MN Surgery Experience

[Beacher]

It's now a week post surgery and very relieving to finally have it done at age 31.  Regret not having done a lot sooner.  Anyways, this board was a huge help so here's my lengthy contribution with a couple unique things to add or reiterate from others have said and a big warning.  Puffy nipples were my primary gynecomastia problem as otherwise my chest wasn't too bad and I had an athletic build.  Have had them since age 13.  Had to constantly flex to hide the gyno with my shirt off and that was impossible to pull off all the time so far the surgery has been everything I expected.

Main thing I can add is my experience with Dr. Hoffman out of the St. Paul area.  His clinic does about 2 surgeries a week (their word) and it's a great option for anyone here in the area of Minnesota or surrounding states.  A little on the expensive side at $6300 was the one apprehension and if I wasn't so eager to finally get this done prior to summer, I would have tried the Houston doctor (earliest prelim appointment not until late April) with what sounds like low overhead expenses.  But in part you get what you pay for and this clinic was definitely quite thorough and I was able to get in rather quickly.  Plus it was great not having travel far and recovering at home so that was a big plus.

First, Dr. Hoffman's office  does not charge for an initial exam so that was the cheap side of the equation = no loss.  Staff very friendly all the visits.  Good before and picture set and explained the procedure well.  Gave me a good sales pitch including why he doesn't do the anethisia himself.  All and all impressed enough to go forward with it.  They gave me good instructions on what to do and what not do and I've followed everything to a T so far expect one thing failed to do which just about literally bit be in the a**; get to that in a bit.

Big thing that on surgery day that impressed me is the number of people involved in my surgery.  Quite assuring to see a handful of people in the operating room.  Nice to know the doctor took his time with the procedure to get it right.  The surgery facility was excellent and was knocked it quickly and woke up in a drunken like sedated world 2 1/2 hours later.  Pain wasn't too bad after arriving home.  But I quickly started popping the Percalot/Vicodin pills; mainly because of the discomfort from the drains and the fact that I was able to rest easily especially combing them with the sleeping pills.  Had a standard prescription sheet from the doc filled that included an impressive amount of drugs including Ambien (sleeping pills), 2 different pain pills (Percalot and Vicodin), an anti-nausea med, and a Penacillin like drug.  Here was my major mistake.  The instruction sheet said to pick up a stool softener and or laxative and I didn't do that because I've never had problems with pain pills and constipation in the past. 

So this past week, took it easy, stitches came at 2 days ago along with the drain tubes which came out of my arm pits.  Clinic said my progress is ahead of most and they along with I would attribute this to leading a healthy lifestyle, taking it easy, and being in great physical shape.  But taking it easy, consistently popping the pain pills over the week and barely moving without taking any form of laxative remedy earlier caused me to have by far the worst constipation of my life which then amazingly required a visit to the hospital.

Going back to the surgery results, everything is looking great.  Scars are bottom half of nipples and healing quickly.  Putting aloe lotion I picked up from a natural foods store on them.  Will be wearing vest for at least another week.  Time goes by fast and can't wait to workout again. 

Recommendations...

1.  Get in shape and take care of your health before and after surgery = quicker recovery
2.  Follow directions!  I will never again take prescription pain pills without a serious increase in fiber and/or taking some form of a natural laxative.  Drinking more liquids was not enough
3.  I would not recommend just laying around the whole week.  I had no excuse not to take a easy going walk around the neighborhood after a couple days of the surgery.  Any form of exercise promotes colon health along with all other health
4.  I have read alot about scar tissue and in a couple weeks will be hitting up the steam room/sauna at the gym along with massaging the area to prevent this from being an issue.   
5.  If you are in the Midwest area, Dr. Hoffman's a great option and if not find a doctor that knows this procedure well and has lengthy experience and description of the procedure.