My diary. 8 months post op. Surgery with Karidis.

[Roversboy]

Blue2,

Thanks for a brilliant thread, I've put up with this for 27yrs (now 40yrs old ), but this has motivated me to do something about it, so like you I'm going to book myself in with Karidis, and start the journey from Lime Street station down to London. Thanks for the inspiration & if I'm brave enough then hopefully I'll post some pics and start my own Diary.

Many, many thanks!!

[Blue2]

Blue2,

Thanks for a brilliant thread, I've put up with this for 27yrs (now 40yrs old ), but this has motivated me to do something about it, so like you I'm going to book myself in with Karidis, and start the journey from Lime Street station down to London. Thanks for the inspiration & if I'm brave enough then hopefully I'll post some pics and start my own Diary.

Many, many thanks!!

Great move mate, you won't regret it. I too was a bit nervous at first but once I had myself booked in for the sugery, it couldn't come around quick enough. I am now well on the road to recovery and I am looking forward to my first 'breastless' summer. 

Good luck.

[fed-up]

Hey Blue2, you're results so far are excellent - congratulations. Im finding your diary very helpfull, as i train a lot with weights and cardio - and im seeing Karidis for a consultation tomorrow - with the intention of having surgery with him.
You're bodyfat is noway more than around 15% - 17%, the scales you have dont take into account muscle mass - i.e. it thinks you are 13 stone of fat! hence the reading of 28% you had.
Anyway - many thanks for your pictures and diary, im glad you have the results you were hoping for!

FED-UP

[Blue2]

Hope your consultation goes well. And yes, I think you are right about the scales!  I got some calipers and did a couple of readings and I reckon I am about 17% BF.  I defo think I was over 25 before I started dieting though so I am going in the right direction.

Big weekend for me this week. My wife and I had a weekend in the Lake District and yesterday was glorious. About 23°C and bright sunshine. But this was not the highlight...........I walked around with my top off!!!!! Oh yes, for the first time in my life I had the guts to do it and I can't tell you all how good it felt. Not a single 'funny look' from passers by, nothing. It made the £4K that I spent on my op seem like peanuts. I had my head held high as as far as I was concerned, I looked the muts!!!! 

But tomorrow is a different day as once again I accompany my wife to yet another scan to see how her battle with cancer is going. Everything crossed that the results are good and we can enjoy our summer together in high spirits.

[Blue2]

Right, 11 1/2 weeks post op now and things are really starting to settle down. Any creases on the nips that had been coming and going have now completely gone and I can actually feel good flat scar tissue under the nipples which is a relief. The chest has a more natural look now and this has been further enhanced because of my weight loss and heavy weight training sessions. The nipple 'scar' is now invisible and can only be seen at very close quarters and even then it looks like a small 5mm line which is part of the nipple, near as makes no difference!

My training is going well and I think I have found my limit in terms of actual body weight at 13 stone 3 lbs. If I cut back on the weights and concentrated more on cardio I am sure I could get this down to just under 13 stone, but I am happy with my current weight and so I am in no rush to shed these last few lbs. I would like to see my abs though so this will be a long term goal and gives me something to focus on. I am still taking the protein powder 4 times a day as a food supplement and my diet is very clean. I am still restricting myself to a few glasses of wine per week but have to admit I have had a few heavy nights out in the last few weeks.    Doing weights 3 times a week and also started playing squash again once or twice a week so this will help shift the excess lbs! 

So all in all I am very happy with my look at the moment. Here are a few more pics to take a look at, comments welcome as usual! 

P.S. Just looked at those pics and realised that one nip looks smaller than the other. This is just coz it is cold and this is not the normal appearance!!! 
 Should have let myself warm up properly before taking the pics. 

[V8]

Great thread Blue2. It's really useful to read about the different stages of your recovery.

I was lucky that I only really had puffy nipples so I guess only a mild case but I waited 19 years to sort it out (since I was about 13).

I'm 22 days post op with Karidis now. I was amazed at how quickly I recovered after the op - absolutely no bleeding or oozing from the incisions and barely any swelling or brusing. The yellow brusing was virtually gone after 7-10 days.

I was over the moon for the first 10 days at how normal my nipples looked (just like they were before the gyne) but I have been a little concerned since then as both have creases across the middle and are slightly inverted - very much so when I flex my pecs. It feels like the very centre of my nipples have stuck to the tissue behind - does this sound similar to your experience? They also crease along the line of the incisions under the nipples - although the actual incisions within the creases look tiny. I'm really hoping this will improve.

