surgery in may.....what should i expect

[svtcobra]

im new to this forum and thank god i found it........u guys all f@#$in' rock. Im planning to have surgery in early may. My problem is im not really sure what to expect post surgery. I have a muscular build and good chest definition (except for gyno w/ "puffies"). I plan on posting a pic or two soon.......but how can u tell or get am idea of what it will look like post surgery. Thanks

[svtcobra]

also..........i have tons of questions but don't know where to start...

[vaio]

Post op day 1 you will be your worst nightmare, taking it you are athletic. You look like sh*t, feel like sh*t and are stuck in the house. You won't be able to take a shower for a few days, so don't be too active. I learned this the hard way. Everything will get better very fast.
Just make sure you have lots of compression on the area. Use a compression vest and an ACE bandage wrapped as tight as you can stand it. Also, sleep at an incline. Its very hard to do but for the first week well worth it.
Continue working out and keeping your chest as best muscle wise as you can. It will make things easier for you and the ps.


Good luck

[I-Hate-Gyno]

                                   :o:o:o
      No showers, I guess I can finally do a cowboy bath.

  I-H-G

[jc71]

If you have a good muscular build and good chest definition you've won half the battle already.  

As far as getting an idea of the final results.  You'd probably see some type of improvement immediately after the swelling goes down. The rest is up to your body and how quick it wants to repair itself.  Could be up to a year. But probably much sooner than that.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Check out my Pics ( Linky in the Sig ).

Like Vaio said.... You look/feel like shyte :-/. I'm almost 1 month Post-Op and am just starting to feel good again. The worst part about Post-Op was not being able to lay on my side in bed for the first couple of weeks. Most annoying ! I lke to sleep on my right side mostly and it's the right side that had most of the work done.

Recovery is a pain in the butt ( or shoud I say chest ) but it's a small price to pay to be Gyne free! .

Regards...

John.  

[rcbrown23]

"Bambu"...your really coming along nicely. One of the better one's I've seen considering your pre-pics. It was a fairly moderate case, to put it lightly.

I'm going to intervene here and say that recovery is not near as bad as they're making it out to be. From what it sounds like, you have a mild glandular case.

First thing that I need to say here, and I can't stress this enough, is MAKE SURE YOU'VE CHOOSEN THE RIGHT DOCTOR! Make sure he's done many of these procedures before, and you feel comfortable with him. Believe it or not, many plastic surgeons out there do not know what they're doing when it comes to gynecomastia. I have waited 1 year to finally have a revision operation to fix what the last doctor did not. And I am not the only one, by far.

OK, that being said...your probably getting excision, and maybe a little lipo to boot, right? If your case is mild, then recovery will not be bad at all. You can probably shower the day after, or maybe the next. You just have to take the compression vest off, and try not to get the area and stitches too wet, then put the vest back on right afterwards. By day 3 I felt fine, just a little sore in the chest.

Also, I'm not sure about the continuing to work out thing. I have heard that if you strain yourself within, like, three weeks, your more prone to getting the horrid scar tissue that can be as bad as gyne itself. Just my opinion, but I'd say don't do anything too strenous for 3 weeks.

            My two cents...

                                   -Brown

Post some pics, and tell us what operation your haveing and that will help.

[headheldhigh01]

vaio, what's the story on sleeping at incline, i assume feet down, reduces fluid accumulation?  

[Grandpa Bambu]

"Bambu"...your really coming along nicely. One of the better one's I've seen considering your pre-pics. It was a fairly moderate case, to put it lightly.

Yeah, I would imagine that recovery experience all depends on what the Doc has to do. The less the Doc has to do, the easier the recovery should be. JCF said that I was much larger than most. Many of the pics that I have seen on this Site are of much milder cases.

The recovery process has been much easier that I thought it would be though. Not alot of pain just uncomfortable at times. Such as sleeping on my right side. :-/

[vaio]

vaio, what's the story on sleeping at incline, i assume feet down, reduces fluid accumulation?  

Yes, thats why my ps recommended. They even sell incline pillows, on that web site on the gynecomastia main page. I believe it helped reducing my swelling alot.

Also I agree with Bambu on the recovery issue. On my calendar, I entitled the month or March "hell month".
I though the whole month I would be stuck in bed, and limited to everything. It wasent even like that. Should of called it "hell week" The first week I had issues with putting on cloths, shoes etc. Couldnt shower. I even had problems wipeing my ass after taking a crap. You cannot move you arms correctly for the first few days .

After the first week I felt completly normal.
At 1 week and 3 days post op, I was already back at the club scene! I chose not to drink anything, but you get my drift. The surgery is nothing.

[DrBermant]

im new to this forum and thank god i found it........u guys all f@#$in' rock. Im planning to have surgery in early may. My problem is im not really sure what to expect post surgery. I have a muscular build and good chest definition (except for gyno w/ "puffies"). I plan on posting a pic or two soon.......but how can u tell or get am idea of what it will look like post surgery. Thanks

What happens and what you look like after surgery depends on the problem to be treated, technique(s) used, skill of your surgeon, aftercare, and other factors.  My patients tell me that their recovery after surgery "was as good or better" than what they expected" from going over the many experiences of my patients posted on my site.  Take some time to go over the many pages of patient experiences that the last link starts with.

Although we give each of our patients a prescription for stong pain medication, my patients are also usually taking only plain Tylenol after the operation. Comfort after surgery is important.  That is why I have evolved techniques to minimize bruising and swelling after surgery.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture