Surgery Woes (advice needed)

[chancer76]

ok im 22 years old and ive had gyno snce about the age of 11 ... but chose to ignore it cause to be honest at that age i didnt care. When i hit about 16 it started really bothering me!

over the past two years ive become physically fit, im in very good shape and have 8%BodyFat reading and im a big lad (muscle wise). But i still have a large chest (feels like a womens its not firm unless i tense it and thats just the muscle in front of the tissue i think).Ive took courses of

Cabergoline
Tamoxifen
Letrozole

and none of them have worked, i took one time course of letro and caber and ive took tamoxifen since august 2008 (ive now today decided to stop taking it). It hasnt helped me!

so after wasting that money on the drugs, ive decided to go for surgery. Ive booked an apointment with my GP for march 10th basically just to explain my situation and say basically i want surgery, give me the downsides! No doubt i will be asked to give blood samples and all sorts but i trust my GP and to be honest i want her backing.

So now my case isnt extreme, i dont see the NHS funding me to be honest so im probally going to have to dish out. Im located in the West Midlands so would like a surgeon near me here. I hear a lot of things about DrK but £4000 is a lot of money and id need to incorporate travel time ... and also time off work!

so heres my questions for you guys (be gentle)

1/How long is the recovery process i havent got a major case and im a fit young lad .... But i work in a warehouse enviroment which involves heavy lifting (how much time off will i need to have)

2/What are the chances of getting it done on the NHS, im going to tell my GP about the drugs ive took and how much of a problem it is in my day to day life but im not holding out much hope (and dont want to be put on a huge waiting list)

3/Will the muscle i have on my pec area, create complications in surgery?

4/Any surgeons in west midlands, and what should i expect to pay? And how long would i have to wait for the OP usually

i will try and get some pics of my gyno to show you!

[irish lad]

alri bud hows a goin

im 20 had surgery in june, i am in good shape too low body fat and quite toned, i work in the health and fitness industry as a gym instructor and i can tell you the only way to get rid of gyne is surgery no point in kidding yourself belive me i tried it all, infact i found when i built muscle on my pecs it just sat under the gyne and made it look worse,  i am going back for a second op hopefully this summer because im not 100 per cent happy with my results and feel too much gland was left behind but my chest looks very defined when tensed and a lot better than before. il do my best to answer your questions

1.  you say your fit, i was fit and i was back working 3weeks later(doing labouring on building site at time very heavy lifiting) and all my bruising disapeared after about 3/4 weeks too and i had the armpit incission which is a longer recovery and more painful.

2. cant help bud from ireland

3. no, it will aid you in getting better results, fitter and more in shape you are the better your chances of a good result.

4. again cant help, but id reckon go to karidis or benito in barcelona thats who i went too he is a good bit cheaper than karidis and is reconized as one of the best. dont settle for some surgeon who is not experienced in this feild..

anymore questions just ask ad il do my best and check out my thread it might help you

[confuzzle]

Hi mate. I just had a revision op on Friday with a gent called Paul Levick, he operates out of The Priory Hospital its called in Edgebaston. Had my first surgery with him last Feb but when I went to see him in January he said that my chest could look even better so asked me to come back for a revision and here I am now. As for recovery times, its massively different from person to person. I was having issues with my left side, it was still quite prominant compared to the right side and to be honest it was still sore to touch, this was a year on. Hopefully  he hoovered it all out last week now. I can't complain really, my chest was considerably better than before but the revision was free so I thought what the heck!

He told me he'd just set up a website, its much along the lines of ALex Karadis's site

http://www.nipntuck.co.uk/   -Alex Karadis's Site

http://www.paullevick.co.uk/   -Paul Levick's site

Hopefully this provides some help or insight for you.

[kingboob]

Hey....

You could probably get it on the NHS if you are willing to wait and kick up a bit of a fuss..... but it does depend how bad the problem is and how it effects you day to day, and they may want a psychological report as well to check you are fit for surgery.

I would take 2 weeks if you have a heavy lifting job, if you can get light duties or something then 4 to 5 days may be enough.  A compression vest to wear post-op will help reduce the swelling and pain by supporting the area and keeping everything tight -  To be honest I think it might be quite essential for you to buy one if you have quite an active job.


If you are in the west midlands then I would go an see Mr Levick @ the Priory Hospital (BMI group), he does his consults on a monday & tuesday am/pm, so unfortunately that probably means taking another half day off work to go see him...... but IMO it is worth it, he is very open with a straight to the point approach.  He would certainly be able to tell you what surgery can offer in your case and the risks / benefits.   

I had my surgery with Mr Levick, so I don't know anything about the other surgeons (Karadis etc), but from what I have read on here most UK surgery is around £4k.   

I don't know anything about the drugs that you have taken to reduce the gyne, all I can say is be very careful of buying anything off prescription over the internet, lots of drugs are fakes & could be a rip-off or even dangerous.

[chancer76]

Thanks for your advice guys i REALLY appreciate it

I think im going to go with  levick. I like the fact that i have to stay overnight in the hospital i wouldnt feel comforatable going home after such invasive surgery (like karadis seems to do?!).

few more questions to the guys who had surgery with levick

1/ was it a long period from your consultation to getting the operation done

2/ have you heard of any bad experiences with him on this forum

3/ how much did you pay (i saw your comment kingboob just wondered if there was a huge variation)


After seeing my GP i think im going to phone up and arrange a consultation, im prepared to pay for it if im going to get the quality



Im going to book 3 weeks off work (holiday), if i feel better after two weeks i will cancel out the last week. I cant afford to loose 3 weeks pay . If im really bad after the op i will hit the sick

Cheers
Liam

[confuzzle]

Good on you mate!

I paid £3900 for the op last year, consultation was £100 which I paid at the time, but I've read that people have asked for it to be included with the price of the op and paid £4000 in total. I also bought 2 compression vests, he'll advise you in the consulation to buy 1, their £30-40 each but as you'll be wearing they day and night for a few weeks and the fact that I'd just spent £400 on an op I thought better be safe. ( I didn't want them getting all smelly and everything either)

I had a 2-3 week wait last year for the 1st op. For the revision I went to see him end on Jan and was offered either the 11th Feb or 20th. It all depends on how soon you want it!

I can't praise the guy enough for aftercare. Only a few hours ago he rang me back after I spoke to his secretary this morning regarding an issue I had with 1 of the incision points from last Friday. I've got nothing bad to say about the guy fair play!

If you need anything pm me!

[chancer76]

Just an update

surgery booked with Alex Karidis on 16/05/09

cant wait, will make a new post with a diary when ive had the op with pre and post op pics! cant wait!

total cost : £4261

[Hope]

Congratz and making that step closer.

Levick seems to be cheaper than Karidis as my total cost was £3995 (Including consultation)

But I think it is safe to say that your in good hands!

Keep us updated.