I suffer from gynecomastia for 7 years or so. I think it is somehow connected to Propecia which I have been taking for 7-8 years.
As a 30 year old who is quite slim and about 5'10" this was bothering me and my girlfriend. I ended up reading about it on gynecomastia.org and other sites.
I started to research doctors in my area (we live in Queens) and decided to meet with Dr. Elliot Jacobs. I was impressed by his knowledge. The office staff was very friendly and made me feel comfortable. There were other guys in the waiting room and my problem did not look as unique as I thought about it before. Dr. Jacobs examined me and said I had a moderate case and that he can remove almost all of the breast tissue.
I told the patient coordinator I want to schedule a surgery asap. After signing forms and making a payment, I received a package with a lot of information about what needs to be done before surgery. They recommend to buy Arnica which helps to reduce swelling and needs to be taken 3 times a day starting couple of days before surgery, as well as antibiotics as a safety measure and pain killers. I was also requested to buy a tight underarmour shirt and bring it with me on surgery day.
The last time I had any kind of surgery was 12 years ago, and it was not a nice experience. I was hospitalized for the night after surgery and the whole experience was unpleasant. I did not really know what to expect, but the office looked nice, everyone was friendly and I wanted to do it badly. Surgery day arrived - I went in yesterday morning. Dr. Jacobs examined me again, drew on my chest circles and lines to indicate what he's going to do and explained the course of the surgery and the stages of recovery. He took photos of my chest so I can see the difference later. I met with the anesthesiologist who was calm and radiated experience. He asked me to take 2 pills to prevent nausea, and explained about the anesthesia.
The surgery room is bright and modern, with the same kind of equipment you would find in a hospital. I laid on the surgical bed and felt good as the crew was talking, being casual and not intimidating. I could see that they have done this many times before. They put an IV needle in my left arm, and the next thing I remember is waking up, still dizzy. They said the surgery went well and they managed to remove the breast tissue. Dr. Jacobs told me he had to make an incision under my left nipple to remove some hard tissue that was "stuck" there. He warned me in advance that he may need to do it, so there was no surprise here. I went to pee and then went to a recovery room where I tried to sleep and waited for my girlfriend to take me home. Dr. Jacobs put on me a compression garment around the chest and explained how to do it right. I told him I was surprised with how easy the whole process was. Had I known, I would have done it months ago.
My torso felt numb when I came back home. I slept for a while and around 6pm the doctor called to check how I'm doing. He said I can take either the pain killer he prescribed me or 2 Tylenols every 4 hours. I preferred the Tylenol. At night I woke up because I felt some pain in the chest, I took Tylenol and went back to sleep. I stayed at home today and did not take Tylenol till an hour ago. It feels strange to look at the mirror and see that my chest is very flat, I'm wondering how it would look like. My range of motion is still limited due to the compression garment, and I was asked by the doctor to sleep on my back (I'm used to sleeping on my tummy so this is hard). Will keep you posted.
Topic: Surgery with Dr Jacobs - 9/28/09 (Read 5658 times)
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