Surgery with Dr. Cruise (Newport Beach, CA)

[gyne31]

I didn’t realize until I was nearly 30 that I actually had gynecomastia. In my late adolescence I put on some weight, which I then kept into my early twenties. Although I didn’t like the look of my chest, I attributed it that extra weight and chalked it up to one thing about my body that I wasn’t happy with. Later in my twenties I began a regimen program of biking and running, as well as some time in the gym. I began eating much better, and slimmed down considerably, but the problem of having extra tissue in my breasts never went away. I did some cursory internet research, looking for exercises that might affect it, but was ultimately unsuccessful. It wasn’t until I was visiting with my general physician about a completely unrelated matter that she pointed out my chest and said, “You know you could have that fixed if you like.”

Having a name for the condition gave me a place to start researching, but I still didn’t immediately begin to look for a physician. My first tentative phone calls to the doctors my GP recommended weren’t very helpful. One physician only performed the procedure if there was pain involved in the condition. Others were vague. It was several months later that I came across gynecomastia.org and found so many actual accounts written by guys who’d had the same condition I did, and who had had it successfully corrected. I looked at a lot of before and after pictures here, and also independently researched some of the physicians listed here on the internet. Ultimately I made the decision to contact Dr. Cruise in Newport Beach for a consultation.

I was impressed with the level of professionalism of his staff, and with the facility itself. On that first appointment, I met with Dr. Cruise who evaluated my condition, complete with drawing directly on me to point out where he expected to make incisions. He explained how that procedure would work, that initially he would surgically remove the extra breast tissue via small incisions under the nipples, and that if necessary, liposuction would also be used to remove additional fatty tissue. He warned me upfront that it was possible that a follow-up procedure might be necessary to remove extra skin, but that we wouldn’t be able to tell if that was needed until after my body had recovered from the first procedure, and the skin either retracted on it’s own or not. As it turned out, skin removal was not necessary later on.

After that consult with Dr. Cruise I then met immediately after with Jola, a member of the doctor’s staff who was able to tell me what dates were available if I wanted to proceed. She also provided pricing for the entire procedure. The cost I was quoted at the time was accurate and complete, and covered both the actual surgery as well as all of my subsequent follow up visits with Dr. Cruise. Although I’d gone to the appointment intending it to be an information gathering experience, I was impressed enough with what I saw, and excited enough at the prospect of finally being rid of a condition that had caused me stress and embarrassment for years, that I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for about a month later.

In the weeks before the surgery I visited a lab in order to have blood work done, a standard pre-surgery practice. I was warned up front that the lab work was one of two additional costs not covered by the fee I was paying to Dr. Cruise’s office, but fortunately I was able to have that covered by my regular insurance, and the fee was relatively nominal without that coverage. The second expense was filling prescriptions for several medications to be taken before and after the surgery. I also did some research on online forums and found a company that sells post surgical support vests which are meant to provide compression that optimizes the results of the surgery. I ordered one of these vests, but found after the procedure that I wasn’t satisfied with the fit, and ended up using a simpler wrap provided by Dr. Cruise instead.

On the morning of surgery I arrived at the surgery center, a building just down the street from the doctor’s regular office in Newport Beach. I’d fasted the night before and limited my water intake, as recommended by the doctor.  I waited a short time before being taken into the pre-op area where I was given an initial IV anesthetic. I was warned that one of the drugs in the IV would be very unpleasant, much like drinking 10 shots at once; this turned out to be true, and was perhaps the most unpleasant part of the whole procedure.  This soon passed however and I was out within minutes, going under right after a short chat with Dr. Cruise. This was to review the procedure and make sure we were on the same page with regards to what he was about to do.

