My Tale on Getting Rid of Gyne

[Blitz]

I was posting in the user diary section but I decided to start posting here because it seemed busier.  

My story so far:

I've been living with gyne for over 17 years (I'm 33 years old) and it is embarrassing.  I went to Cuba with my girlfriend a few years ago and every beach picture we have, is with me in a t-shirt.  I've been asked by friends why I have T*ts or B*obs on the rare occasion in which my shirt is off (at the gym in the locker room).  I'd just laugh or shrug it off.  It has really robbed me of a good time during the summer weather.  I can't make it to the beach today or I would love to go up to your cottage but...I'll dread it if one of my friends get a swimming pool.  Funny, it was never really a problem as far as I know during sex.  Girls never really pointed it out to me.  Trust me, it's there.  Just look at my pics.

Thankfully, I found this forum a few months ago and I'm on my way to physical and mental good health.  This afternoon, I have an appt. with Dr. Fielding.  He's one of the Doctor's that have come highly recommened by a few guys on this forum.  He works in Toronto, Canada.  

The horror stories that I've read so far on how much this surgery will cost, would have detered me (for a while) but from what I know, some of the operation is covered by OHIP (Canada health care).  The quotes I've been reading have been anywhere between $600 to $1300 (depends on how bad it is I guess) if you go with Fielding.  I will definitely post back tonight letting everyone know how it went.  

I would never think I would be going down this path because I've always been embarrassed about my situation and thinking of spending a lot of money to correct it was never an option because I never had the money or the nerve.  The more I read, the more I realized that this problem is very common and if you want to do something about it, you have to swallow your pride and do it.  One guy on this forum is flying across the country (Vancouver) to get his surgery done by Dr. Fielding (good for him).  Now, I can't wait for my appointment to come and I can't wait to book my surgery.  I just wished I had done so during the winter months.

I've been there:  Shrugging my shoulders in, praying my nipples will get hard at the right time, wearing loose t-shirts, saying no to summer fun.  It stinks.  I know I'm not out of the woods yet but I'm just glad that I've started the ball rolling.

Pics: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/blitzjik@rogers.com/album?.dir=/1ce6

[Grandpa Bambu]

Awesome Dude!  

Yes, please let us know what the good Doc has to say....

My 3 month Post-Op check up is in two weeks. Guess I should make an appointment very soon.

BTW, O.H.I.P. is not 'Canada Heath Care'. The acronym means: 'Ontario Health Insurance Plan'. No dissing intended here Dude, just don't want guys from other provinces being misinformed. OHIP is a provincial, not federal, benefit....

John.

[toronto]

let us know how it goes

every thought that has run through your head has run through mine, this board helped tremendously in realizing others were going through the EXACT same thing...

[Grandpa Bambu]

So.... what did JCF have to say?

John.

[Blitz]

I saw Dr. Fielding yesterday.  Would have posted last night but met up with some friends downtown and decided to hang out late.

I took the train to Dr. Fielding's office.  I'm at the other end of the city (Warden station) so it was a good half hour before I got there.  It gave me time to think and for the most part I felt pretty good.  Then nervousness started to creep in the closer I got to my stop.  I began thinking; I have to take my shirt off in front of this guy...  What if he has a pretty intern there....?Will the receptionist yell out the word gynecomastia when I tell her I'm here for my appointment to a room full of patients....?  What snapped me back to reality was the hope in knowing that I can rid myself of this thing.


First off, I left my wallet in a buddy's car so when I got there, I didn't have my OHIP card with me (thanks for the correction on OHIP Bambu).  I had to fill out a form so they can get authorization to my OHIP information.  If they don't get it (for whatever reason),  I will have to personally pay for the consult fee of $75.00. They said they have to see the card because there has been so much scamming going on when it comes to OHIP.

The receptionist (Leslie I believe her name is) told me to have a seat and not once did she say gynecomastia.  Actually, she kept her voice down when talking and she didn't bring up the word once.  There was a man and his son there.  The son looked to be around 16.  I imagined the son was seeing Dr. Fielding because they both went in when the Doctor called them.  I don't know and I really didn't care.  My appointment was for 5:15 and I didn't see him until 6:00.  Because of the 45 minute wait, my nervousness started coming back and because I didn't have my wallet, I started to think that this must be a sign.  I broke my ankle on the week of my first appointment in which I had to cancel and now I forgot my wallet.  What next?  A tsunami during my procedure?  

Anyhow, as for his office, it's not bad, not great.  A lot of magazines.  I felt comfortable in there.  

[toronto]

so what did he say....you stopped the story at the most important part!

[Blitz]

Sorry about that.  I accidently posted early.  Here's the rest of my story:

Dr. Fielding finally called me in.  I think he has 3 offices back there.  He took me to the first office on the left.  It was small and it had a mirror on the wall.  We sat down and he started asking me questions.  

What do you do for a living?  What's your ethnic background?  How tall are you?  How much do you weigh?  Why do you want to get rid of your gynecomastica?  Do you workout?  Have you lost a lot of weight recently?  I thought he was going to ask me out on a date.  Every question he asked me was relevent to him.  My ethnic background was important because the darker you are, the more the scarring will show.  If you're black, you will more than likely see some scarring.  I don't have any black in my family (not that I'm aware of) so he said that with my skin tone, I should be fine.  

