Hey guys, as promised, I'm going to post some pre-op and post-op below. I am exactly 5 weeks post-op and I moved on to the Stage 2 Vest about two days ago. Here is also a breakdown of total costs for those of you who want to budget for a surgery that requires travel:
Remote Consultation: $200
Surgery: $6270
Stage 1 Vest: $99
Stage 2 Vest: $99
Pathology for Tissue: $174
Nurse (6 hours): $150
Prescription pain pills: $13.68
Hotel (4 nights @Holiday Inn Express): $370.94
Airfare: $240.40
Car Rental (5 days): $117.08
Vitalzym Supplement (270 pills): $83
Maderma Scar Care Cream: $25
Arnica Bruise Cream: $10
Total: $7852.10
Yeah, it's a lot of money, but I have to say that I am pretty happy with the results so far. Dr. Bermant really delivers. As you can see, my case is pretty subtle, so I tried to post the pictures that show the problem the best. You can see that the left side is still a little bit swollen and it's also still a bit tender, but it is getting better week by week. The puffiness along the scar is also still there, but subsiding. When it heals up, I'm pretty sure the incision will be difficult to see if you can see it at all. I was thinking about another post I read a few days ago about whether the operation is a "cake-walk". Well, that's not really the best phrase to use I think. I had a pretty minor case, I have a lot of money saved up and I'm a single guy in good health, but I have to say that the whole thing has been pretty disruptive on my life. I mean, I am a moderately active individual in my early 30s and for the past 5 weeks I have had to stop all exercise and really cut down on going out with people. Only starting this week have I begun to really feel like my body is getting back to normal. So to be safe, I am going to wait another full week before I start working out again. I am DYING to hit the weights again, I feel like my muscles have totally atrophied and since I had a little bit of lipo (100cc taken out of one side and 75cc from the other), my chest looks a lot smaller. But that's a good thing, because I'm pretty sure I would never have been able to get rid of that chest fat any other way. Psychologically, it has also been difficult because I haven't told anyone about it (except for you guys of course). I have roommates that I am pretty close with, so making excuses about not going out or being paranoid about getting a titty twister or getting punched in the chest or getting put in a head-lock, locking myself in my room, worried about someone noticing the vest, wearing jackest all the time and so on, it's been really exhausting mentally! The Stage 2 Vest has been AWESOME, it really helps in feeling like you're getting back to normal again.
The operation itself, however, went EXTREMELY WELL, it is a rare in my experience for something to go exactly as planned, especially something like traveling cross-country to get a surgical procedure and if you haven't figured it out by now, I am a planner about everything. But I have to give Dr. Bermant credit for running such an excellent and professional operation. The experiences you have read on this board about his procedure was exactly how it went for me and it is very comforting to get a preview of something and then to experience it exactly that way. He definitely is an expert at this and for anyone who is concerned about scarring, cratering or getting anything other than a near-perfect result, you have to really consider this guy. I am from California and I had to take a connecting flight in NJ, which is one of the most awful travel experiences I have had to endure (delays like no other), it was also raining when I arrived in Virginia, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. So except for international folks, if you have the money, you don't have an excuse not to consider going with Bermant. Bottom line: you get what you pay for! You can always make more money but you only get this one body to work with.
The healing process has been slower than I expected from reading this forum, but maybe because some of you guys are in your 20s, I'm sure that age makes a big difference, so if you're going to do this, you should decide sooner than later (this does NOT apply to teens who have minor cases, you should really wait until you are over 18 and sure it won't go away with diet and exercise before resorting to surgery). I was able to travel within 48 hours of the operation (Saturday surgery, Monday afternoon flight). I could have gone to work on Tuesday, but I took the day off to rest and went in on Wednesday. Pretty sore the first week, but still able to do most things normally. My right chest was pretty much fine after two weeks, but like I said, my left chest has been much slower to heal (it also had more bruising and swelling). It really wasn't until the start of the 5 week that my left chest started to feel normal. I bought a bottle of Vitalzym on the advice of Mangina. I can't tell whether it has helped, but I'm going to finish off the bottle since I've already bought it. I have also been taking Vitamin C. The Arnica gel really helped with the bruising, just to give you guys a tip. It is cheap and you can get it at any drugstore. Also, the Maderma scar cream is excellent, I highly recommend that as well.
Another tidbit on healing, I was a little freaked out because after I took off my dressings on the 11th day post-op, my right nipple looked really black and had no feeling. I was worried about skin necrosis, but if you read some other posts on this forum, it's just dried blood and a layer of dead skin. After a week of showering, it started to looked normal again. I think the chances of actually losing your nipple in an operation like this is something like 1%, so you probably don't need to freak out about it.
Generally speaking, I am pleased with the result thus far and I don't regret getting the operation despite the cost and the trouble. It's just nice to get it over with and hopefully not have to think about it again. I really like t-shirts and I bought a few online the other day as the weather here is getting warmer and it will be nice to be able to wear those ultra-soft/thin t-shirts and not have to thing twice about it. Seems like a simple pleasure, and I know some of you have it much worse both with your gynecomastia, health or with your finances. I guess the only unsolicited advice I can give you is that there is value in overcoming an obstacle in your life and knowing that once you've overcome it, you never have to deal with it again. As stupid and minor as this thing was for me in the whole grand scheme of things, it feels nice to know it's been taken care of and it does encourage me to take on other challenges in my life (and there are certainly many more of those). So for those of you who still struggle with this and geez, I think about some of you guys and my heart really goes out to you, especially the hemophelia guy, you gotta know that the bigger the challenge the bigger the payoff. So just keep working out, keep saving your money, keep doing your research and plan this whole thing out as well as you possibly can. And you know, you'll be fine.
Hope that wasn't too melodramatic. Feel free to ask questions.