consultation they then increased the quote to £4,595 saying the initial quote was only for lipo, They offered a discount, which bought the price down to £3,770, but I already had a consultation booked with Mr Levick in a couple of days, and had made up my mind that if I felt as much at ease with him as was suggested by so many others, I would be booking surgery with him.   

I have to be honest and say the comments I had read about him were spot on, and he is a really nice and genuine guy, and he took the time to talk me through the whole surgery process, how his surgery differs from others, and he made sure I understood everything before I made any decisions.. I also met his lovely wife Gail, and she was equally as informative and pleasant. I thought about everything on the way home, so I knew I wasn't making any rash on the spot decisions, and by the time I had got home 1 1/2 hours later decided to call and book to go ahead. I'm now booked in for mid next week

I already have the Arnica so have started to take one twice a day, and have ordered the vests in 2 sizes as I seemed to be between sizes and figured I could always return one if I didn't use it. I now just have to wait for the day,..

If anyone has any suggestions regarding pre surgery preparation, or things to watch for in the 1-2 weeks post op it would be much appreciated.

Cheers     

 

       

[jinr0h]

I too have surgery within a week.   My advice would be eat healthy and work out .. 
good luck

[FlatAsAPancake]

They may have mentioned it but no chinese food, nor tomatoes or garlic (Mr L told me for atleast two weeks) as they thin your blood. Best of luck mate.

[AchillesUK]

Keep as much compression as you can bear for as long as you can bear!

My honest advice, from someone who had multiple episodes of fluid build up, is to try and keep the binder on for at least a month if you can i.e. keep wearing it even after the first week, on top of your vest. Its not very comfortable (unless you're a police officer who is used to walking around with a stab vest) but it's better than fluid build up which some of us have suffered from unfortunately.

Aside from that just try and relax, you're in good hands. Personally I wouldnt actually work out between now and the surgery (last thing you want is a strain or injury so close to surgery), and obviously not for a few weeks after surgery either.

Good luck.

[FlatAsAPancake]

Good advice. I only wore my binder for the first week 24/7, now I only wear it when I sleep.

I have to agree it does feel like I'm wearing my stab vest whilst I'm trying to sleep and I still haven't tried to sleep on my side yet.

[brittguy1068]

Thanks for the great advice guys.. Hoping to only wear the binder for the first week (not looking forward to trying to sleep with it on, but it will be worth it), and the compression vest after that, but will see how things go..

Going to do some "Before" pics in the next couple of days..