Surgery booked, now getting cold feet... (with pictures!)

[Supersonic123]

I've had gynecomastia since I was a kid. Always have felt very self conscious without t-shirt on. I have a mild case of the gyne, compared to many I even have a very mild case. My story is no different though, compared to some of you guys with worse gynecomastia, the feelings are the same...

I've been looking for a good surgeon in Sweden for long, and I've finally found one that I trust. I have only spoken to him via telephone because I live in Gothenburg and the clinic he works on is located in Stockholm (3 hour train trip away), so we did consultation with phone call with me sending pictures.

I realize doing surgery comes with a risk. Even though my surgeon seems confident he can help me with my problem, I'm still worried about it looking worse than now (since my case is mild). I still have hard accepting my chest looking this way, and everytime I look in the mirror I feel sad. When I was a kid I was a bit tubby, and now that I'm pretty slim, I still feel "fat" because before finding out what gynecomastia was I just assumed I was fat. Bad self image so to speak...

Do you think I can get good results with surgery, or is the risk of complication not worth it? If I don't do the surgery I will hate my puffy nipples the rest of my life, there is no doubt about that. But reality is it could be worse. I have saved money for surgery, my surgeon sounds like he knows what he's doing, and I really dream of having the choice to put on a tight, white t-shirt and feel proud of my body and not walk like a old man trying to hide my breasts with dark shirts etc...

Please help me, I can't even sleep good anymore because I'm so anxious, don't want to regret this decision for the rest of my life. I know the choice is 100% mine, but input really helps. Risk of bad surgery results vs ashamed of my moobs the rest of my life, it's a hard decision...

[hammer]

 I just showed your post to my wife Debbie, and she said that in her younger days she would have considered you handsome! She also said the she felt your chest looks fine.

I share my post and other with her a lot as we are very close, and I would have to agree with her that you don't need to spend the money for surgery, but that being said, you must do what you need to do!

Yes, there are risk to every and any surgery so you need to weigh the pros and cons, and if there are more cons then pros, then let's work on the self confidence! If the pros out number the cons, then have the surgery.

Good luck with all of this and I am here to talk if you want, and God Bless!

Bob

[Paa_Paw]

I looked back and found your pictures. You do not have nearly enough tissue on your chest to be a member of my family.

I will not be so rude as to say you have no problem, but I will say that I honestly do not see a problem.

I have known many people here who would hope to look that good after surgery.

[Hi_Top_Guy]

Hi Supersonic123,

I was like you and had a mild case of gynecomastia, so I know what you're going through, especially reading about some of the horror stories of guys who got disappointing results from their surgeons.

I had surgery on June 04, 2012, so I'm almost at the 2-month point. I'm very happy with my results as I'm totally flat and my chest looks much more masculine than before. Of course I'm still in the healing stages, but I am amazed at my results.

The one thing that concerned me was getting keloid scars, which are raised scars from cuts etc., that form on the skin. I get those on my chest really easily and when my surgeon saw some old ones, he made the decision to do everything through the aureola to hide the incision and deal with any scarring there. Luckily, that area where he cut hasn't developed any keloids and I can't even see the cut.

Here's what help me decide my case:

When I went in for my consultation, I asked my doctor if I were a good candidate for the surgery (excision and liposuction) and he said yes. I also asked if the benefits far outweighed any risk that I was taking and he again said yes.

We discussed what he would do for the procedure, and what would happen if I were unhappy with the results (and how much it would cost me).  This is where he really put me at ease because he has a revision policy in place, and it's written down on paper when you sign the surgery consent forms, so if I were unhappy with my results, my revision surgery would only cost me $500 to cover the anesthesiologist's fee and my doctor wouldn't charge me anything.

He also had in place, injections that could be done after surgery for flattening out keloid scars,  and/or anything else that might have popped up.

We also discussed some of the common problems that occur with this type of surgery like crater deformity and he told me that was due to the surgeon removing too much tissue from the chest, so his approach was to do it modestly because it's easier to go back in (if needed) to remove more tissue, than it is to correct a crater deformity.

