Just got the Surgery yesterday - F'in Drains! - My Story....

[Mazz21]

Well I have been hesitant to post here in the past but now that I have done the surgery, I feel the need to talk about it with this great community...

So since Ive been 12, I started noticing signs of gyne - my doctor said it would go away with age which it didn't.  In high school and college I was teased a bit about them but never had the money to fix them.  There were times where I would tape them down so I could wear certain shirts I liked - otherwise I stayed away from anything tight and white.  Now pushing 30, with a successful business of my own, I have taken the plunge.





I will not mention my doctor yet until I am sure how I feel about this procedure and his work.

Yesterday I finally had the procedure.  I will tell you I was confident for weeks until the day before when I heard of someone I knew very well passing away while under anesthesia getting a nose job yesterday.  Awful news and bad timing.  This freaked me out and I proceeded to research anesthesia heavily and damn near cancelled my surgery.  Finally I went through it anyways and all went well thank God.

I will say that like everyone says, the after surgery feels like a heavy workout on the chest.  I can tell that under the two foam pads stuck to my chest there are some deep bruises...

The one thing that really bothers the heck out of me are the Drains.  The doctor definitely minimized this part of the surgery saying you wont even know they are there.  Well, I KNOW they are there, I cant NOT KNOW they are there, and upkeep on them 3 times a day by milking, applying bacitracin, and putting new gauzes around the drain site to stop bleeding/leaking is not easy and not simple.

The Drains are not easy to cover up.  In fact, there is only 1 or 2 shirts in my wardrobe that would cover them up. The pouches or pumps that collect the blood and fluid are actually large and annoying.  I can't wait to get these off but I am told I have to keep them in for 7-10 days and that means no showering for that long.

And they say I can go to work the next day, they wont be a problem,  theyre small blah blah blah....its not true.  They are not small, you can not shower with them in, they irritate and are difficult to function with.....bottom line. Drains suck (no pun intended) and I will be home-ridden until they are removed.



Living in NYC i had my choice of alot doctors but did not choose Dr Jacobs because of his availability in April. I liked the fact that he doesnt use drains and maybe wish I waited.  But hey, I'm still only on day 1 here so we'll see but so far, I can honestly say, I wish I did not do this surgery as of right now.

hope that feeling changes...will update soon....

[waves]

Congrats on your surgery!  I didn't have drains myself but they sure look like a pain to deal with.  At least 7 to 10 days will go by reasonably quickly in the grand scheme of things.  Relax, put your feet up, pop in a movie or two and enjoy the time off.  Not to mention your future without moobs!   

[Mazz21]

Hi Waves,

thanks for the support but I am really regretting this surgery at the moment.  I hope things change.  I am leaking blood or fluid everywhere, replacing gauzes every hour from the drains which dont seem to be catching everything.

I wish I did a surgery without drains.  I really was given the impression they were not as big of a deal as I thought.  I was was wrong.  Drains are messy, cause extra discomfort, extra pain, extra upkeep. 9 more days with them....

I would recommend to all who are thinking about this surgery to look at non-drain options.

No time to relax bc I run my own online business and cant really take a break. 

Day 2 has not been fun.

[Mazz21]

Day 7 and I am in the worst pain I have been in since the surgery - maybe even in my entire life.

The pain is coming from the drain and is particularly painful on the left side.  I have had these drains in me now for 7 days and have followed instructions to the T.

I have demanded that they be removed tomorrow (since they are not in the office on Thursday...yeah thats normal) and I hope this eases this pain.  I am on two vicatins and I am still in agony.  I cant sleep or lye down normal.

I also have swelling under the left side of my breast and not on the right.  I dont know if the doctor messed up here but I dont think I should be in this kind of pain.

I stand by what I said, I wish I had never done this surgery.  This pain is not worth it and I dont even care for my new chest and am not optimistic about not having future problems.

I URGE anyone who is listening - DO NOT choose a doctor who uses drains for more than 3 days or at all.  

Day 7: PAIN PAIN PAIN.

[waves]

Sorry to hear about your problems Mazz.  Definitely sounds like something is messed up and not a typical reaction to surgery or drains.  Almost sounds like maybe you should head to the hospital if you're in that much pain?

[Mazz21]

Well, i finally got the drains off after being the single worst pain of my life (felt like a knife or bullet lodged in me for 8 days).  I had taken so many pain killers which didnt even help the pain that i was shaking. If you saw me, I would be the shaking hunchback with my hand on my chest. 

And guess what, I have an infection from the drains.  My entire left breast is swollen and red and the drain hole is pretty nasty....

To quote my doctor "ive never seen anything like that before"....fabulous. only me.  just my luck i happen to have a bad procedure.

Since the drains have been out, Ive had sonograms, cultures, am on 2 serious anti-biotics, and soaking in warm water 3 times a day.  So far, no change.

Again. Worst decision I ever made. Another warning: avoid drains when you can.

I want to make sure everyone knows that no matter how many people say this is a quick and easy procedure, whether it be the doctor or someone on here, its NOT true.

1. You will NOT be back at work a day or 2 later
2. You can NOT hide the drains unless youre wearing a big jacket which will look stupid in hot weather.
3. Drains are PAINFUL and irritating.  They require alot of care and maintenance.
4. You ARE very much at risk of infections, bad surgeries, etc etc no matter how good the doctor says his track record is.

