Planning to have the surgery ... Questions

[NewPatient]

Hi, I would like to have surgery and would appreciate advice about:

1) types of surgery
2) costs
3) how to find the right surgeon
4) practical thoughts on pre-surgery preparation
5) recovery
6) results
7) prognosis

And any other thoughts a knowledgeable doctor would be so kind as to provide for my situation. I'm 30 5'11 165-170 and have never been overweight in my life. I had a hormone imbalance at 24-25 and developed gyno, since then my life has been a nightmare. Before I was a normal, healthy young adult. Now, I've saved up enough for surgery. I'm not trying to find the cheapest doctor, I have saved a reasonable amount of money for this. But I also can't afford to keep going back over and over again because of incompetence. I would like to find a very good surgeon with an exceedingly good track record. I am located in the Chicago/Indiana/Michigan area but would be willing to travel if that's the best choice. I understand that I can't have surgery next week, but I don't want to wait and wait either, so I hope to find out what is a reasonable timeline for getting this done? As far as scheduling a consultation and surgery? What physical, medical, and mental preparations should a patient make leading up to surgery? Can you describe the various stages of recovery (from immediate, to several weeks out, to several months out). Are the results often good for someone in my situation? Having this surgery is such a huge psychological toll for me. Virtually every aspect of my life has been negatively affected by this situation. Getting the surgery and correcting it has been something I've wanted more than anything for many years now ... I can't imagine having persevered this long and spending that kind of money and then it not fixing anything. Or being told I have to do it again because it wasn't right the first time. I just can't even imagine.

I know any doctor here has a busy schedule and life. I appreciate the time you took to read my post for nothing in return. Thank you very much for you kind responses.

[Dr. Schuster]

Congrats on your decision to go forward with surgery. It is usually a life changing procedure for most guys. It is impossible to address all of your questions in this type of forum. In short, I would recommend taking your time to find a surgeon who has an interest in treating guys with gynecomastia. They will be the most experienced. There are definitely some advanced techniques that will give you better results and these techniques might not be used by the average Plastic surgeon. I would guess that any of the surgeons who are members in this website would be good but check out their work on their own personal websites. If you like their results then it's just a matter of being comfortable with their style, support and communication. The surgeon you select should be able to discuss all of the things you listed listed to your complete satisfaction. Good luck.