Please check photos - Do I need a 3rd surgery?

[johnney]

In 2004, I went to a surgeon for gynecomastia.  He told me there wasn't gland, and he sold me on some lipo.  Fast forward to 2011, after jogging hundreds of miles, I realized the condition was still there.  I went back to the same surgeon, and he told me there was nothing there, if anything, the size of a grain of rice.  He reluctantly decided to do the procedure, charging me full price again.  Clearly, his judgement is flawed, as the excision photos show golf ball sized tissue.  Anyways, he excised two months ago, and these are my results.  He is telling me the same things he told me 5 years ago, to keep massaging and it will go away.  After the first day, i could still feel tissue in the SAME spots as before on my right breast.  What are my options?  Why wait 6 months, these are clearly terrible results.  Is this malpractice?

[eyooh]

Sorry to hear this..
Must be devestating going back for surgery a second time and still not getting the results you want.

Your right pec looks really bad IMO. It shouldn't look like that after you've done surgery twice..
I would contact a well known specialist in the gynecomastia surgery field for a proper evaluation if I were you.

Whether its malpractice or not depends on your country.

[johnney]

Yeah, it has been the most painful thing I've ever dealt with.  He gave me all this hope 5 years ago, and once again, two months ago, and has taken almost 10k from me, and this is the end result.  He constantly assured me that he was a perfectionist.  I live in the United States, and I do believe this is malpractice.  Any other insight to my situation would be helpful.  This is a nightmare, everything about this doctor has been a nightmare.  I had to be aspirated for 5 weeks, going in every few days, sometimes getting as much as 80-90cc of fluid out in one side.  He did a terrible job, and now I am not working until my problem gets resolved.

[balalayka]

Do you have any before pics ? pics after the first surgery ? This dent in the chest indicates that maybe too much was taken out. Maybe this is excess skin ? A doctor may offer more help.

[johnney]

Here are my pre op pics.  These are from a couple months ago, before the gland was removed.  My right pec has a big chunk of tissue right below the nipple.  My excision photos show two glands of equal size, and I always felt about three times as much tissue in the right side.   As of right now, my left side is very tight, and cannot be pulled, and on my right, I have a handful still.  At times, I have almost no fat on me, which is why any amount of tissue is a huge contour problem. 

[johnney]

Here is the gland that was cut out.  This is what I was told were the size of grains of rice.  I do not understand how a doctor who specializes in plastic surgery can overlook something like this.  I noticed at my consultations, he never really grabbed and used his hands, he just kinda looked at everything and said he knew what to do. 

[balalayka]

Now it's weird how your chest looks now. Before gland removal it was actually kind of ok, mild case. The size you show in the new pictures is quite weird to be honest. Did he ask you to wear a compression vest after the surgery ? Maybe this is swelling ? 2 months is still a short period , could be swelling or something. Honestly, this is weird. I would get a second opinion if I were you from any of the reputable doctors on this board.

[johnney]

I agree, it is worse now than before gland removal.  I think since he removed only part of the gland, that is why it looks worse.  I would like a doctor's opinion as to whether this amount of asymmetry could be swelling.  To me, it feels like the same tissue.  I have been massaging for a while, and the tissue composition is just not changing.  As for compression, no I did not wear a vest, I was told that Under Armour is all I needed, for 6 weeks.  To be honest, I didn't feel like that was enough compression.

[balalayka]

I would suggest you get a second opinion from a reputable doctor.

[balalayka]

I always read that even with excision, you need some lipo to redistribute whatever fat remaining to prevent creases and dents. Maybe he should have done some more lipo ?

[George Pope, M.D.]

Johnney,

Take some "after" pictures with your arms exactly the way they are in your "before" pictures, with your pec muscles relaxed.   In your "afters", it looks like you're flexing your pecs.  Shoot a few different views.

Dr. Pope, MD

[johnney]

I don't think more lipo is the answer.  I can still feel tissue in my right side.  When I grab it and twist my fingers, it feels like the same hard lumps it was before surgery.  I took these just now, not flexing, arms like they were for my pre op.

[George Pope, M.D.]

Your left side looks pretty good, but the right side appears to have quite a bit of tissue present, in addition to having some contracture of the nipple areola at the 10 o'clock area.  I'm not sure what has caused that, unless there is a void of supporting tissue in that area.

Dr. Pope, MD

[johnney]

Tomorrow morning I am having my third surgery.  The swelling on my right side did not go down much, and my surgeon said there is residual tissue in both sides, with the right having more.  I'm glad I didn't have to wait 6 months, but this still has been a horrible experience.  I got a new surgeon, no way in hell I would let the last doctor operate on me a third time. 

[balalayka]

good luck and keep us posted after your surgery.