Just had Surgery

[Cookie123]

Hi Guys,

Just thought I'd briefly share my story in case any of you find it useful.

I'm 40 and live in the UK and have had Gyno for as long as I can remember, I finally took the plunge about a month ago and booked an appointment to meet with a surgeon in a private hospital. I arrived at the hospital and met with the Doctor and we chatted for a long time about health issues and causes etc etc then he asked me to take my top off and he felt them and agreed that I did have Gyno. His first suggestion was to go for Liposuction (at a cost of 3k) then if I still wasn't happy with the result then he could do an operation to remove the glandular tissue (at a cost of 4k).

When he was feeling them I asked if he could tell whether it was fat or glandular tissue in there, and he said there was definitely both but he couldn't tell in what proportions, although he did say that fat feels like little bits of rice. The only way to be sure would be to have a mamogram, anyway I went away feeling unsure as to what to do. I didn't want to have the full blown operation to remove the fat and the glandular tissue as he said it would leave scarring, he said they would cut underneath the nipple around the aeriola and possibly 5 - 10mm in a straight line on each side, a bit like "-u-" (if you imaging the u is the nipple) Where as the Lipo wouldn't leave any scars, only very slight marks where they insert the 5mm canular.

I went away and thought about it and in the mean time I received a letter from him describing our meeting and offering to meet me again if I had any further questions, so I did, I rang up and arranged to go again and to be honest we covered roughly the same topics again but I just wanted him to give me some reassurance that having Lipo only would give me the results I desired, and I told him this, however I think he was trying to manage my expectations, he said that he believed there would be a "significant" reduction in the size / shape / profile, however he didn't want to say that it would give me exactly what I wanted, which I suppose he would never do anyway.

Anyway I booked in for Lipo and had it done yesterday, I only wanted to stay in as a day patient, but because I was having a general anesthetic they said I had to stay overnight (and because I was driving myself home as well). The operation lasted about an hour and a half and he removed 200ml from the left and 170ml from the right, which is just over half a pint. I woke up about 4pm yesterday and felt fine, I was wearing a compression garment and I basically just laid down on the bed sipping water and watching TV for a few hours, then I was brought some food and cup of tea and asked if I wanted any pain killers, but I didn't, there was very little pain or discomfort. I stayed last night and drove home a few hours ago.

The doctor had made 3 small holes around 2 - 3 inches away from each nipple (so 6 holes in total) for the canula to go into, these now have a water proof plaster on and the nurse gave me 6 more in case the others came off. This morning was the first time I saw the results, and I was amazed. I had always thought that my Gynecomastia was glandular (as the shape looked like a small female breast) but it turned out that the doctor was right and it was mainly fat. My right nipple is now virtually completely flat and my left protrudes slightly, but compared to what they were before it is a complete transformation, I feel delighted.

I've got a few reservations about wearing the compression garment whilst at work, but I think if I do my shirt up then it hopefully won't be noticeable, although ASDA (Wall Mart) do compression T shirts, although I have just been out and bought one (£7) and although they are good, they don't provide as much compression as the one from the hospital.

So, it's been just over 24 hours since the op and I haven't felt any pain or discomfort, I'm amazed and delighted with the result and I'm looking forward to the next couple of months when hopefully the bruising/swelling will have gone down (all though it's not too bad really) and the canula marks will have hopefully disappeared.

The first thing I did when I got home was to stand in front of a mirror and I couldn't help but smile. To see your body "Normal" after 20 years is a really fantastic feeling. I put on a shirt that I would never normally wear and it looked fantastic!

I wish I'd had it done 20 years ago.

If anyone has any questions I'll gladly try and answer them.

J

[Ibanez99]

Hey there, first of all congrats for the surgery and the fact that you're happy with the results
I kinda have the same confusion going on! consulting with 2 surgeons, one says he will do lipo first and if needed he will excise . the second is assuring me to do both.
 But my question is if it's just fat can't it be burned with exercise? Did you try exercising ? Fat should burn with that right? I've exercised alot and im in good shape but my chest is the same ! no reduction in size. So I believe it's not just fat.

Sid

[Cookie123]

Hey Sid,

I'm slightly overweight at the moment, although my weight tends to fluctuate a bit depending on the time of year, but the one constant has always been my chest fat (or gynecomastia). No matter what excersize I tried it would not shift the fat on my chest. I am fairly active in my day to day life, I cycle to work every day and play badminton twice a week but when I specifically tried to target that fat and did 30 push ups a day for many weeks, I did loose weight, but not off my chest. I don't know why it's so stubborn to shift. In many ways I didn't like being thinner as it accentuated my gyencomastia.