Anyway, my point is that my doctor made me feel that he was willing to stand by his work and that he was going to be a willing and helpful partner in this endeavor. He explained everything to me fully, so that I understood what was going to happen, and he also made me feel comfortable that -- if anything went wrong or if I was unhappy with the results -- he would fix it, at minimal cost to me. I think that was the key.

Remember, there is no plastic surgeon out there who can guarantee what your outcome will be because there are so many variables going on like how you heal, how much was done, etc., etc. that they can only do the best job they can do (with what they know) and then your body takes over and does the rest. The only thing you and the doctor can do is hope for the best outcome, but make sure there's a plan B for corrections just in case.

Even if you went to a surgeon with a long list of fabulous clients with great results, doesn't mean that you'll get the same results, since every person is different, and a good doctor will tell you the same thing.

Just make sure you know where your doctor stands on revisions and how much it'll cost you if you need additional work from being unhappy with your results. Once you find that out, and it's something that you find agreeable, and you feel like the doctor will stand by his work, then go for it!  

I didn't think that the results would be as dramatic as they would be, but they are. Now when I look down, I don't see the two mounds on my chest and I don't miss them at all!

Good luck, Supersonic   . None of us can tell you what to do, but we're all here to lend a hand of support so keep us posted.

[Supersonic123]

Hi_Top_Guy, thank you for your long and kind reply. I actually talked to my surgeon two days ago, and asked for corrections, and he said that it is free! He does hundreads of surgerys every year (not gynecomastia but all kind of surgery), and only does about 2 or 3 corrections a year, because of good results. But he said that if I was not happy after the healing period, it would cost me nothing to fix the problems I would have after that, and that really felt great.

My surgeon also talked about leaving some fat and tissue, he said it would heal nicer. And the picture I saw, (only got to see one picture via "web conferance" were I would see his screen live, he didn't want to mail pictures of patiens, which I actually thought was very professional) and the results looked nice on that patient.

I do trust my doctor because he sounded down to earth, and even though he only does about 20 gynecomastia surgeries a year I think he can do the job, espessialy because I don't have big case of gyne and hopefully that wont lead to saggy skin etc.

Is there anyone out there reading this and have done surgery with mild case like mine, please give me your honest opinion on surgery, it is one of the biggest choices I have to do in my life and I really feel it's now or never.

[Hi_Top_Guy]

Also, it's helpful if you can email/talk with your doctor's previous patients who went through the same surgery.

I don't know if there's a website in your country, but here we can check on the internet if the doctor is board certified and if there are any complaints or infractions against the doctor and his/her practice. That also helps so you know the doctor you choose doesn't have any problems against them.

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask. 

[Supersonic123]

Im now thinking I should loose some weight before doing surgery. Im so afraid it will look worse than now. So many in here are dissapointed with results. Maybe I should save money and go to uk or USA to see gynecomastia specialist surgeon to be sure. My surgeon only does about 20 a year, is this very little? =/

[Supersonic123]

Im to scared, ill skip surgery and try to work on cardio excersise and building self esteem instead. In the end, nobodys perfect and bad results would really break me down since i only have mild gyne now.

[hammer]

Im to scared, ill skip surgery and try to work on cardio excersise and building self esteem instead. In the end, nobodys perfect and bad results would really break me down since i only have mild gyne now.

Supersonic, this is part of what some of us have been trying to help you understand! I am willing to try and help with building self esteem!

Bob

[Showtime620]

Hey man.  Haven't seen your pictures, but I think you're in the same boat I was in 4.5 months ago.  Some on these forums would've considered my case to be mild with surgery being unnecessary.  Like you, I had the same fear: "What if I get butchered and end up ALWAYS feeling self conscience about my chest?  Then I'd always dwell upon the money and pain I went through only to look worse that I did before!!!"  I was tired of wearing dark shirts, or having to pinch my nipples before I stood up!  So, I did my best to squash those fears and jump in head first.  I had my surgery on March 22nd, 2012 and 4.5 months later, I'm thrilled. 

