2nd follow-up to my Karidis op - looks like revision surgery

[Albion71]

Cheers Blue 2, thanks for the support, much appreciated.

[Redfox]

Hi Albion

Looks like we're in the same state - i too have a left nipple which is creased and slightly withdrawn! There's also a little indentation. Simply feeling around my left side I can clearly pick out areas of hard swelling which don't help the overall shape of the breast area. My right side looks about perfect but it too has a few areas of hard swelling.

I'm only 12 days post op and it's early days for me, you're about 3 weeks ahead of me in terms of healing - as Blue2 says give it time. If it was 6 months down the road and I was in the same state then I'd have something to get worked up about.

I also have the same loss of feeling which you describe. These things are to be expected as the whole chest area has suffered a far amount of trauma - the body takes time to heal.

Roughly when are you having a post op follow-up appointment with Dr. Karidis? I'm in for the end of July.

[Albion71]

Hi, all sorry for the delay in posting an update.

54 days post op now. Have to say I'm still worried about the progress of my left side, as the pics below demonstrate. The nipple is still creased, maybe slightly less so than before. The indent looks to me pretty much as it did 7 days post op. When I clench my pecs (bottom pic) it is really apparent.

The right side looks pretty normal by contrast, though the nipple has gone a little puffy lately.

The feeling has largely come back across both sides. I still get the odd shooting pain, which presumably is part of the healing process. It also stiffens up if I don't do the massaging regularly.

I'm seeing Karidis on Wednesday, when I am hoping he will be able to explain to me why I have the indent on the left side.

What worries me - and this may be the layman in me speaking - is that the two sides of my chest look very different. I don't understand why the two sides should have different healing processes. At the moment, my fear is that Karidis has taken too much from the left side.

Incidentally, I've clippered my chest hair ahead of the Karidis meeting if you thought it looked different!

Front:


Right:


Left:


Left close up:


Left close up, clenched:

[Albion71]

Had my follow up consultation with Karidis on Monday - almost 10 weeks post op. His verdict was as follows.

Right side. Some puffiness in the nipple. May be caused by scar tissue, and associated swelling, may be some fat left under there.

Left side. Creasing of nipple not uncommon at this stage, he has seen that recover before. The indent may be caused by scar tissue pulling down the skin. This is skin tethering, apparently. As the scar tissue shrinks, the skin may 'rebound' to its normal level.

Ok, so let's hope you're right, I said. But the appearance of my chest hasn't changed much since the initial swelling died down - what about if we're looking at the same situation a few months down the line?

Then we've got the option of revision surgery, he said - no fee from me, but about 1k or so to the hospital.

The right side would mean taking a little bit more fat or tissue. The left side might be more complicated. He could either take tissue out from either side of the indent, thus smoothing out the dent, or transfer some fat from somewhere else on my body. This is not an exact science as there is some fat absorption so he would have to over compensate.

But he said, come back in about three months, and we'll see how things are looking then.

How do I feel about all this?

Well, still trying to be optimistic that it will change enough not to require revision surgery. But Karidis said enough to suggest that he doesn't think it will change much more - his comments about the right side being puffy, and he said a couple of times - I can't give you perfection.

[equium]

I'm surprised at 10 weeks post op he's already talking to you about revisions! I've heard from other people who've seen Karidis (and I saw Benito who said the same thing) that he says it takes up to a year to see the final result - you're only 10/52 weeks post op which is pretty early to be considering revisions. I had/have a crease in the left nipple EXACTLY like yours as have many other people during their recovery and more often than not, it sorts itself out. Mine has already improved dramatically - i had what looked like a big crater on my left side a couple of weeks post op which is starting to fill itself in now and looking a lot better.

Also, if he has left a bit of fat on the right side, you can improve that by hitting the gym. The important thing is that the gland is removed as you can control adipose deposition by diet, exercise etc. Save yourself the money - with 1k you could have 3 years of gym membership, sculpt your chest by cardio/weight training and improve your life expectancy!

[WXYZ]

I'd say only go for revision surgery if you're sure you absolutely want it. See what you can do with diet and exercise and if you're still not happy then go for the revision surgery.

[Blue2]

I wouldn't jump to any conclusion at this stage. It's far too early. I had various amount of creasing and swelling during my recovery and still do to some extent. The fact that my nips change and swell from time to time tell me that there is still a lot of healing going on. I am just not panicing about it (yet!). Seriously though, I would not even consider a revision until you are at least a year post op. Just my opinion.

[Albion71]

Cheers guys. It's a long time before I have any revision surgery, if I ever do. I'll see Karidis just before xmas for my next follow-up and see where we are then.

That said - and maybe it's the natural pessimist in me - the fact that he mentioned revision at all has me a little paranoid...

