KARIDIS SURGERY - NOVEMBER 2016 - PHOTOS AVAILABLE

[Chief Brody]

Hi Guys,

I am a 40 year old guy who's lived with gyno since my late teens. It has never really bothered me up until now and I've managed to accept it for 20 odd years, however during the last year or so the condition has really got me down. I'm a regular gym goer who's always maintained a reasonable level of fitness and about 12 months ago I really got into weight training with a view to building some muscle and shifting excess body fat. I've made some great progress but I now find myself left with these two golf ball like lumps of solid mass behind my nipples and it's driving me crazy. The gyno has become progressively worse as I've stripped the body fat away and it looks awful.

I went to my local GP for some advice and whilst he was very sympathetic to my situation, he basically said that cosmetic surgery on the NHS is not an option and the only way I could rid myself of the condition was to opt for private surgery. By chance I found this forum a couple of months ago and after reading some of the success stories and amazing transformations I decided to get it sorted once and for all and I'm booked in to see Dr. Karidis for a consultation with a view to getting surgery as soon as possible.

I have a few questions that I hope some of you guys may be able to answer:

1. Does Karidis offer surgery under local anesthetic? This appears to be the norm in the US and I'm just curious as to why UK surgeons favour putting you under. I've had a general anesthetic several times before so it's not really an issue, however I'd always prefer to be awake during any procedure.

2. How long do you recommend post surgery before starting weight training back at the gym? I'm really keen to get back into my fitness regime as soon as possible without compromising the end results.

Cheers for now!

[williamb]

Good luck buddy! I can't answer any of your questions but had an email back from the karidis team today! I'm going to phone them tomorrow and make my consultation appointment with a view of getting it done toward the end of November!

[neverlookback]

Hi Guys,

I am a 40 year old guy who's lived with gyno since my late teens. It has never really bothered me up until now and I've managed to accept it for 20 odd years, however during the last year or so the condition has really got me down. I'm a regular gym goer who's always maintained a reasonable level of fitness and about 12 months ago I really got into weight training with a view to building some muscle and shifting excess body fat. I've made some great progress but I now find myself left with these two golf ball like lumps of solid mass behind my nipples and it's driving me crazy. The gyno has become progressively worse as I've stripped the body fat away and it looks awful.

I went to my local GP for some advice and whilst he was very sympathetic to my situation, he basically said that cosmetic surgery on the NHS is not an option and the only way I could rid myself of the condition was to opt for private surgery. By chance I found this forum a couple of months ago and after reading some of the success stories and amazing transformations I decided to get it sorted once and for all and I'm booked in to see Dr. Karidis for a consultation with a view to getting surgery as soon as possible.

I have a few questions that I hope some of you guys may be able to answer:

1. Does Karidis offer surgery under local anesthetic? This appears to be the norm in the US and I'm just curious as to why UK surgeons favour putting you under. I've had a general anesthetic several times before so it's not really an issue, however I'd always prefer to be awake during any procedure.

2. How long do you recommend post surgery before starting weight training back at the gym? I'm really keen to get back into my fitness regime as soon as possible without compromising the end results.

Cheers for now!

Hi mate, I'm booked in for surgery at the end of the month with Karidis. Well done for taking your first step with booking the consultatuon it's always under general as you will have glandular breast tissue cut out. Local anesthetic is only used as far as I am aware if it's pseudo gyno and you only need fat removed with lipo, from the sounds of it you have real gyno. 2 weeks and most people start doing exercise again apparently, but not on the upper body...I think that's at least a month...everyone is different though. Speak soon man

[Pedro84]

I'm nearly 3 weeks and i dont think ill be hitting the gym for at least another couple weeks yet. Not worth risking any damage - i have my whole life left to hit the gym once the op heals up. 
I went with karidis and went under general - i was shitting it but it was such a breeze and my fears were all misplaced. It literally feels like you've napped for 30 mins or so. 

[Chief Brody]

Quick update guys!

I had my consultation with Karidis this morning. It was exactly as others on here have described, a quick 15 minute chat about the condition - how long I've had it etc. etc. He then asked me to remove my top and proceeded to show me what was where. It turns out that I have a combination of fat and glandular tissue on both sides. "I can fix this for you no problem" he said, "I do about a hundred of these operations every year". "You'll be nice and flat and be able to see the full definition in your pec muscles for the first time ever"

He also carefully explained the risks that accompany surgery (bleeding, infection etc.) but went on to say it's rare. About 1 percent of cases may need a little tweek further down the line but he stands by his work and any follow up surgery is free of charge. I found this very reassuring.