I lost a good amount of weight leading up to (and after!) surgery which honestly made my goofytitties appear more profound, to me at least.  Cardio does nothing for gyne, and lifting chest only seems to make them stick out more.   

I thought about surgery many times in years past, only to psyche myself out - like you're doing now - and still be unhappy, and eventually end up getting it done years later; I wish I would've done it sooner.  Could you get a bad result? Yes. Could you also get a great result?!  YES!  You have to weigh it out for YOURSELF.  Personally, it's the best thing I've ever done.

Hi-Top gave good advice - Check out the doctor's history for complaints and whatnot.  See his before and after photos.  Talk to him as much as you need to feel confident.  If he is a general plastic surgeon that does 20 gyne surgeries a year, I think that's sufficient; think about it, that's one just about every other week.  Through these message boards, I've found that often the doctors would proclaim themselves to be the 'gyne-expert' or the 'gyne-removal-master' etc. are often crummy doctors who just remove glands, don't contour the chest, and don't follow up with much, if any, post-op care.   Do your homework and you'll feel more confident.

"What a shame it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." - Socrates

[Hi_Top_Guy]

Supersonic123, I saw your pics that you posted and you're already very thin. You can try to lose more weight, but it won't make your chest look any smaller. Even at my thinnest, weighing 150-pounds at 5 foot 9 inches, and a 30 waist, with low body fat and muscle definition, my nipples were still puffy and the whole area around my pecs looked off.

But self-esteem is VERY IMPORTANT, too, and if you feel like that is something you need to work on first, than you should do that.

Showtime, you and me were all in the same boat with the mild/moderate gynecomastia. He got his surgery before mine and was very encouraging to me, but it all came down to my own decision. I was ready mentally and physically to do it, but it took me years to come to that choice. So we totally get what you're going through.

It is a scary choice to have to make, and I think that a lot of people take plastic surgery too lightly. They only see the end results (especially on shows like "Extreme Makeover") and think that it is some kind of miracle and that you can be perfect, when in reality, any type of surgery carries risks, and in some cases the results are worse than if they left things alone.

No matter what you decide to do, always remember this: correcting the gynecomastia will not make you popular, happy, content, perfect, at peace, make people love you or anything else because all these things are related to the inside and how you feel about yourself. Sure, having the surgery will boost your self-confidence and make you feel lighter, and like Showtime wrote 'why didn't I do this sooner' -- to which I second that -- but it won't give you those things if you don't already have them.

In any case, keep us posted on your progress. 

[Supersonic123]

Thanks so much for the replies... I will work hard at the gym and try to loose some kilos, now I weigh 80 kg and will try to go down to maybe 75, and if my gyne is no better then, well, I'll have to do the surgery. I'll definitely keep you updated. Thinking about doing a training diary on this site and posting pictures and measurements and see if cardio training will do ANY thing to help my chest look a little bit more masculine. Seeing some results on surgery on this site really freaks me out, for example: www.gynecomastia.org/smf/14/my-healing-journal-(with-pics)/ (looks terrible imo)

[hammer]

I would have to agree with you! Your chest as it is looks better then poor mister bob!

Good luck supersonic!

[Supersonic123]

Please stop writing in my threads hammer. Feel free to post in other threads but after your religious mumbo jumbo in the other thread I can't take anything you say seriously and everytime YOU write "don't do surgery" it actually makes me want to do it even more. So respect this is my thread and I do not want your opinion.

[Showtime620]

That's great advice from Hi Top! 

Just looked at that link. Don't think the results are great - yet. But also don't know what his case was like pre-op.  Like hi top said, alot of us think that we'll get immediate gratification, when in fact the healing process takes a while -  at least three months at the earliest.  Scars and nipple creases are common and take a little while to works themselves out.  He might be looking better than those pics showed at this point.  Private message me your email address. And I'll send you some pics throughout my healing if you're interested.