surgury in nz

[welly]

hey guys, well this is my first post. Ive had gyne since i was about 10, im now 22 and have  hated living with it. It is something I find deeply embarrasing but found the stength to talk to a friend about it , then my mum. Both have been great . Ive booked the surgury in wellington with john masters who is doing the opp out of southern cross hospital. The date is for the 26th october. Im just so sick of having this on my mind and the normal worrys about clothes and what other peolpe are thinking. I would like to hear from other kiwi lads out there who have this problem or did have it but no longer

[afflicted]

I know you wanted to hear from some Kiwi's, but let me just say "I hear ya buddy".. I'm over worrying about how i look b4 i go anywhere, it's rediculous..
Good luck with it.  

[montyman198]

Hey Welly!

I'm in Christchurch and had my surgery at Southern Cross in May earlier this year by Peter Walker (www.plasticsurgery.co.nz).

I'm 31 now and have been aware that my chest was larger than normal since I was about 20 (I should point out that it wasn't THAT bad). I think it was caused by antidepressants I had taken between the age of 18 and 20. No one else ever noticed anything (if they did they never told me!), and even my partner hadn't noticed untill I told her about it in January this year when on holiday. She could see what the problem was when she looked, but prior to that hadn't noticed. Then again I always chose my clothing carefully :-)

I have always had a weight problem, and wanted to lose weight for our holiday over Christmas. I went from 95kg to 72kg, and was gutted at still having a big chest after it. I hoped losing the weight would make  difference, and while it did, it wasn't enough. That was the reason for talking to my girlfriend and seeing a surgeon. I soon after told my mother and close family (including my partners family). Everyone was quite supportive and I eventually felt quite comfortable discussing it.

I have to admit that I was very nervous about going into hospital to have it done, because I didn't know what to expect. In hindsight I needn't have bothered worrying because it was a breeze. The nurses were great! and it was clearly obvious I wasn't the first person with gynaecomastia they'd had through the door. I was initially shown to my room and after settling in they gave me a robe and told me to get into bed so they could wheel me into the theatre. I met the surgeon there who took photos and discussed the procedure (at which time I reminded him that I wanted as much removed as possible). I thought I was handling it all pretty well until one of the nurses said I looked petrified (stink!). Anyway... I dont remember anything untill I was back in my bed being wheeled back to my room. I remember seeing my girlfriend and mother in the hallway outside the door waiting for me (which was nice). My chest felt tight, but I think it was just the compression vest that they'd done up "very" tight. I was in hospital overnight and quite comfortable the whole time. The next day the surgeon came to see me who said he removed gland (3cm diameter) and 125ml of fat from each side. The whole precedure took 1.5 hours.

Getting up out of bed in hospital was pretty difficult and I had some trouble doing things for myself (particularly getting dressed). Make sure you have a shirt that buttons up at the front. Don't even THINK about wearing a top that pulls over your head - it ain't gonna happen! :-) For the first week you'll need a lot of help, sitting up, lifting things and stuff. Every day should be better than the last.

For a couple of weeks after surgery I had to support my chest in the car on bumpy roads. Make sure whoever drives you goes slowly.

The all up cost for the Surgery was $4,620, and I was fortunate that Southern cross paid $3,200 towards it. I never thought they would, but my surgeon said they were normally pretty good. He wrote to Southern cross on my behalf, who replied directly to me with the verdict. Despite being pre-approved, the anaesthetist and southern cross wanted cash in advance (not impressed!).

It's now 5 months on, and I'm not entirely sure if I'm happy with the results. I'm definately smaller and I'm thankful for that, but I'm slighlty larger on my right side than my left (my RHS increased in size 2-3 weeks after the surgery, and the nipple is puffy. My left side is fine. At the 6 week point I swelled up on my RHS after having the vest off for a couple of days and went back to see the surgeon who told me to wear the vest a further 6 weeks, as it was odoema (fluid build up).

I'm no longer wearing the vest but am still bigger on my RHS. I guess time will tell if I'll improve. Even if I never do I still look alot better than I did, and the scars are hard to see unless you look up close. I also don't have any feeling on either of my nipples, and while my surgeon says it will return, I couldn't care less! It doesn't bother me at all.

Since my surgery (especially after I stopped wearing the compression vest) I feel much more confident. It's probably the best thing I ever did for myself, and It's still (and will be for quite a while yet) a great feeling not to be self conscious anymore. Any further improvement will be a bonus!

Good luck for the 26th! I'm sure it will go smoothly :-)

[Mombo]

Hi guys,

I'm from Christchurch too. I've been lurking among these boards for a couple of weeks and finally thought i'd register.

I'm 5 days post op and stoked with the results so far. The whole process has been a piece of cake and I don't know why I didn't do it earlier. From the time I made the initial call for a consultation to the time I had the surgery took exactly 3 weeks.

Suffered with this since I was about 11 and i'm 24 now. All I can say is if you can afford to have it done, then do it. I was worried about it being embarrassing, but nah, it so isn't. The pain factor is minimal too, at least it was for me.

For the last day or so i've just been trying on t-shirts and other tops and I can't describe how good it feels to know I won't have to feel conscious of this whenever I go out.

Stay strong guys and definitely get the op if you can. I know how much this can ruin your life having experienced it first hand. Seriously can't remember the last time I went swimming? Must have been when I was about 10 years old. Ohhhh how sweet it's going to be ...

Cheers

Mombo

[braman]

Hiya NZ Guys

Hey Welly - how did you get on with the op in Wellington with John Masters? I am thinking of getting him to do my gyne surgery and was trying to track down anyone who had had surgery by him or had heard of what he is like.

Anyway I hope it happened and it was a beautiful thing.

[AnonNZ]

Welly, how did it go? It has been some years now and I'd like to know how things are looking since?

This seems to be the only post about the subject for New Zealand so here goes:

I've had what I'd call a mild case since I was about 10. Most of my life I've thought that it was fat, just me being a lazy slob - that maybe my body stored this weight in an unusual way. I felt disgusting and worthless... so I exercised and dieted to excess. It didn't matter how skinny I got or how much muscle I gained on my chest; these nipples and area of fat and gland still stuck out. I have't taken my shirt off in public since I was about 14 and don't plan to until this goes away. I spoke to my doctor the other day (I'm 22 now), who told me I have a 'normal amount of breast tissue'. I don't even know what that means, I don't see a whole bunch of other guys walking around carrying these in my age range. Thankfully I'm not the ugliest of guys and as long as I'm always careful about what I wear and don't let myself get into situations where I have to take my shirt off, I'm OK. It's not extremely visible with clothes on and if I've cut a lot and have worked out my chest area in the last day, a T shirt looks just fine.

I'd like to know if a mild case should consider surgery? It has definitely affected my in a significant way but what sort of results should I expect with a smaller amount of gland tissue? Also, while there are 2 small lumps under each nipple, the majority of the tissue is spread out in a web-like formation. How easy is this to remove? I'm also aware that fat tends to accumulate much easier around the breast tissue (as is common in females), which means that when the tissue is gone, things should look a hell of a lot better around there.

I'm checking out Dr Masters as well so would like to have some references, it's a pity that people don't seem to have posted here for some time though.

Montyman, what plan were you on with Souther Cross? I'm with them too but one of the exclusions of the plan is specifically 'gynaecomastia' so I'm worried about even applying.

Hope someone reads and replies soon...