Bermant results, progressive photos (surgery was 5/1/2010)

[Bobby - LAgyne]

thanks for sharing the healing progress.
congrats on your results too.

[dee9]

When did you stop wearing the stage 2 compression vest? I am in a very similar situation as you (just about 2 months behind), and I was thinking at about the 8 week mark I could switch to wearing it to sleep, and maybe evenings too (this would really convenient too as its the time I'm going back to school).  That being said, I'm willing to wear 24/7 longer if need be, just wondering what your experience was.

Also, I have the same issue with the light skin tone and red scars.  I have been using silicon pads at night and mederma during the day (as well as daily massage) - did you do anything specific that helped?

Lastly, at what point did the scar tissue underneath the nipples go away for you? For me, at first the scar was almost rectangle shaped (maybe cause of the fat flaps), and now that rectangle has slowly dissipated but is not completely gone (its only about 6 weeks).  Just wondering if theres a point where you could actually pinch your nipples and feel nothing behind them.

Thanks for sharing your story -its been a great help.

[Gynosaur]

Dee9-

I stopped wearing the stage 2 during the day around week 10.  Since then, I've still been wearing it at night for most nights.  I still wear it at night because Dr. Bermant said that scars evolve better under pressure.  I'll probably keep wearing the vest at night until I'm satisfied with the scars' appearance.  Besides, I'm so used to the vest that it isn't uncomfortable at all anymore (just too hot to keep wearing during the day).  But you should probably also ask your surgeon what he recommends for time in the vest.

I wore the silicone scar strips from week 5 to week 13.  Then the box ran out and I haven't gotten a new one.  Maybe soon I'll get some more.  They may or may not have been helpful...it's hard to tell because I can't compare myself to an alternate self who didn't wear the strips for 8 weeks.

The scar tissue under my nipples really went away around week 8 or 9 I'd say, a few weeks after I started massaging.  There are no lumps at all now.  The only issues these days are the surface scars and some firmness of the nipples.  Both of those problems are slowly fading and I'm happy with how they're progressing.

Glad I could be of help to you.  Who was your surgeon?  And could you share some photos?

[dee9]

Gynosaur - My surgeon was also Dr. Bermant, which is why I was particularly interested in your experiences.  Here are a few pictures I took before surgery and today at 6.5 weeks post-op.  Its hard to take good pictures with a webcam, but hopefully these are good enough.

http://img44.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=20100818144638296.jpg (hopefully you can tell which are pre and post op)

Also, I did return to working out sooner than you did, but followed all the guidelines Dr. Bermant gave about returning to activity, including pain being a guideline.  I don't think its caused any ill effects.

[Gynosaur]

It's been 6 weeks since my last picture update, so here we go!

I am now 19 weeks post op, and I really like the contour of my chest.  The only issue for me is still the surface scars, which are still slowly fading.  I'm still doing my massaging faithfully, and it's just a matter of waiting until they're faded.  Once again, my skin type tends to retain redness in scars for longer than most people...which sucks...but the new chest contour is absolutely worth the inconvenience.  There is no cratering, no palpable deep scar tissue, and no painful lumps.  A truly bad ass job by Dr. Bermant.

Once these photos are resized, I will post them directly on this forum.  But for now, follow this photobucket link:
http://s793.photobucket.com/albums/yy213/gynosaurus/19%20weeks%20post%20op%20Sept%2012%202010/

A lot of my photos from past albums on photobucket have unfortunately been removed due to "terms of use violations."  They're usually the macro close-ups of the surface scars, which I think most people are very interested in seeing.  In any case, check it out and tell me what you think.

[Gynosaur]

Here are the 19 week pictures resized:

[Gynosaur]

And some macro close-ups:

[Rocky76]

Your pics looks so natural. Like you never had it. I can't say how upset I didn't go with Bermant. I got a disaster on my hands in comparison from my doc. 

[Gynosaur]

Rocky-

Sorry to hear it.  When and where did you have your procedure?  And do you have pictures?