Need some serious help please! *pics*

[grittycats1]

Hello everyone. I am glad to have found this site and hope that someone here can help me.

I had my gynecomastia surgery done on January 23rd, 2008. Since then, I have been absolutley UNsatisfied with my results. I wanted to get the surgery done because i had always had "puffy nipples" and a fatty looking chest, even though i would work out. I am slim, weighing 155lbs. and am 5'8". I have always been very active in life and have never really been overweight so having a chest like this was definatley not normal.

Anywas, i had my surgery done in january and i started wearing my compression garment for 23 hrs a day. the dr. used a lipo technique and the incesions were made under the armpit areas. i have seen my surgeon 3 times since the surgery and everytime he sees me he says things are looking good and everything is healing normally. well, IMO, things arent. My surgeon has always seen me right when I take my compression garment off in front of him and this makes my ches automatically look flat b/c it has been pressed tight for 23hrs. when i would get home, however, the puffyness would come back a little. Now that we are 2 months after the operation, my nipples have puffed out to the size they were before the surgery, maybe even worse!!! the worse part now is that it seems that (according to the dr.) scar tissue has formed under the nipple and may be the cause of the nipple protrusion. he tells me to massage the nipples and that should help it go away. i massage them for about 30 minutes a day for about 2 1/2 weeks now and still no results at all. there is alot of harden tissue around the nipple and definatly under it as well. i am driving myself nuts everyday looking at my chest. all my life i have been self conscious of my chest and went to have surgery done to fix it, and it looks the same as it did before the surgery!! here are some pics for you folks to check out. unfortunatly, my pics of my chest before the operation are gone becasue my harddrive crashed, but here are some after:

my chest immediatley after taking off the compression garment-



my chest after the garment comes off. usually about 4-5 minutes after it comes off.








so what do u guys think happened/what can i do?

scar tissue removal/secondary gynecomastia surgery? could it be a gland under the nipple or is it just scar tissue from the surgery.

if i have to have surgery, how soon can it be done?

thank you all so very kindly for any help u can provide! 

[CGeorge]

Hello grittycats1, it sounds to me like the doctor did not remove the glandular tissue.  The glandular tissue is the actual GYNECOMASTIA.  What I think your doctor did is he preformed a chest liposuction surgery, without gynecomastia excision.  What this may mean is that you will have to get another surgery to remove the galnd tissue. I believe this because you said that you still feel the hard lump.  Also, another key factor in this thought is that he did the surgery through the armpits; this is common for liposuction only procedures. i think you should get another doctors opinion. Also i think you should go to another more experienced doctor for the second operation and not go back to the same doctor. I believe if it is true that you did only get the fat lipo removed, and not the gland tissue (which is what you wanted) then you can get your money back for the surgery, weather it been through them or through the court system. I would like you to respond to this with the full name of your doctor and where he is located.

[donnieosmond]

Sounds like a quack to me. You obviously still have it.

[Blue2]

From the pics it does look like you have gland there. Have you mentioned the gland to your PS? If so, what did he say? I have heard so many stories about people getting lipo without gland removal and as a result are not happy with the final look. IMO if you have gyne you must have gland removal or you will not get satisfactory results. Lipo can not take the glandular tissue away! Maybe you could get a second opinion form another PS and I am sure you can find a good local one via these boards. I it turns out that you do have gland (which is likely) you could then follow it up with your original PS and take action against them or get a revision done?

[grittycats1]

Thank you for all of your help. I have mentioned to him about it possibly being a gland still and it seemed like he was certain it is just scar tissue. before the surgery when my nipples were puffy, they are around the puffyness was never hard like this. I am going to see him on Wednsday for this. His name is Dr. Don Revis of South Florida Plastic Surgery. Here is his website as well:

http://www.southfloridaplasticsurgery.com/dr_revis/dr_revis.htm

What are some questions I should ask on Wednsday? I know im gonna be like "what the hell is wrong with my chest" but what are some good questions you guys recommend I should ask?

also, if i had to get another surgery for gland tissue, how early can this be done? i am 2 months post op.

Thank you all so very much!

[donnieosmond]

Well his credentials don't indicate a quack... maybe he's possibly right but I dunno. As far as anything else I'll leave that up to smarter people than myself.

[cgeorge1]

THERE IS NO WAY THAT THAT IS SCAR TISSUE MAKING IT STICK OUT LIKE THAT!!!  THAT IS GYNECOMASTIA; GLANDULAR TISSUE FOR SURE!!! DON'T WEAR YOUR COMPRESSION GARMENT BEFORE YOU GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR AND HAVE HIM LOOK AT IT AT ITS WORST!!!

[headheldhigh01]

get him to positively reconfirm scar tissue is what it is.  if that's the case, then you could see how it behaves over the next few months. 

since you paid good money only to be left where you were, obviously you think he needs to make that right.  make this point to him and ask what HE proposes to do about it.  if it really were scar tissue i've heard of people doing careful cortisol shots to improve it, but since you don't have improvement, the ball should really be in his court to make it right.   

[cgeorge1]

YEA YOU SHOULD DEF. GET HIM TO FIX IT FOR FREE WEATHER HE AGREES TO IT, OR WEATHER IT BE THROUGH THE COURT SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH I WOULD BE CAUTIOUS TO GO BACK TO THE SAME DOCTOR THAT MESSED IT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE, I WOULD GET MY MONEY BACK AND GO TO ANOTHER MORE EXPERIENCED DOCTOR FOR REVISION SURGERY.

[grittycats1]

the thing i dont understand is...how do i know if its scar tissue or the gland? lets say he just says its scar tissue. what if its the gland? are there tests that indicate which is which? has anyone here had to go to court for issues like this? god, this has been such a nightmare. i thought all my prayers would have finally be answered and i would be able to live a normal life. i just feel like this is all punishment for something. this has been dogging me for all my life and it seems like nothing ever goes right. 

[cgeorge1]

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP MAN, I FEEL YOUR PAIN. BUT LET ME SAY THIS, THERE IS NO WAY THAT IS SCAR TISSUE, ITS JUST TO BIG, AND IF IT IS SCAR TISSUE, IT STILL HAS THE SAME APPEARANCE SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, YOU HAVE TO GET IT FIXED ANYWAY.

[headheldhigh01]

outside of trying to just get a feel by shape and texture, i'm not sure.  you kind of depend on the ps.  if you can't do that, then you would want to get a second opinion from another gyne qualified ps. 

the shape kind of says gland, but it seems unlikely it would come back that fast.  scar tissue can be helped like the shots i mentioned, and he might help with that.  hold off on the court worries till you talk with him again, but be sure and explain to him the effect this has all had on you too. 

[MSJ108]

Oh man I am so sorry.

I am not a doctor but it looks like gland to me. I am more convinced since you can feel it as well.

I would tell him you did your research and you need him to do an incision under the nipple and REMOVE the gland.

I am glad you posted the doctor info because I am looking for a doctor in the Fort Laud/Miami area.

[MSJ108]

Dr. Revis is a recognized specialist in the field of cosmetic plastic surgery and is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. He is also an active member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and has also been named among "America's Top Surgeons" by The Consumers' Research Council of America.


 

[MSJ108]

I'd like to see Dr. Bermant's opinion on it being "scar tissue"