Author Topic: Surgery story (Dr. Fielding, Toronto)  (Read 4710 times)

Offline jfk8

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First of all, I want to thank the creators of this forum - it's been very informative so far. So, I decided to contribute.

I had a consultation with Dr. Fielding in mid September and surgery was scheduled 8 weeks after that. Dr. Fielding is a truly nice and understanding guy and doesn't judge you in any way. He just simply assesses your situation, throws in some humor and is professional at the same time. I can't think of a more pleasant interaction with a doctor - I've definitely met my share of doctors that preach or give other unwanted opinions.

I got my gyno by taking bodybuilding drugs - there's no question about that. It could've been avoided by taking anti-estrogens but I didn't. Stupid from my part so I grew a gyno. It happened slowly and gradually and was hard to notice in a way. The lumps would grow when on cycle and would shrink to small size when off. However, what I didn't realize was that the estrogen also caused some localized fat gain to the lower part of my pecs. I always assumed "that's they way they're supposed to be, I'm not in my 20s anymore". Obviously that fat shrinks away just like any fat if I diet and get ripped. That's why I was positively surprised when Dr. Fielding told me he's also going to re-shape my chest by doing lipo on top of removing the glands. He said he'd take 250 ml of fat from each side and he said my chest appearance would change dramatically. Great!! He also estimated my glands are maybe 50 ml each.

The price of my operation was $2500. They take credit cards which is great if you collect air miles LOL! I live in Toronto so I just took an early morning cab to the hospital and registered. Then you get rid of your clothes and put on a hospital gown and wait. People are there for all kinds of operations so no one should worry people around you knowing you're having a gyno surgery - they have no idea. I probably waited only 45 minutes and to the operating room I went.

I've never been under anaesthesia so moments before I was a tad nervous. The weird part is the last thing I remember was being totally alert and the next thing was when I already woke up. Those drugs have all kind of side effects and one of them is your mouth gets really dry and it really drives you crazy. So, had I know thatn, I would've taken a water bottle with me to the hospital - something to keep in mind. Right after the operation I was obviously under heavy medication and there was pretty much no pain at the moment. They kept me there for another hour maybe and my friend came to pick me up. At that point the pain started coming in - and in my case it's worse than intense workout pain. Dr. Fielding prescribed me Oxycodone and it takes the pain away nicely. Here's my day by day feelings:

Day 1: Day of operation
Operation was early in the morning and I got back home around noon and quickly ate something. You're pretty functional already hours after the surgery, but starving and thirsty because at that point it's been a while since you last ate. I slept most of the day and occasionally popped a pain killer to keep the pain away. Upper body mobility is quite limited and in general, I just didn't feel all that good, but not too bad either. As said, I slept most of the day and just made sure I drank a lot and ate enough food to heal.

Day 2
Woke up and felt very stiff. The pain is a bit less than the day before. Went to work and felt ok for a while but after half a day I felt totaly drained and got back home and took a long nap. I noticed personally my body wants lots of sleep during recovery. By late night, I already felt better - less pain, better mobility and more energy. The vest started bothering me a bit at this point as it squeezes your chest constantly, 24/7.

Day 3
Woke up and and felt much better than 24 hours ealier. Again, pain is less than before and I can now already lift my arms overhead comfortably. Putting a shirt on is easy. Later that night, the vest was driving me nuts and I opened it for the first time for few minutes. The operated regions are covered by foam type material that's adhesive - I guess to ensure no infection can enter the area. Around those foams I could see pretty severe bruising. Because of the thickness of the foam, it's impossible to tell now if my chest is smaller than before, but I think it should as Dr. Fielding told me after the surgery that the surgery went great and he had removed lots of matter from both sides.

Day 4
At this point, my energy is pretty much back to normal - just slept a bit more than usual. Pain is a non issue at this point and mobility is compromised by the vest only at this point really - no need to stay in bed much anymore and I'm doing pretty much whatever I feel like doing. I can't wait for few more days to get the foams off and see my chest. The vest is really getting annoying at this point and I can't wait to live without it as soon as possible. Especially the thick foams under the vest make it quite obvious you're wearing some kind of vest under your shirt. Also, the vest makes a sound whenever you move so in my opinion you can't really live a perfectly normal social life for as long as you have it. I'm wearing a t-shirt and a light jacket on top of that to conceal it.

I will get to see my chest in few more days and I'll give you an update then. If you have any questions, let me know. I'll try not to be one of those guys that disappears after the first posting LOL!!

I may post photos later, but I'm not in a mood to post my shots right now... all I have is before shots and shots of me being bruised. Hoping to add photos of flat chest to the collection soon  :)
« Last Edit: November 16, 2008, 12:20:22 AM by jfk8 »

Offline jfk8

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you paid only 2500 USD?

I paid $2500 CAD + tax = $2625. I guess around $2100-$2200 USD these days? Based on what I've read, Dr. Fielding doesn't accept non-Canadian patients - the operation is performed at a public, non-private hospital and the Canadian Gov. picks up part of the bill (Thanks! Finally some bang for my tax dollars LOL!) which to my recollection is around $1000. I could be wrong but I think I heard something like that at one point. And if you do gland removal only, it seems to be cheaper than that. I had both, that's why my price was higher than any I've seen on this board. Still easily worth it!

I can ask if he's willing to accept U.S. citizens if the patient is willing to pay $3500 instead of $2500. Just let me know.

But this is the way I rationalize it... I'm in my 30s and hoping to be around for another 40-50 years. This surgery will likely fix me for the rest of my life! So, the price for each year is around $60.. that's $5 / month folks!! Maybe it's time to skip couple of Starbucks coffees / month and have your gyno fixed! This really is not about money, no matter how you look at it. If you don't have the cash, finance it. I doubt anyone will regret it. Just imagine, this thing could be putting your self confidence down that could prevent you from meeting your future wife!

By the way, at the end of day 4 (about to go to sleep now), I can tell that many areas of my chest that used to be sore, are not sore anymore. Soreness has been replaced by itching, which is always a sign of healing. Few more days and I'll see my new chest. Can't wait...
« Last Edit: November 16, 2008, 02:56:04 AM by jfk8 »

Offline jfk8

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Day 5
Not much to report except I feel better again. Pain is 98% gone. The vest is still annoying me and I feel itchy all over. The bruise is getting bigger as gravity pulls the blood down but the area that's sore to touch is getting smaller. All I'm waiting for is to see the final product in 2 days and then just wait for bruising to go away. There doesn't seem to be too much swelling at all. I drank pineapple juice for few days before the operation - this is reported to helpful sometimes.

At this point I'm just really happy I had the operation - couple of days of pain easily controlled by pain medication is a pretty small price to pay - and to think I may look perfectly good again in just couple of months is just awesome... wow! If you have any questions, let me know. Assuming I look decent in couple of days, I'll post some photos.

Offline jfk8

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Well, it's day 7 and I just came back from Dr. Fielding.. the bandages are off. And I'm amazed. This just just 6 days (!) after the surgery. I think I'm going to be one of the lucky ones to recover pretty fast - I'm already really happy with the way things look - other than bruising obviously.

Dr. Fielding said evething looks good, keep the vest on for another 2 weeks and it's done.

Well... if you have any questions, let me know..

Offline jls187

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Looks like a nice change.  I'm at day 8 after recovery, and it hasn't been so bad.  Just a little uncomfortable.

http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=15911.0


 

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