[cyanide]

WOW first of all Im very sorry to hear about your problems and suffering mate, but on the other hand I thnk you for documenting this as Im currently looking for a surgeon and let me tell you i WILL NOT be getting drains simply from your story F THAT!! I really hope everything turns out good for you and i look forward to reading more from your story

[manboobsgoaway]

Well I am on 4 weeks post op. I had my 4 week procedure today...Scarring is very noticeable. I have a trip to Cancun in less than 2 months hoping it goes away by then. My right breast looks a little puffy at the bottom part and I still feel as tho I have man boobs...I guess just being so self concious about unless they are totally flat they look like boobs...I dunno if you feel the same or not...I didnt have drains and after reading what you wrote... glad I didn't...The pain was very minimal and I returned to work 2 days after surgery...I am hoping the sagging of the skin retracts soon but my doc said it could take 6 months to 1 year to do...as sad as this sounds I miss the compression vest...I felt like it mad my boobs look flatter lol. I am glad Im not annoyed with it anymore but liked how it made my boobs look flat...

[Mazz21]

Well heres the update...

Iv'e been taking two anti-biotics, 8 pills per day.  Pain has subsided on the left breast but swelling is very much still there and the drain hole wont scab up and close which worries me.  Because its infected, the drain is still leaking puss and blood which I guess is why its not closing.

Ive been to many doctors almost every day the past week and supposedly at this point, its just a waiting game for it to get better. Ive also spent an extra 700 dollars just by visiting other doctors and medicine.  My surgery was not cheap comparatively as it cost $11,000. given the premiums you pay for being in NY.  What a waste of f'in money.

Im 2 weeks today from my surgery.  What a mistake.  I still have not returned to my life and depression over this is starting to set in.

Not much more to say at this point.  Things just suck and Im lucky I work at home...

[waves]

I don't want to be too critical here, but c'mon, you haven't once posted about whether the surgery provided an improvement to your chest and instead complained about a rare complication, albeit a painful one at that, for which you say surgery wasn't worth it. 

If you really feel the surgery was not worth it, perhaps your chest issue wasn't so bad in your mind and you elected to go for surgery without putting much thought into the potential complications and risks.  For most people on this forum however, life without manboobs far outweighs the potential risks.  Most of us who fall into that camp would probably say time to man up and deal with it.  You had a complication that caused a significant amount of pain, the issue has been identified, you're being treated, and likely in a short amount of time that issue will be resolved.  But to conclude the surgery wasn't worth a life free of manboobs is really a bizarre statement to make in my mind.

Sorry to be so blunt.  Good luck with your continued healing.

[cyanide]

well said waves

[One_of_us]

The drains sound awful, but as was stated, you haven't really told us how the surgery turned out.  I'm hoping that it all ends up well and that in the end you change your mind about whether or not it was worth it.  Looking forward to more updates.

[cdblc]

WOW, this really sounds terrible. I had surgery on april 29th as well from Dr "removed doctor" in White Plains New York. My chest was very similar to yours and my doctor said I fell into a larger percentile. My result is amazing. I didn't have any drains and completely understand what you are going though. My doctor said the only way I would have them if I was really bleeding a lot. However I followed their directions on what to stay away from pre surgery. I went under anesthesia and like you was very worried. I have a young daughter I could not stop thinking about, but on the other hand I had to get rid of this problem. Post surgery I actually felt pretty good. My chest felt tight and once meds wore off, It felt like a bit sore. I work for myself and took the day, but was ready to work the following day. He wrapped me up pretty good, no one noticed, not even my family. I work a button down flannel and told them I was not feeling well, to keep any hugging happening. After about 4 days, they took off the dressing, It was loaded with dry blood and the tape sucked, but the result was there and I was very happy. Now after two weeks of surgery, I can really see the difference. I have two little marks with dry blood where the made the incision, but I can see it will heal fine. However there is some side effects, but non out weigh having gynecomastia. There is some numbness, Itching, and slight irritation. I am sure this will all go away and had bee warned of these side effects.

It sounds like this doctor may have been a bad choice and there is nothing worse then feeling it was a bad idea. I hope it eventually feels and looks better in time. If anyone reads this, I strongly urge you to research your Doctor. I went to two different guys. I actually liked the one Dr who did not do as many gynecomastia surgerys, but ultimately my gut was telling me to go with Dr "removed doctor". He is banging these out day by day and understands what it is you need. Note: It is not a good idea to take all the fat out. You need some, otherwise you can have sagging, and it may look inverted. Keep some and work off what you can. Remember, it's the gynecomastia that will not go away. I hope this helps...

[Mazz21]

Regarding my chest, one side (the infected side) is swollen up and red while the other looks fine.  I am 3 weeks out of this surgery now and it still isnt ok.  The drain is still infected and im still taking 8 pills a day.  Bottom line, the pain ive been going through + the money might not be worth it to me - even if the end result is great.

I have always wanted to do this surgery but its not a life changer for me as it may be for others as I already have a beautiful girlfriend and my chest never got in the way of me doing or wearing anything.  So for me, what i went through may not have been worth it.

With that said, if my surgery went the way it should have and/or like the majority here, I would say it was worth it.  However, here I sit still in some pain, still on meds, still recovering.  I don't think many here can truly understand how painful its been.  In addition, its not comforting to hear your doc say "Ive never seen this before".

I am not discouraging anyone from getting this surgery - I am discouraging the usage of drains if you don't need them.

[fc12345678]

How are your scars where the drain tubes were.  Its been 1 month and my drain scars are more noticeable than my nipple scars.  However, mederma seems to be helping.