Surgery with Dr. Delgado

[jt1974]

I had surgery with Dr. Delgado yesterday and so far so good.  I don't have pictures to post yet, but let's just say that before yesterday I definitely had a "handful" on each side.  That's coming from a guy who is 6'3" with very big hands.

So I won't go into a long detailed story right now, but I did want to comment that after a 4 1/2 hour surgery I feel great!  I have only taken three pain pills in the last 24 hours and from what I can see it looks like I have very minimal bruising and swelling.  I figured I would look like I got run over by a bus after getting carved on for over 4 hours, but Dr. Delgado did such an amazing job that I have less pain than when I had hernia surgery a couple years ago. 

The staff at Dr. Delgados office were also just amazing.  The anesthesiologist, Dr. Gaynor, is very easy to talk to and just an all around great guy.  Dr. Delgado also has an amazing bedside manner.  The nurses were all just so sweet and caring that I literally was not nervous at all.  I knew from the moment I walked in the door that everything was going to go perfectly and it did. 

Since I traveled to California from the Midwest to have my surgery, Dr. Delgado's staff set me up with a local caregiver named Sandra.  She took me to my hotel after surgery and stayed with me overnight.  She taught me how to use my drains and made sure I got settled in with everything I needed.  Since my plane arrived late I didn't have time to go to the grocery store for supplies before surgery so Sandra went to the store for me and got me all setup.  I just can't say enough good things about Sandra.  She is just the sweetest lady and very kind and caring. 

Well, I hope my story so far will help those men out there who are sitting on the fence to make up their mind and book the surgery.  I'm VERY happy with how seamless my surgery went and I would encourage anyone who might be afraid to just do it.  It will change your life for the better.  Now I will be able to wear t-shirts and Polo shirts without making women jealous that I had nicer boobs than they did. 

 

[jt1974]

Five days later...........

Okay, so it has been 5 days since I had surgery with Dr. Delgado and two day since my drains were removed.  My bruising has really picked up but I keep feeling better and better with every passing hour. 

I have taken two showers so far and I was honestly pretty freaked out during my first shower.  I had a LOT of fat/tissue removed from my chest and under my armpits so when I took my compression vest off everything felt like it was kinda hanging by a thread.  Nothing was really moving around, but the sensation of my chest being detached from the muscle underneath was really strange.  That being said, I took it very slow and easy in the shower and then coated my incisions with Bacitracin and gauze and wrapped my chest back up.  I feel pretty good as long as I keep everything compressed and I'm sure as time goes on and my tissues begin to re-attach that the strange sensations will subside.

I guess I'm at the point where some cosmetic surgery patients begin to have second thoughts or become depressed.  I'll admit I came to the realization that this was a bigger deal than I had anticipated in terms of healing/recovery, but I have absolutely no regrets.  So far things are looking up and I'm taking the long view.  I'm willing to suffer some pain for the next few weeks or months because in the end, I'll be able to join my three kids at the pool and I'll never again cheat them out of any activities because I was embarassed about my chest.

[Bobby - LAgyne]

congrats on your surgery!
will you be posting any pics? it is appreciated.

[jt1974]

I will be posting pictures at about 30 days post surgery.  I'm currently just under 3 weeks post op and things are healing up pretty well.  I'll post before and after pictures from several angles. 

I had a fair amount of bruising following surgery and although the contours look good, my bruising might scare off a few people who are thinking about the surgery.  I think after 30 days people will be able to focus on my contours more than the bruises and that will give a better representation of what the final product will look like.  Obviously, things will still be settling down for the next 6 months so I'll continue to follow up as time goes on.  However, for now I'd prefer to wait until the 30 day mark before posting "after" pictures.

In other news........I'm feeling terrific and I'm back to living a 99% normal life.  I'm just not doing any heavy lifting, but other than that I feel great and none of my co-workers or family (other than my wife) have any idea that I even had surgery.  Several people told me that it looks like I've lost weight, but nobody has figured out that I got my boobs cut off.   

Well, I'll post again around the last week of July 2012 with a series of pictures. 

-JT