poland diary 3 weeks

[april24th2007]

Its been 3 weeks since my surgery in poland (april 24th 2007). 15 to 20% of my gyne is gone only.  I am hoping by next month more will be reduced.
I arrived at berlin airport and had to wait as the taxi driver richard was 3 hours late.  He didn't speak a word of english.  And Andreas live 500 km away in a different city.  So make sure you speak to him several times before traveling. The clinic was not too far from berlin.  Almost 1 hour till we reached.  It was quite clean and nicely done.  Staff was freindly but very few of them spoke english.
I was taken to my room where i met another guy from the UK who was on this forum.  This was a pleasant suprise.  I definately recomen going with someone as you will be bored to death alone there (inless you can watch CNN for 2 days straight).
The place is in a really small town with some small places to eat pizza and french fries.  Everything is waling distance.  There is a super market as well.
We met with Dr. Anthony.  He speaks english.  He discussed the operation and cost etc.  We paid him. Met the Doctor and the anestiologist.  went back to the room.  In about 30 minutes I went in for the surgery.  Woke up in the recovery room.  Felt a little dizzy but minor pain.  went back to the room and slept.  Didn't have too much pain in the chest.  Back was hurting and my neck from sleeping on my back side the whole time.  They gave us food and water in the clinic and any medicine we wanted.  The staff was good about chceking on us as well.
Stayed there for 2 nights then I went to Berlin and stayed in a hotel there for 1 night.  Then back home.  I recomend you all to stay an extra(third night) in Germany.  Because first 2 days you really can't move around too much and cant shower and stuff.
Another recomendation, buy a compression vest before you go. They give you a black one but it starts to stink up as the straps are in your underarm region and you don't shower till the third day. Also you can see it through clothes.  I suggest a white one.  Theres has some metal buttons on them which set off the detectors in the airport.  Another suggestion, buy some water proof bandages before you go so your stitches don't get wet in the shower.
By the way, the clinic has a nice bathroom.  Take some magazines with you for sure and/or a book to read).
There is a small garden outside the clinic where you can walk around and smoke.  For you smokers - you are allowed to, but trust me you won't want to.  You'll just want to rest and sleep.
Another point to note - nobody will understand if you say Sublice.  It is pronounces Subize.  The hotel there is a 2 star at best.  keep this in mind.  It is only a 3 minute drive from the clinic.  The driver richard will pick you up in the morning.
Another suggestion, pack light.  You won't need too many clothes and you don't want to carry heavy wieght after the op.
Overall I was quite happy with the experiece.  It is nothing fancy, but like a no-frills surgery.  I felt safe and thought the Drs knew what they were doing. It was worth the value-money.  I recomend it to others.
By the way, I did not have much bruising.  Just some swelling which I am hoping will go down because it seems that maximum 20% of my gyne is gone.
Please feel free to ask any questions.  I will be glad to help.
Thank you to all of you who helped me in the begining and convinced me that this would be the correct decision.  Thanks notfedup, mark etc..

[april24th2007]

Some more advice- Book your surgery directly, not through the UK office as they charge a hefty commision.

Also, please note that hotel in Poland costs about 40 Euros for the small room and a little more for a bigger one.

Things are still fresh in my mind so please feel free to ask any ?'s if you are going or interested.

Oh yes, the driver doesn't meet you at the arrival point in the airport, instead at some information desk nearby.  So look around for a guy holding your name on a board.

[Bob1981]

Thanks for that April 24th, it's very very useful to have feed back from post-op people.  I've heard enough goods things about Sublice now and have more than enough saved, so I'm hoping to go myself sometime before October.    Any photos? 

[outertrial]

15 to 20% of my gyne is gone only.

Do you have before and after pics you can show us? It would be helpful for people planning to go to this clinic.

[NotFedup]

ah im glad you too enjoyed the expierience
Just remember that it can take upto a year for the final results.
im  7 months post op and still notice changes for the better month by month
so be patient

[april24th2007]

THanks ntofedup.  I was actually going to ask you about that. Because it seems at best 20% of my gyn is gone.  There is some hard tissue under the nipples. I'm hoping thats just swelling and will go away soon.  Can you shed some more light on this and let me know how gradual the difference was. For example, what % reduced after 1 month, 2 months etc..  Thanks.

