20 year old's story w/ pics

[floridaguy10]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share my story of gynecomastia and dealing with my minor case ever since I was 12 or 13. I decided about 6 months ago to go ahead and have the surgery as I have wanted this to go away since I first noticed it when I started puberty. I am now almost 21 and so glad to finally have had the surgery.

I just had my surgery 36 hours ago!

I go to the University of Tampa and waited until I returned to school to schedule the surgery with Dr. Luria out of Tampa, Florida. I found his website just by doing some searching on Google and after going for a consultation 3 weeks ago, I decided to go with him for the surgery. His quote was very reasonable ($2400 + $700 surgery center fee + $250 anesthesia fee = $3,350 total). The breast tissue excised will also have to go to a lab which will be an additional $200-300 for analysis if my insurance (Aetna) doesn't cover it. I scheduled my surgery with Dr. Luria for Friday, Sept. 11. I was so excited to be finally getting this over with. I have always been self-conscious about being shirtless and going swimming with friends. I go to school in Florida and most of my friends are big beach and pool-goers. I wanted so bad to have a normal chest, even though my case is minor. I couldn't stand my puffy nipples and extra breast fat that would sometimes be pointed out by friends and family. However, my family does not actually know I did the surgery, just a few of my friends from college. They wouldn't support me spending thousands of dollars on this kind of operation, even though they know it has bothered me for a long time. I was always raised to be proud of myself and how I look but I just could never shake living with gynecomastia for the rest of my life. My dad also has a minor case of it which I noticed when I first noticed mine. He is in his 60's and doesn't seem to care/notice.

Anyway, I went into surgery which apparently lasted a little less than an hour where I had the breast tissue taken out and a little bit of lipo done around the chest area. I woke up and an hour later my friend drove me back to my apartment in Tampa. We both spent the day at my apartment watching movies, snoozing on the couch and hanging out.

Right now, 36 hours later, I am a little sore but nothing compared to what I thought the pain might be like. I am on an antibiotic and will sometime take a Tylenol to help with the soreness.

Here are some pre-op pictures I took 24 hours before surgery:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9164/img0295l.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3394/img0294j.jpg
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/2433/img0297x.jpg

And here are photos I just took 36 hours post-op:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5029/img0298s.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7382/img0299t.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7868/img0300nb.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/4624/img0302t.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8798/img0303my.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8937/img0309mg.jpg

I am so glad that this is all over and I hopefully will no longer have to do all the usual stuff (cold water/wet, rubbing, etc.) to get them to temporarily look normal. I will continue to post pictures after I get the bandages taken off and every few weeks.

Thanks for listening! I am glad to answer any questions.

[GoldenGate]

Congrats.  It is a hard decision to make.  Glad to hear the pain and swelling are not too bad. Have you driven around the rough brick roads on campus yet? Also looking forward to seeing the post op pics a few weeks out.  You will be shirtless out on Clearwater Beach in no time!

[floridaguy10]

I hope to be on Clearwater Beach soon!

Luckily, I live off campus so I haven't had to feel the pain of driving over all those bricks and speed bumps...Tomorrow will be my first experience with them when I have my first class of the week.

I am off in an hour to get my bandages taken off at my first post-op doctors appointment. Pictures will be posted later!

[floridaguy10]

I just got back from Dr. Luria's office where his nurse took the bandages off and he inspected the work. Dr. Luria said everything looks great, I am healing well and there is minimal bruising. The said the breast tissue taken out was some of the most dense tissue he has ever seen in a gynecomastia surgery. I am so happy to now be able to shower! The vest is in the wash and I am about to wash up.

I couldn't be happier with the results, despite the fact that I am still very swollen.

Here are some pictures I just snapped when I got home:

(4 days)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1083/img0311n.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8554/img0312ey.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/636/img0316j.jpg
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4474/img0318x.jpg
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/6752/img0314v.jpg

[tampa1]

sounds like things are going well. i also had surgery with dr. luria, about 5 months ago back in april, so it is good to see someone else post an experience. my experience sounds pretty similar to yours with respect to many of the details. I was very pleased with everything a few days after surgery, but ever since then my chest has developed a lot of scarring, making it potentially worse than before surgery. I have been doing the massage etc, but the scar tissue seems to not be improving and causes both the nipples to remain very puffy. however, when i saw dr luria recently he injected some kenalog into the scar tissue hoping that it would resolve it. it has only been about a few days since then, and he said it would take a couple of weeks to notice any difference, so i am hoping the steroid shots will do the trick.

[GoldenGate]

tampa1,

That is a very interesting story.  I am trying to picture how the scar tissue would do that.  Can you try to do a better job of describing what is happening or better yet, do you have any pictures you want to share?  Inquiring minds want to know.

[richi301]

gynecomastia is ruining my life i want surgery so bad its affecting my personality ive isolated myself from the world...i fucking hate GYNO

[newguyorlando]

floridaguy, tampa 1, either of you have updated pictures? I am definitely interested as i just set up a consult with dr luria!

[tampa1]

i will post some pics, everything is slowly getting better, but is making improvements. floridaguy how have things turned out now?

[floridaguy10]

It is now about three months out from the surgery I had in September and I am very happy. I had the surgery with Dr. Luria and I have been back a few times for post-op appointments. He is a very friendly guy and genuinely cares about making sure the recovery process goes well. I do have a small lump of scar tissue under my right nipple but it seems to be slowly going away and Dr. Luria said they could zap the rest of it away with a steroid injection if needed 4-5 months down the line. The nipples tend to still be a little puffy, but that is apparently normal and should go away in the next three months. I am so happy I took the plunge the did the surgery. Everyone says I look great, my self confidence is so much bigger now and I love wearing my tight, v-neck shirts or going to lay out at the pool.

Here are some update pictures I took today:

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7364/photo2pk.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/83/photo3gi.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4317/photo4l.jpg

[WolfParade]

You say your nipples are STILL (3 months after ) puffy?!

I'm not trying to bring you down (I think), it's just that the first pics you posted in this thread, from before the operation, are almost exact like mine right now, and I'm having surgery next wednesday. And I want it to work, 'cause it will cost me a lot of money! (had to get myself a freakin' JOB in order to pay for it).

[hockeyguy]

i had surgery with dr. luria, didnt do a thing, looked worse than before if anything. flew out to california for a revision with delgado, and got the results i should have got the first time.

[floridaguy10]

ummm, pretty happy with my results.

[hockeyguy]

thats good ur happy. but when u say they are still a little puffy, that definititvely means he didnt remove enough gland. i went back for a good 6 months, got his kenalog injections, 3 different rounds, and nothing happened (cuz the injections were into gland and not scar tissue). read the surgery report, he leaves a decent amount of gland in, but if ur happy with a little puffy then thats good.