When I woke up I felt some nausea. I continued to lie down for perhaps an hour or so under the observation of a nurse. I don’t remember how much tissue and fat was removed, but I think it was a fairly substantial amount. After that I was released to be driven home by my wife. I was told that it’s critical both to have someone else present to drive you home following the procedure, and stay with you for 24 hours afterwards.  This was definitely necessary in my case as I had a fairly strong reaction to the general anesthetic and was very dizzy and nauseous on the drive home.  Luckily I managed to avoid vomiting until just before we reached home! This was something of a miracle given that we got stuck in rush hour traffic on the drive home. I felt no pain immediately after the surgery. My main discomforts were nausea and awkwardness due to the drains and binding. The drains are essentially a plastic tube running from inside each breast where they’re anchored inside the incision. These connect to clear plastic bladders where fluid collects from the surgery site. My understanding is that this fluid was a mix of blood and the liquid left from the liposuction that was performed. I also fitted with a compression binding that closed with velcro around my chest to both protect the incisions and to keep consistent pressure on the surgery site.

That night I had continuing bouts of nausea, though it’s worth noting that I frequently have that reaction after surgeries and anesthesia, so that might not be common for everyone. There was a regimen of medication to be taken, including antibiotics to prevent infection as well as pills to help me relax and sleep. For several nights following the surgery I was instructed to lie and sleep at a 45 degree angle rather than flat, and was warned that there might be some seepage, although that was minimal.

The day after the surgery I returned to the doctor’s office and met with Dr. Cruise so he could check the work and see how everything looked. At the time there was still a good deal of swelling, making it difficult to tell how things might actually look. I was told that it would take several weeks before the swelling would go down and the skin would retract, giving me a clearer idea of the final result. The incisions were stitched closed with dissolving sutures that the doctor explained would give way over time. The initial impression, looking at my chest, was that the areas were concave inside of the swelling, but this was caused by the sutures themselves that were apparently attached to the chest wall.

I made another appointment for a few days later at which point the drains were removed. This was painless and quick thankfully, just a little snip and tug and the tubing was out. After that there were several other visits for Dr. Cruise to monitor my progress. These were very brief visits, and I was able to schedule them mostly on Saturdays so as to not have to take time from work. My procedure was done on a Friday and I took the following Monday off  of work as well, but that was the total amount of time I missed since my job involves desk work and no strenuous physical activity. I also had to avoid lifting anything over a few pounds for several week’s time. Although there was no initial pain, I experienced soreness for around four weeks afterwards, and sensitivity for several weeks after that.   I did wear the compression binding (essentially a large, 8 inch elasticated bandage) for about five weeks post-op.  This was the hardest part of the whole process as it was very annoying to wear 24 hours a day.  It was itchy and constricting and wouldn’t ever let me forget about the operation.  This was also during the hottest part of summer, so that added a lot of discomfort.  Oddly it started to become comforting after a while and I didn’t like to take it off as it felt too exposed and unsupported.  I stopped wearing the binding a couple of weeks earlier than advised, but I reached a point where I couldn’t bear to it back on in the mornings.

It’s now been about four months since my surgery, and I’m very pleased with the results. In the last few weeks I’ve been replacing my existing t-shirts with t-shirts I would never have considered before because the fabric was so sheer. In fact I’ve recently donated a large portion of my old t-shirts to charity as I’d bought them several sizes larger than I needed so that they would hang loosely on me. I’m still self conscious about my chest, even though it’s starting to look very normal.  After so many years of being so paranoid about it I think that it’s going to take a while for me to be completely comfortable going shirtless in public.  I still have a little pain when the surgery area is pressed on, such as when I’m lying on my chest.  Other than that there has been no day to day pain or discomfort for a few months now. I wouldn’t say that there was 100% symmetry at the moment, as the left side is slightly concave compared to the right.  I’m hopeful that a few more months healing and building some more muscle mass will help.  Of course after being so preoccupied with my chest for so long I’m probably noticing things most people wouldn’t.

I’ve attached a few photos; the first were taken on my initial visit to Dr. Cruise’s office, the second set on one of the follow up visits about a month after the operation. Since then the swelling has gone down almost completely.  I’ll be going back next month for a final set of photos, so I’ll update this post with them when I get them.

Over all I highly recommend Dr. Cruise.  He was pleasant and professional, and his staff equally so.  The operation itself was about as painless as I think it could have been given what was involved. I couldn’t be happier with the end result.  My only regret is not having done this sooner!