What's the percentage of men who are happy with their final result?

[Xavier]

I am currently 3.5 months post op and I am far from satisfied. I know I have to wait at least 3 more months to judge the results but I doubt much will change when it comes to the flatness.

Just wondering how many men are truly happy after they had the surgery?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Interesting question.  I think that many guys who go through surgery are satisfied with their results and quickly abandon their participation on this forum -- with only rare exception.

Some of the guys who lead discussions on what went wrong are probably a small percent of all gyne operations -- the majority of which go fairly well.

I always ask my patients about their satisfaction after surgery and the vast majority are pleased.  Some are not -- there are some people in this world who can never be pleased (we all have met people like this).  They may concentrate on the 2% of the operative result that displeases them but ignore the 98% improvement of everything else. 

Honestly, don't know if there is a real answer for your question.

Dr Jacobs

[brebguy]

Hi there, 

Interesting question and very accurate reply. I do believe that most people were indeed very satisfied with their results and they are the reason why I was encouraged to go through the process. As they forget about their gyne, some of them just leave the forum which is understandable. Others stay (I remember Merle and Bambu who were there for a long time). I had my first surgery in 2006 and my second one in 2007. I remained somewhat active on the forum until 2009. Today is my first visit back in four years.

My first surgery did not go very well (my surgeon said, a year post-op, that I had a 20% improvement which was, in his view, barely noticeable). He offered a second surgery free of charge, which I did and which left me in the same state as before.

At the time, I could not afford to go back to Toronto to see my surgeon again (for the fifth time for a consult and a sixth time for a second revision). 7 years after the fact, I can afford it, but I don't know if I want to go through the trouble of it all. I might see a surgeon in Montreal. I need to think about this.

I know there are some before and after pictures of me somewhere around here if you want to take a look.

[Paa_Paw]

A few years ago, My wife and I bought a mobile home and relocated. We were needing to find a Doctor in our new locale and also a Hospital so that we could update our choices on our Medical Insurance.

Referring to the comments found on the computer, I was aghast at the horrible reviews posted about the local hospitals. Then I had an inspiration... I looked up the reviews for the hospital we previously went to for years and always received great care. There too the reviews were horrible.

The simple fact is that people who are not satisfied are often highly vocal while people who are happy are rarely heard from. It would pay to keep that in mind when you see a review of any product or service.

There is one time when the reverse is true. Worthless herbal cures are often touted by a long list of glowing testimonials. Look carefully and you will see that all the authors of these testimonials use the same phrasing and make the same mistakes of grammar. They are phony and all written by the same person.

[thetodd]

Its hard to explain, but healing post op is more of a mental hurdle to overcome rather than a physical one.

I remember being a day post op and it was one of the best days/feelings of my life. The sheer amount of relief was overpowering the first thing i done was come on here and post pictures. But then as time passed i started getting swelling and scar tissue, and that initial euphoria felt had long passed by. Really, it turned me bitter for quite a while and i started having real doubts about surgery in general some days id wake up and look in the mirror and think "i look no different than i did before" and id come on here and feel a bit better about it.

Then around say a year later, i was going through a bit of a bad patch in general and decided that i needed a revision. I came on here and asked about scar treatment (people said i didnt need it), and i sent an arsey email to my surgeon saying i wanted revision surgery. He emailed me back and asked me in for a meeting.

So i traveled down, with a script in my head of why i was unhappy. So he had a feel around and said that he couldnt see what i wanted revising, and any revision would be pointless. So i left there a bit pissed off, and slept on it!

I woke up and its again its hard to explain but i had sort of an epiphany. I started seeing my chest differently, and pictures looked different and things didnt look so bleak afterall. And from that point my outlook changed, i think the years of bullying did infact had affected me more than i had thought it had and in my mind i still saw moobs when i looked in the mirror.

Recovery is a long process, but sometimes the mind plays tricks it did in my case anyway.

[Alchemist]

I spent years in the group medical business and evaluated dissatisfied patients for many reasons.  There are always those with dissatisfaction.  It doesn't meet their "expectations".  If we wanted to do proper analysis of it all I suspect that those with the smallest changes needed are most like to be dissatisfied.  Having gone through life with D or DD breasts getting down to what most of the guys start with here would have been a triumph. I would have given anything not to go through junior high with breasts bigger than most of the girls.  In 1960 that wasn't possible.  Those that have to ask if they even have gynecomastia appear to me to be most likely to be dissatisfied with the results because they will be subtle.  I am a lousy major surgery candidate for health reasons and I have come to accept my situation by getting rid of body shame and such becoming a nudist. From that vantage point no surgery is needed or desired.  I do fine with the ladies and nobody cares about the contours of my chest.  There is no payoff for me, no incentive to go through a double mastectomy and lots of scarring and loss of sensation.  Evaluation of patient dissatisfaction was part of my business.  Those with the biggest potential changes will often be most satisfied. They have the biggest payoffs.  Those being poked with pins and harassed continuously have a large potential payoff. Those sitting alone at home in fear and no interactions because of fear have a different problem to solve for their satisfaction.  Then there is the redo potential and frequency to consider.  Really, good luck.  Satisfaction is greatest with realistic expectations.

