Author Topic: 13 weeks post Op/Lipo,Chest Pains and strange symptoms?  (Read 777 times)

Offline adam82

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Hi All,
A little advice needed please.
I had male chest reduction (liposuction only) on 6th April 2018. P/Surgeon said that although I had fatty breasts, he could only find 1 small piece of gland on the left side and confident he could produce a masculine looking chest without the need for incision or removal. Good news obviously.
The results after removing the vest are quite disappointing but I know it's still very early and although I don't particularly feel much swelling anymore, I'm seriously hoping they are still inflamed otherwise I would be quite disappointed. I have followed docs orders perfectly, compression vest for 8 weeks 24hrs/day.
Since my operation I have had a terrible time. The first 5 weeks were slightly painful as I was expecting, reducing notably each week, but at week 6/7 I had an incident that has caused upset ever since.
I was at work and felt terribly dizzy. The feeling stuck for 3 days with headaches and I went to A&E. My BP was up and diagnosed me with slight case of Vertigo.They said the surgery had no connection.
A long story short > It wasn’t vertigo, I went back - they diagnosed with vestibular migranes and elevated BP, given enanapril for 10 days and pain killers – nothing, changed the BP meds to ramapril, made me horribly zombified so they recommended propranolol to lower bp and relieve mild anxiety. Stuck to this for 2 weeks but still no change really.
I went for a second opinion with a neurologist to make sure Im on the right track, who took me off all meds and diagnosed my with muscular tension headaches caused by stress and prescribed amitriptyline for daily headaches and anxiety. he said the Prop was used to treat migraines and with me having 8-10 headaches a day he said they deffinitely arent migraines and all i would feel from the prop was the side effects and no benefits. ( I agreed)
Although I valued his opinion, having had so many different meds I decided to wean off all meds and give myself a week or two before jumping on the amitriptyline anti-depressant route (I'm not depressed by any means) with resuming exercise and healthy lifestyle. I am pleased to say I have now got rid of the zombie feeling and seem to be thinking better at work. Headaches have stuck though! 

Although no doc has given the impression the two are connected, there is one thing I have noticed (especially with I lift my arm up) is a hard line running from under my collarbone down toward the left of my nipple. It's about 10cm long, not painful and when my arm is down isn’t visible. I have been told this is a thrombosis, possibly caused by the surgery. (They still don't think it's causing the headaches though.
My main symptom now is chest pains and headaches. The chest pains are all of the left side, and only EVER on the left. Touching them doesn’t hurt particularly, they feel more internal than that. I can feel lumps (again apparently normal). Some are a combination of stabbing pains, others more dull pressure (as if someone was pushing down), they happen 8-10 times a day. Strangely, never when I'm lying down?? Sometimes the stabbing ones are quite painfull and I clutch my chest, that then gets me worries and a bit panicky - queue Anxiety!
My question is has ANYONE had weird like symptoms after such a procedure? I have had ultrasounds, Bloods, ECG’s, x-rays and going in for a CT on my head on Thursday as a last resort to rule out head problems.
No pain meds take the headaches away and the chest pains feel worse now than they ever have.
I realise I'm only 13 weeks post-surgery but isn’t is supposed to be getting better not worse?
P/Surgeon recommends pain killers and says it's just the healing process. He didn’t want to admit to the thrombosis though and said there are always risks with surgeries, but it's superficial and isn’t anything to worry about anyway. Could there be nerve damage or something going on? Im a fit guy and until the surgery Im 100% never any issues. Just seems strange.
Thanks in advance guys and apologies for the length of the post.

Offline Litlriki

  • Supporting Doctors
  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 1375
    • Dr. Silverman's Website
Sorry to hear about your post-operative issues. It's very complicated and much of it is beyond what I or any of my colleagues might feel comfortable commenting on.  I would say, however, that some of the sensations you have in your chest are completely normal in post-op patients.  I warn my surgical patients that any time after surgery, nerves are cut and banged up and they recover along with the rest of you afterwards.  As nerves wake up, they awake with sensation, which may be hot or cold or pain or tingling--much as when your leg wakes up if it falls asleep. But this is stretched out over week and months. So a few months post-op, you may have a sore spot for a day or two and then it goes away completely--or you feel tingles out of the blue. As for the possible thrombosed vessel in your chest, that should not be an issue long-term.  I have my patients massage after surgery, and this often helps with the lumps and bumps and bands, as well as helping to desensitize the area as the nerves recover. 
I'm not sure if this is helpful.
Rick Silverman
Dr. Silverman, M.D.
Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
29 Crafts Street
Suite 370
Newton, MA 02458
617-965-9500
800-785-7860
www.ricksilverman.com
www.gynecomastia-boston.com
rick@ricksilverman.com

Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery


 

SMFPacks CMS 1.0.3 © 2024