To the guy above. Sorry have no pre-op pics.  I hated my gyne and didn't take any.  I'll take some photos exactly 1 month post op and put them on here.

Don't be afraid of booking with this Doctor.  He was very skilled and had a good team around him.  I felt safe and comfortable at all times.  I would definately recomend you going at your earliest convenience.

[outertrial]

THanks ntofedup.  I was actually going to ask you about that. Because it seems at best 20% of my gyn is gone.

Don't be afraid of booking with this Doctor.  He was very skilled and had a good team around him.  I felt safe and comfortable at all times.  I would definately recomend you going at your earliest convenience."

I'm sorry but I'm just not seeing the connection between these two statements. I've been on these boards since people started going to Poland and there have been too many people having to go back for revisions in my opinion.

Nevertheless I really hope that you get the results you're looking for,  certainly there are some happy Poland vets here like NotFedUp.

[Jackd]

outertrial, thing is, I've been looking around these forums for a couple of weeks now and seeing post reports from various surgens uk and abroad, and lots of people have had to go back for revisions etc. Seems to be more like the results will vary depending on how bad/type of gyne each patient has. I'm seeing pictures posted from two different people who go to the same surgeon, one looks great the other doesn't look as good as the first one and needs revisions etc. Seems that every surgeon in the world will have good and bad reports.

I'm not defending the Poland surgery, but at the minute it's still no.1 on my list when I can afford it as I've seen more good reports than bad.... But everyone has said how good and professional the team and the premises are.

As I say, I'm not trying to be pro-poland or anti-poland, but I think what april24th was saying in the posts you quoted is that the team and premises are very good and professional, but for him the results arent as good as expected and may need a revision.

Anyway, aren't you meant to leave it a good 6 months before seeing the "true" results and then consider whether a revision is needed or not?

[NotFedup]

right at 6 weeks i started to massage the hard lumps (scar tissue is what it is)
at about 9 weeks the lumps were gone and was 100% smooth
some days the swelling was moreso than others and was dependent on the clothes i wore and the heat conditions.
at around 20 weeks i noticed the swelling was coming and going having 1 bad swelling day every now and again.
It will vary in every person and just remember to be patient.
remember that looking down on your chest is not the true picture of what your chest looks like.
Look in a mirror

[outertrial]

Anyway, aren't you meant to leave it a good 6 months before seeing the "true" results and then consider whether a revision is needed or not?

Thats right, up to a year sometimes. Check out stonecolds (orrible) diary and he only got the results he was looking for after a year.

[april24th2007]

thanks a lot for the advise.  really appreciate it.

I'm praying swelling goes down soon as the summer is here.

By the way, I went to my GP just for a quick check up and he said that the surgeon did a very good job.

[april24th2007]

And yeah, jack is right.  Revision depends on how bad your case was. How much lipo you had done.  How big your gland is etc.

I was at the clinic for 2 days and there 5 surgeries including mine that took place.  3 of us were gyne patients.  other 2 were women.

So the doctor is experienced. 

And 20% gyne gone and its not even been 1 month.  I'm hoping the swelling goes down further.

[patientx1]

Hey April24th - I had my op in Poland on Mar 1st and am thinking of revision already. Its been 4 months and I've not really seen any change in the last 2. I'm not trying to put a dampener on things because everyone is different , but neither do I want to be unrealistic, and my patience after 5yrs post my 1st op, is running out.

My point? Well I'm just looking for feedback and critism from other people. It looks as if there has been like a 25% improvement, which isn't exactly a dream come true, and I'm hearing similar from the majority of post poland people also.

When is it time to say "right, its time to do something else about it...?" I'm not sure if I can wait 6 months, and I'm certainly not hanging around for a year!

Opinions welcome. What % of people actually see results AFTER 6 months (or even 4!)?

[outertrial]

I just clicked the links to your pictures. If anything it looks as though you have a concavity 

[Bob1981]

I think Patientx1's problem wasn't removal of gland/gyn but 'tidying up' after a problematic previous operation.  The concavity was from a previous operation, right Patientx1?