So that was it, I walked out of the consultation room and paid the deposit for my surgery there and then - I'm booked in for the middle of November. I had my bloods taken before I left as I couldn't be bothered booking an appointment with my own GP and all the hassle that goes with getting results analysed and sent off. The nurse who took my samples said the results will go up to Karidis office the very next day.

For anybody who is interested, here is a breakdown of the costs:

Consultation £150

Karidis Fee £3,830

Hospital Fee £1,483

Blood Tests £150

Total £5,613

I must say I kind of feel liberated already. All well and good, I'll be free of gyno in 7 weeks time and I can look forward to hitting the gym hard over the winter in time for next summer. No more twisting my nipples to get rid of the puffiness, no more pulling clothes off my chest in hot weather and no more trying to suck my chest in hoping to make it look smaller. I've even got t-shirts that have worn patches of fabric around the nipple areas where I've continually rubbed it. The things we do in an attempt to live with and mask this condition.

[Pedro84]

Amazing! Congrats man. 
That's exactly the price I paid for it all.
Just a quick tip - I booked in for November and called up frequently to check for cancellations and managed to get one the week after my consultation!  
I'm 3 weeks post op tomorrow and just dealing with some scar tissue at the moment - like everyone said i'm massaging it etc and hopefully it will sod off soon so i can start enjoying life! 
Best decision you'll ever make

[williamb]

Congratulations mate! I've been in contact with the karidis team today and my plan is to book the consultation tomorrow! How much was the deposit? And we're you able to pick any date? Or did you just go for the closest possible?

[Chief Brody]

Congratulations mate! I've been in contact with the karidis team today and my plan is to book the consultation tomorrow! How much was the deposit? And we're you able to pick any date? Or did you just go for the closest possible?

Hi buddy,

I opted for the first available date and paid a deposit of £1,300 to secure it. I also asked them to let me know if he gets any cancellations as I'm keen to get it out the way asap.

He's currently booking for mid-late November.

[williamb]

Yeah I asked that question today! My plan was to book my consultation earlier this week but I decided to give myself some time to really think about it... although I know my mind is made up! I've opted against pursuing the NHS route... looks like I might be looking at early December! I think they said there now booking consultations from the week commencing the 3rd November!

[Chief Brody]

I actually made the call to book a consultation back in August when abroad on holiday. I was so down with the way I looked  round the swimming pool I just had to do something about it so I got on the phone and committed to getting it sorted once and for all.

I too explored the NHS route but it soon became apparent that I was flogging a dead horse. I'm sure I could have played on it and pleaded chronic depression, frightened to go out etc. and possibly got the surgery done for free, but this would have been a drawn out process and there would be no guarantee I'd get a decent surgeon to perform the procedure. Karidis informed me that others will do it, but the results can be very hit and miss. They may only do a handful of operations every year, he does 100 plus and has been doing this for many years. I figured if I'm going to spend £5k of my hard earned cash I want the best.  

[williamb]

Didn't  realise you'd booked your consultation so long ago!

It's only really the last couple of weeks I've seriously started looking at this as an option! I set it in motion by going and seeing my GP... but since reading these forums I always new I would only have it done with Karidis!

I really don't think 5k is much considering the benefit! I'd much rather spend the money on surgery than get a new car or whatever...

Mine is quite mild.. but still visible with a thin tee on! Looking forward to getting the ball rolling!

[Chief Brody]

Yeah I called the clinic back end of August and got a consultation booked for one month later. It's a bit of a waiting game but the times between enquiry, consultation and surgery are minimal (just a matter of weeks). You'd be looking at months or possibly years on the NHS if that was an option.

Good luck with the consultation. Be sure to keep us updated.

[moreton8000]

Hi Dogudders,
I had my appointment with Karidas today and I'm also booked in to have my op in middle of November!
He's a great guy. Obviously knows what he's doing. The staff at the practice were also really lovely.
Can't wait to get this done now!

[Chief Brody]

Update:

My operation is only a few days away and all going well, I will finally be free of gyno come the end of the week. I must say the last 7 weeks since I booked the surgery has flown by and I am excited at the prospect of having a flat chest again for the first time in over 20 years. I know the recovery process is going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride but I know it will be worth it in the end.

I have put up some pre-op pictures to show the current state of my gyno. As you will see I suffer from very pronounced puffy nipples due to the solid lumps of tissue behind both areola's. The combination of fat and gland is also masking any pec muscle definition I might have.

[Chief Brody]

GYNO CLOSE UP!