One thing that has really suprised me about the op is that they haven't contacted me since the op. Dr. Karidis didn't visit me in the hospital room afterwards - Chantelle came in instead to give me the compression vests etc. She then said she would phone on the Monday (op was on a Sat) to see how I was doing. Nobody phoned so I called them only to be told she was on holiday for the week! I called them back again after about 10 days because my compression vest was slicing into my armpits.

I'm really suprised nobody has ever called me to see how I'm getting on. I'm sure I've read that Dr. Karidis has visited patients after the op or at least called them at home after.

I know my case is only mild compared to some but I still paid over £4k like everyone else and still have my worries about recovery.

[Blue2]

V8, forstly, don't worry too much about the creasing, this will subside. I had / have the same issue but it is now starting to disapear. During my follow up he told me that it was normal and could take up to 6 months to look something like 100%. But you have to remember that no surgeon can guarantee 100% perfection! I think in our own minds we have an idea of perfection and in some cases this is never achieved. However, I have had gyne since I was about 13 and so have never experienced a normal looking chest in my whole adult life. Therefore I am ecstatic at the way I now look amd have enough confidence to remove my shirt in public....try stopping me!!! Anyway as I say, try not to worry how you look now, it will take time and 22 days is just the beginning. As mentioned in my earlier posts, I was also worried / concerned about my progress but so far Karidis' observations have been spot on and things are going accoring to plan.

As for the after care side of things I am very surprised you have had no contact with them. To be honest I got a call from Karidis a couple of days after surgery to see how I was doing, although this may have been prompted by the fact that I left a message for him with a few concerns after surgery. He called to answer these questions in person rather than replying via email. Either way, someone should have called to arrange your follow up appointment but again, I called them for some advice about the compression garment and I made the appointment then. I would just give them a bell and make the point to them that you have heard nothing from them and see what they say. I am sure it must be an oversight and I suppose these things happen from time to time?

Good luck with your recovery and if you have any queries don't hessitate to contact Karidis as I am sure he will reply to you and hopefully put your mind at rest. 

[V8]

Cheers Blue2. I guess we all start out hoping things might turn out to be perfect but I am slowly realising and accepting that things may not be perfect but at least they'll be a lot better than before. I think my wife's starting to get bored of me asking her how she thinks they look each day!

I'm going to get back in the gym soon - I'm sure building up my pecs again will help things further. I'm down about 20 pounds of muscle since I stopped working out a couple of years ago and my midsection needs some serious cardio too!

[Albion71]

Hi V8. Sorry to hear you didn't get any call from Karidis or Chantelle soon afterwards.

In fairness to them, I got a call from Karidis two days after the op, and from Chantelle. I've also called Chantelle a couple of times since about Qs I had and she's been fine - so I'd suggest you do that if you have any concerns.

Re the healing not settling down yet - most of the cases on this board have taken a long time to settle, so I wouldn't worry too much yet.

[V8]

The only real concern I have is that the centres of my nipples have stuck to the tissue behind. I've read this can be because there is no thin layer of fat between the two to the seperate them resulting in a slight inversion and crease across the middle. I also read there's not much you can do once it's stuck  . I'll give them a call soon.

[Blue2]

I would call them and ask what they think. I think I had this problem and remember attempting to remove my sports vest once and hearing a ripping sound which resulted in a lot of pain but at the same time I think it released the adhesion. It was a bit strange and sounded like velcro being pulled apart!  I think that massage may help you too but it depends on how sore you are at the moment.

[V8]

Can you remember how many days after the op this was?

[Blue2]

About 2 weeks I think. It was certainly after the 10 day period where I was wearing the compression garment 24/7 as I was wearing the Nike compression vest during the daytime after that. It was when I was taking it off to shower and feeling confident that I could stretch my arms above my head which I obviously did far too quickly, then.....rip!!! It may have done me a favour in the long run though. 

[Albion71]

Hi Blue2 - how long after the op did you have to sleep in an upright/or semi-upright position?

I'm still trying to sleep like that 12 days after the operation, but it's not helping my sleep, I can tell you! Looking forward to when I can lie flat again.

[Blue2]

I can't really remember now but I reckon I was sleeping sitting up for 2-3 weeks. It's not ideal and you don't get the best night's sleep but you soon forget about it once you are more comfortable sleeping on your side etc. Couldn't sleep on my front for a fair while longer though.