Surgery 8/6/09 w/ Dr. Bermant ...pre-op and post op pics....updated

[moobsbrah]

Hey guys, so here is my background story...

I have had gyno since 13 and I am 20 now. I am 5'10 145 pounds. Used to play on the soccer and basketball team at age 14 and remember getting my balls busted alot for my gyno...haha I got all sorts of unoriginal nicknames because of it and it definitely takes an emotional toll on someone of that age. For things where I had to take my shirt off like gym class swimming, I would always try to pinch my nips to make them hard, since this would make gyno less noticeable. Other than the few instances where I could not avoid it, I would never taken my shirt off in public for the last 6 years, and so none of my friends at home/ at college  know that I have this problem. Even the most minor things in my life would have to be adjusted as a result of gyno, like skipping out on waterparks/swimming parties, not going to beaches, not wearing tight shirts like underarmour etc. It's also tough to get into a serious work-out regimen with gyno, bc its hard to motivate yourself to build muscle when you have such a glaring flaw.

 If I told anyone that I was having this surgery, they'd think I was crazy, since I am generally skinny everywhere else and since my gyno is not noticeable at all with my shirt on. It's definitely inhibited me from doing a lot of things, like being a more confident person. I really didn't think about it at all till this year, since it became normal to plan everything in my life around not taking off my shirt. Didn't really know there was a good surgery to get rid of it before this site. So I guess it became a type of repressed problem. Moreover, I always had hope that by 19-20 it would resolve itself, as most pediatricians say.

Anyways, this past year has been really significant for me, as I've tried to make a lot of positive changes in my life and be a more pro-active person. In March I resolved to do this surgery, and so started saving up all of my money from work. Through various means, I came up w/ the money for the surgery. I haven't told my parents or any friends, and told them I am going to VA for a vacation. I am from the new england area. The cost of the surgery is 7K (3800 surgeons fee, 1600 facility fee, 1500 anesthesia fee, 200 surgical garments) ...travel costs estimated are to be 1K. My reason for picking Dr. Bermant was his extensive website with before and after pictures, and the experiences others on here/his site have had with him. A plus with this practice is that it is largely based on "out-of-town" patients, and you only need to make one trip down to the VA area.


Cliffs:
-Had gyno since 13 years old, and am 20 now.
-Decided to do surgery with Dr. Bermant
-Surgery scheduled 8/6/09
-Costs: $7000 for surgery, ~1K for travel to VA.






Here are a couple more angles of pre-op also.
http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=18560.msg127916#msg127916

[superduty]

Please post back with your results.  My case was pretty similar to yours, and am curious to see your results.

[mizuno]

Good Luck

[moobsbrah]

just had the surgery today! I think it went really well and I will post pics in the next few days, and keep updating along the whole way.

The day before I had my formal consultation, asked last minute questions, and had my chest marked up. My surgery was scheduled for 2 pm. Slept about 4 hours because of the nerves and woke up around 10 am. I took a quick shower and went to Walgreens to fill up my prescription for Vicodin and grabbed some extra strength tylenol to have ready after the surgery .For those traveling to Richmond, there is a cab service here called Chester Shuttle that will take you from your hotel to Dr. Bermant's office for 16 dollars one way, 8 dollars return.  I was super paranoid about punctuality so I got in at around noon to the office. As w/ everyone elses experience, Jane is just a genuinely wonderful person, and just has a positive presence. Then finally at two I went to the office, changed into the gown and relaxed. Kim the nurse, and Jim the anesthesiologist are really friendly people and we chatted it up for a bit before he put the IV in. He explained the anesthetics being given to put me at ease. I was given a drug to relax, and then walked over to the OR table. They strap your arms outward so that you can't fidget or twitch during surgery (even though you are fully sedated).  Dr. Bermant then came in and asked me what my dream vacation location is, and after answering that I was out-cold within about 60 seconds. The surgery took about 2 hours (I think. I woke up 3 hours after being sedated), and I woke up with very minimal pain. Jim showed me the gland- on one side there was a fairly significant (though not huge by any means) amount of gland and on the other just a little bit. I was surprised that my gyno was mostly fat, seeing that I am 5'9 145 and 12% Body fat. I guess that may be the result of my genetics and the way I am built (my dad kind of has a similar body type to me). The nurse Mr. Kendall then took me back to my hotel room after grabbing some dinner at an Italian restaurant. He is a tight dude. So hear I am now, posting this, and man does it feel amazing to never have to worry about this problem again. The surgery may have costed 7G's, which is pricey, but the benefits for me strongly outweigh the costs. W/o gyno, I predict I will take great care of body, start lifting weights and eating healthy, and have a major confidence boost. I'll try to update the forum in a year or so, to see if I actually followed up on my predictions. I cannot wait to go swimming and to beaches- this is something I haven't done in 7 years! Just booked my spring break trip for Senior Year to Hawaii with my friends!The pain is a little bit after the surgery- I took an extra strength tylenol, but still had a headache (probably because I hadn't eaten or drank anything in 18 hours, and I compulsively drink water) so I took a Vicodin. I guess the best way to describe the pain is like delayed-onset muscle soreness after a chest workout. The gauze and dressings are itchy, but the compression vest is perfectly comfortable.

