Hi guys, I am new here.
This site is packed with a lot of useful information and unfortunately I became aware of it a little too late - my usual bad luck! - as I already had my surgery (liposuction only) on May 7th.
To make a long story short: I am a 40 year old guy with a degree of gynecomastia that can be defined as mild, simply because I was always able to somehow mask it: during my childhood and adolescence by being fat and in the last 20 years by building pectoral muscles: I look kind of OK without a t shirt on, though, as soon as I am not training for a while and/or eating a bit badly, thus putting some weight on, my teats are more visible.
I knew virtually nothing about gynecomastia and my surgeon (I am based in denmark, Europe) suggested to perform a liposuction only, as he claimed I mostly had fat to be removed; moreover, taking out the tissue would have caused cavities on my chest, so he said.
In retrospective, I wish I had seen this web site before my surgery; I would have done things differently as I read a lot of posts in here which are basically saying that only liposuction does not work.
The problem here in Denmark is that most of surgeons do not know very well this particular field in plastic surgery: I will try to warn the Danes in the local forums section of this web site against doing the surgery with this doctor - who is supposed to be a good one! - also depending on what kind of answers I will get). I really hope the guy knew what the hell he was talking about, as I am beginning to question his know how ...
- First he goes for the lipo only; (maybe this is the only thing he knows)
- second he does small incisions outside the areola-area, in the lower chest area - this is the least of my problems, as the scars are tiny and they won't bother me;
- third just after the surgery things were already not looking good: my right chest had remarkably improved, my left one only a little because of a lot of swelling (he indeed took out more fat from my left side..).
- Fourth he did not tell me to massage the chest to prevent the creation of scar tissue.
Now, 7 days post surgery, I briefly removed the compression vest and realized that the situation is back to what it was before the surgery, if not worse: of course, I still feel that my breasts are still there, 'cause most of the original tissue has not been removed by the lipo, namely because it was not fat, but tissue!
My right chest has only slightly improved, my left chest got even worse then ever because it swelled quite a lot and probably scar tissue is forming as we speak.
QUESTIONS:
I do realize it's going to take upward to 6 months for the final results or so, but the question is what are they gonna be?
Does anybody knows what kind of effects 'liposuction only' have?
Only a small improvement which does not justify the price of the surgery? Maybe I was expecting too much!
Forget about the money and the time, that I most probably wasted, but is worst case scenario that I am going to be back to where I started, or can things get even worse, like a lot of extra skin hanging?
Then, how long should I wait before starting to massage myself in the chest area? I read a lot of posts in here, some saying almost immediately after the surgery, other posts claiming that it was best to wait 2 or 3 weeks ... any ideas? My doc still maintains that I do not have to do it.
How long should I wait for a revision: again different answers in different posts, 4, 6 months? A year?
ADVICE:
After a week of this crap I am starting to believe that 'liposuction only' is probably not the answer, you gotta go the extra mile, that is to say for the whole thing, lipo + excision.
I'll keep you posted about my progress (or lack of it), but I have a bad feeling about this.
Thanks in advance
Shane
Liposuction Is Great for Sculpting FatVarious types of ultrasonic and power assisted liposuction (UAL and PAL) have been around for quite sime time. Each surgeon uses the tools and techniques he / she prefers.
There are studies claiming that ultrasonic liposuction does not break down gland cells, these were done to justify the safety in female liposuction breast reduction surgery. Ultrasonic energy cannot be both ways, good for gland breakdown and safe not harming gland unless there is a difference between male and female breast gland tissue which has not been proven to my knowledge.
Tumescent liposuction is a form of anesthesia where fluid is placed in the tissues to be sculpted. You can see
very graphic pictures of the tumecent technique
here.
Liposuction such as ultrasonic, VASER, power assisted, and sharp cutting cannula preferentially remove fat over gland. Gland tends to exist under the nipple areola region. When fingers of fat extend between fingers of gland, breast reduction can come from removing the fat and leaving gland behind. On animation such as flexing the pectoral muscles or putting the arms over head, gland does not compress or move like fat.
When gynecomastia is from fat, liposuction works very well for contouring the chest. I have seen many patients from other doctors who tried to use liposuction alone techniques that left gland behind that the patients just did not like for
Revision Gynecomastia Chest Sculpture.
Here is an example of Revision Surgery after Liposuction alone.
Here is another revision after liposuction alone. I have even done revisions on some patients of doctors who wrote articles in plastic surgery journals claiming how great these new devices were for treating gynecomastia!
The problem is picking the right method for what actually is that patient's problem. That is why I prefer my
Dynamic Technique that permits what I find during surgery to guide my sculpture. The incision at the edge of the areola opens up my entire spectrum of artist's pallet of tools for my sculpture. A remote incision robs me of many options and just does not looks as nice.
I have also seen patients with channel problems between remote access sites and the areola / nipple. Scars, adhesions, and depressions can look terrible. Check out the lateral (side views) and posterior oblique (side from the back views with and without muscle flexion
here to see what I mean.
Ultrasonic liposuction uses energy to help emulsify fat. Power assisted liposuction uses mechanical vibrating devices to rapidly move the cannula back and forth. Both PAL and Ultrasonic methods have been around for several years. Many do not prefer what they do to the tissue. Others like what they offer. Both still preferentially remove fat over gland. Both make the work of the surgeon easier. Some feel ultrasonic liposuction can cause more swelling, bruising, and the increase the need for drains.
For me however, they also both remove the feel of the tissue sculpture. I like the much better control I get with my cannula selection and personally I do not like either ultrasonic nor power assisted techniques. None of the cases on my website used either PAL or Ultrasonic techniques.
As any artist, I take my cannula selection
very seriously and have evolved what permits me to achieve my results. I have considered and evaluated many, many technologies. The many different types of cannula I use have their own advantages and qualities. I pick a subset of these cannula that varies for the many different types of gynecomastia male chest sculpture that I see.
Gland removal by any technique can still leave a depression when a major part of the problem is from gland. For gland removal, I prefer the greater precision of removal under direct visualization and feel. This also give me access to many more elements for my artistic palette of my
Dynamic Technique to sculpt the remaining tissues.
This approach permits me to maximize the removal of the firm gland and sculpt the remaining fat. How tissues move is important. The human body is beautiful in animation. That is why I show pictures of the chest with arms up, down, and with muscles tight / relaxed in addition to the results from multiple views. Such analysis of the results as well as how tissues evolve, the possible need for drains, comfort level after surgery, are important factors in picking your doctor. It is like an artist selecting a paint brush. The results are what matters, not with what tool they sculpt.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture
Topic: Planning a liposuction only? Maybe not a good idea. Advice and some questions (Read 14494 times)
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