When I went to meet with the consultant, I wanted him to say that I had a very clear case and that he would remove the glandular tissue and vacuum out any remaining fat and that I would be left with a perfectly flat chest. But he didn't, he felt my chest and said there was both glandular and fat tissue in there, and that he could remove the fat with Lipo, but I had to accept that there would still be an element of Gynecomastia left, as the glandular tissue would not be removed through lipo.

When I first left the hospital, I was over the moon with the results as it is soooo much better than it was before. But, as the days have gone past since the lipo, I find myself feeling my chest more and more and I take my compression garment off more and more and I look at the results, and although it is still slightly swollen and bruised I can't help but feel that having gone through all that, I wish it was all over and that my gynecomastia was completely gone and that I had a perfectly flat chest.

My surgeon had always said that he thought that in my case it could be a 2 fold process, first remove the fat, then I could either accept the results or have the glandular tissue removed as well in a separate procedure, although the operation would be a lot less intrusive as all the fat would have gone.

So basically I'm saying that if you are going to go for it, then I personally would have the tissue removed at the same time as the fat and accept that you MAY have  a slight scar to show for it. I would also say that the Gyecomastia fat underneath my nipples did not react to excersize or weight loss, hence my decision to have it removed. I don't understand the biology behind it but I guess fat in certain areas maybe just too hard to get rid of in certain people?

I hope things  work out for you.

J

[Ibanez99]

My surgeon had always said that he thought that in my case it could be a 2 fold process, first remove the fat, then I could either accept the results or have the glandular tissue removed as well in a separate procedure, although the operation would be a lot less intrusive as all the fat would have gone.

Hey there J !
This is exactly what I've been told by my first surgeon! Says he will do lipo first and if needed at that time he would excise else he would leave it there and I would have to wear the compression vest for 2-3months and let it heal and if I'm still not satisfied with the results then he would do the excision. But I don't really feel comfortable with this idea of going 2 times with the 3 month break. I want it done in one go..My second surgeon assured me he would do both the procedures in one go and there would be no need for revision surgery as in 80% of the cases the gland needs to be removed.

How's your chest now ?Do you feel it's coming out or getting better? Are you planning to get excision done?

Personally I want to get both the processes done and get rid of the whole thing. I don't mind having a scar for sometime as it will eventually fade away, even if not completely still I would be okay with some scar if it stays. Nothing is better than a flat chest! 
Good luck to you for healing ! and keep updating.

Sid

[90293]

Sid,

if you have had gyno for several years or since puberity like I have, no amount of working out will get rid of the fat. I just had the surgery about 9 days ago (both Lipo and excision). I have never been fat and have always been in shape...I figured like most I could just work out and get rid of it. I even dropped down to about 5-6% body fat and basically had a six pack, ripped arms, but my gyno was still there.

The only way to get rid of the fat is through lipo. It also seems from reading a lot of posts on this site that many people with gyno have glands associated with their gyno as well. The way my PS described it is like a piece of chocolate with a almond in it...after they melt the fat away the almond is revealed and the PS can then remove it, but until that chocolate is removed it is hard to see the almond.

As far as scarring...I have yet to see the actual scar itself because there is still that white steritape over the incision, but I have looked at the photos my PS showed me and in many cases I couldn't even see the scar and in the others it was very faint. Moreover, I have hair on my chest so that will help hide the scar.

I don't know where you reside, but you basically have to interview the PS's and find one that you are comfortable with. I spent over a year and visited over 5 different PS's.

[Ibanez99]

Hey 90293

You're right . This stubborn fat is very weird and will not go away with any amount of exercise. I'm at 22.04 BMI right now but chest is still the same. After speaking to both the surgeons I think I'm definitely more comfortable with the second one even though the first one I can get it done free but money is not the issue here. I will finally make up my mind on 17th after having one final consultation. 95% it's the 2nd one.
I wouldn't mind a bit of scar as I have chest hair too so it will cover up most of it.
I reside in India btw. what about you?
And good luck healing! Keep updated.
Sid

[90293]

I am in the US.

If you are curious about my surgery I posted my experience here: http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=20616.0

My advice is just to take your time and find the person you are most comfortable with. Like I said in my post I visited a lot of PS's and finally settled on the person I felt most comfortable with. Just make sure to ask a lot of questions look at the pictures of the operations they have performed. Like almost everyone on this site I was very nervous about surgery (this was the first real surgery I have ever had). Also, I understand that this surgery is expensive, but money shouldn't be the issue. As the saying goes you get what you paid for. Experience and training are extremely important. You really only want to do this once. The doctor I went to was expensive, but he did good work and so far I have no complaints other than I am tired of sleeping on my back.