[Viking75]

Well,
I do not think a number can be found!

I had surgery two times and I am 3 month post op. I am VERY pleased.
I am not perfekt! If I look at the before pictures and ask myself If I would have done It again.. Hell yes. I look fantastic! I pray that my healing will take away some scar tissue, I might need a small amount of kenalog but to honest, Do your homework and get the surgery.

I let Dr Jacobs do mine and I can say that he Is as good as It gets.
I would trust two more Doctors out there. Dr. Pope and Dr Delgado.
I have not yet had the pleasure to speak or e mail with Dr. Silverman and Dr. Pensler they seem to be very skilled.

[Xavier]

Well,
I do not think a number can be found!

I had surgery two times and I am 3 month post op. I am VERY pleased.
I am not perfekt! If I look at the before pictures and ask myself If I would have done It again.. Hell yes. I look fantastic! I pray that my healing will take away some scar tissue, I might need a small amount of kenalog but to honest, Do your homework and get the surgery.

I let Dr Jacobs do mine and I can say that he Is as good as It gets.
I would trust two more Doctors out there. Dr. Pope and Dr Delgado.
I have not yet had the pleasure to speak or e mail with Dr. Silverman and Dr. Pensler they seem to be very skilled.

Just a question, why did you have a revision? And did you do the revision with the same doctor?

[Viking75]

Yes, Dr Jacobs did them. The reason for revision was a mixed result of too much tissue left along with me having a lot of scar tissue. To make It even harder I got some dents caused by Kenalog.

The problem Is solved, I am in healing and are now dealing with scar tissue again. This Is to be expected. If nessesary when all healing Is over (can take a year) I might have to have some kenalog again.

Over all I am happy, I am looking forward to the beach season.

[shimano]

It's hard to know the percentage, since I imagine research hasn't been done.  It would be a good study though.  Anecdotal evidence would make me believe that most people are satisfied with their results.  The thing to consider when deciding about surgery isn't just the final cosmetic result though.  You need to consider how much time you spend worry about the condition.  For me, the greatest feeling following surgery was knowing that I had done something about it and I could move on with my life.  I am happy with my results too, but the satisfaction of just taking that step to do something made it worth it.

[xelnaga13]

Lots of great responses here.

Ive been critical of my chest for 17 years. Even after a "perfect surgery" that kind of obsession doesnt just go away over night.

Now that ive had the glands and fat removed I have no complaints based on sound mental thinking. I find that my obsession now is directly linked to my mental health. When Im happy and feeling great I hardly think about my chest, when Im down Im constantly touching to see if the gland grew back.

[jazzer]

I am extremely happy with my results. I had a double mastectomy and have a massive scar. But it was definitely worth it. I no longer fear Tee's and golf shirts. I am a changed man.

[danielb0101]

i for one am extremely unhappy with my results and i already had 2 surgeries once every year. i want to do one more with a different doc but im out of money.

[Alchemist]

i for one am extremely unhappy with my results and i already had 2 surgeries once every year. i want to do one more with a different doc but im out of money.

Hi Daniel,

I think it might be helpful for people wondering about results to hear what has you dissatisfied?  Why do you think that another surgery might help?  Were you having DD breasts removed or a little puffiness or what?  How did the first surgery fail to satisfy?  How did the second fail to satisfy?  If you had it to do over would you?  Would you choose a different surgeon initially.  What information would have made that difference for you? 

[danielb0101]

well the reason why i'm not satisfied is because i still have breast tissue after both surgeries. I had a mild case gyno, my first i had lipo and excision, waited one year and still had breast tissue left over, my revision was only lipo no excision because the doc said the scars healed perfect and would be pointless to open them again and lipo would be enough, 30 min procedure at most. After 6 months later did kenalog shots but no improvement, now i don't even want to go and complain no more because hes just going to tell me to wait, and i know thats bs. because i saw a different doc and had a better understanding of what is still there. But like i said i'm out of money.