Then he asked me to take off my shirt (I thought he would at least buy me a drink first).  Trust me here guys, I didn't feel nervous at all.  Actually, I was relieved to finally have a medical opinion concerning my gyne.  He said my case is somewhat severe because I have a cup formation (looking more like women's breast).  That I know.  He then proceeded to squeeze both moobs and measure them with a ruler.  My left side is about a centimeter fuller than my right side.  

Then he started to tell me all the things about the procedure.  Here's what I know:

- I will have to wear the bandages for 3 weeks.  The first week, I can't take them off at all.  No showering.  
- He will lipo the area and remove most of the gland through incision.  Some of the gland will be left and he said the chances of it regrowing are slim to none.
-He'd rather "underdo" then "overdo".  Overdo meaning the concave effect.  The underdo means he didn't take enough out and he can always go back and take out more.
-He said the chest will adhere to the body after time.  It takes a full year to see the full results of the operation.  Some patients have mentioned that after 3 weeks they weren't too happy with their surgery but a year later, they couldn't believe how good they look.  It does take time for the body to heal he said.  
-I don't have to stay overnight in the hospital. He said you can because it is covered but people tend to sleep better in their own homes (I agree).  
-There might be a chance where excess blood flows into the moob area (I forgot the medical term).  If that's the case, another operation might be in order to relieve the situation (no cost) or if it's not as severe, he will take out some of the stitches and let the blood drain.  

My thoughts on Dr. Fielding:  Nice man.  He reminded me of a young Mr. Rogers.  More so in his mannerisms.  Very professional.  I told him about this forum and that he came highly recommended.  He didn't care.  He asked me if people post pictures and I told him yes.  I think he didn't care for that either.  I told him another Doctor (Beaumont I believe) post answers on this site.  He didn't care for that either.  I don't know why he doesn't really want to embrace this technology but that's his business.  He also said, 5 years ago, OHIP wouldn't touch gyne.  His defence was that no one ask for this condition.  So true.  

Anyways, my operation is set for July 13.  I have to go back on the June 20th.  It might be for blood work and paper work.  Not sure.  It will cost me $1500.  Before anyone says ouch, I thought my procedure would have cost around there.  I knew my case was a little more severe then others so I'm fine with that.  I was willing to spend $3000 or more if I had to before I started reading about Dr. Fielding.  It's a number that I can live with.  

Hope this helps.  

[Seattle000]

You said that "He'd rather 'underdo' then 'overdo'.  Overdo meaning the concave effect.  The underdo means he didn't take enough out and he can always go back and take out more. "

Out of curiosity, did he say if he'll revisit the surgery for free if necessary? Can he do it under local anasthesia?

[Blitz]

That's a very good question that I didn't ask him.  If the first surgery doesn't go well, will he do the touch up one for free?  I'd like to know as well.  

[Grandpa Bambu]

That's a very good question that I didn't ask him.  If the first surgery doesn't go well, will he do the touch up one for free?  I'd like to know as well.  

Since that would be a 'gland' only proceedure, there would be no cost to you as OHIP would pick up the tab again.

John.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Anyways, my operation is set for July 13.  I have to go back on the June 20th.  It might be for blood work and paper work.  Not sure.  It will cost me $1500.

Congrats on setting a date for surgery!

On June 20th. you will be signing papers, paying for the Lipo portion of the proceedure and getting instructions for your surgery day.

So JCF is charging you $1500. Dose that include GST? That's odd, he charged me 1280 incl. GST, and charged FB $1070 incl. GST. You are about the same size as FB and I were and yet there is a fee fluctuation.

In regard to this Site, yeah, I mentioned it to the good Doc as well and he just shrugged it off. Not the least bit interested. Strange huh....    To each his own I guess.  

Thanks for your story....

John.

[toronto]

i asked him that and he told me yes, it's covered..it's a little different here tho, health insurance covers the excision and anasthesia fees..so if anything he might bill OHIP for having to operate again  but bottom line nothing out of pocket

You said that "He'd rather 'underdo' then 'overdo'.  Overdo meaning the concave effect.  The underdo means he didn't take enough out and he can always go back and take out more. "

Out of curiosity, did he say if he'll revisit the surgery for free if necessary? Can he do it under local anasthesia?

[toronto]

i think $1500 is a record for Fielding (on these boards anyway)

maybe you made him realize he should buy a computer, and he's gonna use your lipo fee to buy a dell..d'oh!

but seriously, congrats, had surgery last week, nothing to worry about..

i wonder what made OHIP start covering it..

was July the earliest date available?

[Grandpa Bambu]

Sorry.... I'm wrong.  

O.H.I.P.  is not 'Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan'

it is....

'Ontario Health Insurance Plan'.

Still, it's provincial coverage and not Canada wide. However, it may be posible for out of prov. residents to receive benefits. I have no idea. Never looked into it....

John.

[FB]

$1500.00 !!! Holly Sheep Sh*&t he's getting expensive.



I'm curious to know if a revision is covered though. JFC took enough out but on one side there is a slight fold that hasn't quite corrected itself yet, not the end of the world but still noticable to say the least. I understand if Lipo is not needed, then there should be no cost if he has to make a incision and repair (for a lack of better words) - It would be nice to confirm this.