Overall, I learned about the surgery in March, but figured it was something I would have as a possibility years down the line. Then on July 4th weekend I definitively decided it was time to control my life, and said to myself I will do this ASAP, w/o telling any family or friends. And one month later, it is gone! Aah, well, now back to the real world and studying for the MCAT's and working on my medical school applications. Best of luck to everyone on here!

[mizuno]

Great ! Glad to hear it please keep us posted and upload some photo's when you get a chance.

[pirate4225]

Wow.. Can't wait to see the pictures!
Your condition is scarily similar to what I have.  I might have a tad bit more fat on my body.  Dr. Bermant is who I too want to go with... Hoping in to get a remote consult with him in the next few months.

Good luck with the recovery.. Can you post pictures pls

[postiey]

well done on the surgery brah! post some pics when u can, ur case is similar in away to mine,
so would be great to see........

[moobsbrah]

wow, i saw my results today- looks totally flat. I don't have a camera w/ me here in VA so I'll have to wait till I get home back home to post pics. But the chest area looks great. He said he removed 110 CC's of fat from one side, and 115 CC's from another using lipo. Gland was taken from both sides- one side had more than the other. But it was not a large amount from either side.

My only concern is that my body has some kind of natural tendency to put ALL its fat on the chest area (since I am only 21 on the BMI scale and 12% B.F., yet still had pretty bad gyno from mostly chest-fat.) I am really skinny everywhere else. This worries me slightly that it will come back, but hopefully w/ good diet and workouts it won't...

[moobsbrah]

Here are the first pics.......1 day post OP.....














Thrilled w/ the results  

[pirate4225]

Wow..great results bud.  What is the little bandage on the top right of your chest...is that an extra incision site for lipo?  I thought Bermant goes through the nipple incision for lipo?? Just curious?  How is healing and pain?

[postiey]

wow probably one of the best i have seen, dr bermant is awesome. post some pics with ur healing if u can. my case is very much like urs so would be ovet the moon to with those results.

definetly if i was u id keep to a good diet, and fitness. well done again

(im just guessing the extra incision was u only needed the lyposuction on one side)

[moobsbrah]

actually the extra incision was to remove gland if i remember correctly. Apparently on that side of the chest, the gland was small enough that he thought he could liposuction it. But this did not work as it was too firm, so he made a small incision in the areola and tried to take it out. But the gland was positioned vertically ( which is atypical), and so he made another very small incision site ( the extra one you see) to remove it. Apparently though, the length of the incision from that spot + the incision he made on the areola is the same as the incision made on the areola on the other side of the chest.

pains totally fine- he gives a script for 20 vicodins. I took 1 vicodin and maybe 6 tylenol so far. I don't like the feeling of pain pills, and get bad ups and downs taking them, so I tossed the rest before leaving VA.

[trojan213]

Damn homie, looking great.

I'm always surprised by how awesome Bermant's results look just a few days after surgery. Congrats on making it to the other side.

Good luck on the recovery and please keep us posted on the experience.

Cheers!

P.S. good luck with med school stuff

[superduty]

Can you post up any new pics?  Do you have any pics with the bandages removed?

Thanks

[moobsbrah]

not yet. I get the bandages off in a couple of days, then I  will post