[Albion71]

Hi all. Long gap since my last update, partly as I was hoping there would be lots of progress to report. Unfortunately there isn't, and it's now nearly five months since I went under the knife. (Pics below.)

Basically, my chest hasn't changed much since about a week after the op. The main problem - an indentation on the left side and a fold in the left nipple - is pretty much the same as it was back then.

The only development in the last 2-3 months has been that the right nipple has actually got a bit puffier again - I'd say it's now got about 50% of the puffiness of pre-op.

So I now have a very unbalanced look - one side still too puffy, the other completely the other way.

I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. If both sides were too puffy, or both too indented, it would make more sense to me - the fact that things are lopsided suggests to me a mistake by Karidis. I fear I may be one of his 2% who needs revision surgery.

My hopes that things will change still are pretty much running out - the weird (healing?) sensations in the chest are very infrequent now, and it is much less sensitive. So I'm guessing that it's all nearly settled down. I certainly can't envisage major changes.

Will book a consultation with Karidis late next month and see what he says.

Front


Right side (showing puffiness)


Left side (showing indentation above nipple)


Left side close-up (showing fold on nipple)

[hadenuf]

Really sorry about your problems mate. Like me and others you expect things to be all sorted after surgery but some times this is not the case. Maybe the puffiness is down to hormones? Not sure if you had all that checked out before surgery. I did not and just had it done. I too have one side different to the other but I am only 17 days post op so time to settle down. I have one nipple lower than the surrounding flesh as if not quite enough has been taken from top and bottom of it or too much from behind the nipple, only time will tell. Plus both are creased where the incision was.

I do hope your gets better with time but if further work needs doing it will be worth it. Remember Karadis is only human too and can't get it right every time. And if I am also in that 2% that needs revision in 12 months time then so be it. I will just have to decide further down the road.

Keep positive

[newlife]

I agree with hadenuf - I have got one nipple that is very creased (much worse than yours) and it feels like it may have adhered.

However, your results still look terrific and really you need to focus on the positive not the few niggles that you have which I know is easier said than done. For me, despite the crease I am still delighted as for the first time in 25 years I dont have breasts - and that makes me feel a million dollars.

Good luck with the recovery, and please keep us informed of your progress.

[Blue2]

I can understand your concerns mate but still think it is too early to consider revisions. I have to say that my chest has pretty much settled down now and I am 99% happy. However, I do still get some slight swelling and puffyness on the odd day but very rarely. I find that if I massage the area for a few minutes in a circular motion it largely disappears and so I can only guess this is due to some kind of fluid build up in the operation site which is building up from time to time. Have you tried massage on a regular basis? Your puffyness does seem a bit excessve though but you never know, it may help. It may also loosen the crease in your nips as they may have become attached to the muscle. This is something I have heard of happening from time to time. As I say, I would give it more time which I know is easy to say from a satified customer to a not so satisfied customer, but this may be the key. I would say you are the first real case that I have heard of that is not happy with Karidis' work but has already been said, he is human and mistakes can be made and results are not guaranteed. I think a lot of it depends on how your body copes with the surgery and recovery. Some may have a very smooth recovery (like myself, touch wood!) and others not so smooth. As they say it's all down to the individual.

Anyway, I hope it all works out for you in the long run.

[Albion71]

Thanks all for you advice and suggestions. Much appreciated.

Yes, Karidis is only human, and as he told me in the post-op consultation, he can't deliver perfection. And yes, I probably did have fairly high expectations as my case was milder than some people's.

I will book in with Karidis for the next consultation and see what he says. If he thinks the gland is growing back on the right side, then I will certainly have to look at some kind of hormone check. Certainly it looks very different from even a couple of months ago.

As for the other side, well there's quite a big dent there above the nipple, which leaves me to think Karidis took a bit too much out there. He told me in the consultation that it was very difficult to get the amount of lipo right. Hmm.

If it does look like revision surgery is needed, then I'll find out how long I have to wait before he is prepared to operate again.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, best wishes with your own recoveries.

[kingboob]

something irrelevant, arent we supposed to shave the treated area before having a surgery???

I don't think you have to really............ I have had quite a few operations this year and never shaved anything.....  infact it was only when I had day surgery on the NHS that they insisted everything was shaved to prevent wound infection?  seems like a load of bollocks to me because I was never asked by the surgeon or nurses to shave before any other op.

Some of the guys on here will tell you shaving preop is better because the bandages don't stick to your hair and hurt when they come off -  These guys need to grow a pair and stop being such pansies.

[Albion71]

Ha. Well it can smart a little ripping the bandages off when you're a bit hairy.

But I think shaving is worth doing as it makes things a bit more hygenic - it gets a bit sweaty in there when you've got that vest on for three weeks solid.