Surgery in Chicago, performed by Dr. Pensler

[chiguy]

 My surgery was performed on 01/10/08 by Dr. Pensler in Chicago. The results are already better than i had anticipated in fact after the first week i would have been more than satisfied with the outcome, and knowing that it is only going to get better makes me exstatic. although i have no pictures posted yet they will be soon, i assure you. First off lets start by saying that this disorder is an emotionally devastating one at least to everyone that has it in my opinion and i think alot of people would agree. If i knew i could have avoided 12 years of anger and embarrasment in an hour and a half procedure i would have done this along time ago, but back then i did not know that this was something that would never go away and was not normal, or my fault. Two weeks proir to your procedure with Dr. Pensler you stop taking all protein powders, diet pills, fish oils, pretty much everything. One month prior stop taking aspirin completely ( aspirin is a blood thinner and is the cause of those horrible sounding drains that everyone on this site talks about). Dr. Pensler does not use drains unless you use aspirin or some other extreme circumstance arise's. the day before surgery you take an antibiotic (500mg Keflex). The day of surgery i was nervous as was i the two months i had to wait. Waiting is the worst part(not worse than living with this of course). First they weigh you to determine the amount of anastesia. next you take of you shirt and put on the paper gown and they take you to the operating room. They lay you on the table and Dr. Pensler starts the i.v. and you talk till you start mumbling. He then gives you a local in each breast. Then you wake up and they put the compression garment on and give you 2 tylenol #3 with coedine and put you in a wheelchair and take you to the car. It was seriously exactly like that. I took the tylenol for one day, 2 every 4 hours until it made me feel sick and then i stopped taking them and took regular tylenol. After  a week I stopped taking tylenol too. There's really not much pain as apposed to soreness. My car broke down on the seventh day and i had to push it on icy streets for a half a block so what does that tell you. The compression vest is super tight i wear a 48R suit jacket and the vest is  for 28-32'' underbuss. On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the worst gyno i was told i was a seven. I had exscision of glandular tissue from beneath the areola and the sides combined with ultrasonic liposuction. there's one small 1/4'' inscision in the armpit area on each side and an inscision under each areola, self dissolving stitches on the areolas open wound healing on the upper inscisions. I dont have any sagginess and im not worried at all about scar tissue. I have no bumpiness or hard things under my skin or irregularities. Both sides of my chest look the same (great).

[KryptoKnight]

Gratz, great to hear a success story.

It's odd that your doc told you to stop protein powders prior to the surgery sicne essentially all that is, is protein (compare it to a piece of chicken or some tuna).  Fish oil obviously makes since since it's a blood thinner like aspirin.

But anyways, welcome to the other side, I'm still healing myself on week 2 now (had my surgery on the 9th).

And it's very true how years and years of annoyance and embarrassment was cured in such a short amount of time (mine was done in 45 mins).  Kinda makes angry about it, but happy at the same time cause they're gone!

[chiguy]

I'm assuming that the reason for discontinuing protein powders is because of the vitamins in most of them particularly vitamin E, which your also supposed to avoid. The multivitamin you take should have no more than 30 IU (international units) of vitamin E. Also start reading your soap, shampoo, and anything else that you rub on your skin because vitamin E is one of a few vitamins that is absorbed through the skin.

[gynebegone2]

Congrats, I had mine done by Dr. Pensler at the beginning of FEB and am also happy with the results.

[hdcub]

Congrats to all you lucky bastards! LOL....I live in Joliet and want to have the surgery done, but the cost is a huge factor keeping from doing it. How much did the surgery cost total? And, also, does he require the whole amount up front or does he allow a payment plan of some type? I hope all your recoveries progress well and without any complications. Maybe, one day, I can post my post-op experience. Thanks for sharing. Steve.

[tunapuff]

Did Pensler suggest seeing an endo first?  Or is that something you should do on your own prior to consulting a PS?

[gynebegone2]

Dr. Pensler didn't suggest that I see an endo, but during the consult etc I think we went over how long I had it and when I got it (Had it since puberty and only changes moderately with weight gain/loss).  I'm guessing if your case sets off any flags he would suggest seeing one.  He seemed very knowledgeable about the condition and would more than likely suggest it if anything were suspect.

That being said, if you are concerned with the stability of your condition I would definitely not hesitate to see an endo on your own.  He mentioned an endocrinologist colleague of his that had some influence on his work in gynecomastia, and I know someone on here requested a refferal from him just to make sure.

You might want to have your consult with Dr. Pensler first and see who he recommends as they will probably be pretty experienced with gynecomastia.

[mizuno]

Do you have that endo's name ?
I'm thinking about testing just to make sure.

[gynebegone2]

Search the forum, I forgot who got the referral, but PM them and they should be able to get you some info.

Some tests etc might be covered by insurance but you might need to go to your GP to get a referral in that case.