I recently underwent gyno (August 16) surgery with Dr. Bermant and would like to share my experience.
HISTORY
I cannot pinpoint exactly when I developed Gyno but I can say for certain I never really noticed it until about 5 or 6 years ago. I began working out at age 16 and have spent a good portion of my free time throughout the years in the gym. I always had a fairly muscular build, although the last few years have seen a steady decline. When I first noticed the gyno, it didn't bother me all that much. But over time it gradually became the number one issue in my life, the thing which I hated about myself and prevented my from really kicking back and enjoying life. Finally at age 27, I had enough.I knew it was time to take the plunge after spending an entire summer avoiding any situation which involved taking my shirt off. I didn't even feel confortable in most t-shirts. And I had pretty much completely stopped working out because no matter how much effort I put into it, the large gland in my chest wasn't going anywhere. I had almost become a shell of my former self, the confident, muscular guy who loved doing just about anything. So I decided to set up a consultation with Dr. Bermant.
PRE-OP
Since I live in PA, the drive down to Chester, Virginia was a managable one, although not the kind you want to make into a Sunday leisure drive. Dr. Bermant asked several questions, examined me, and discusses the slight tenderness I was experiencing in my left nipple area. Like some other patients, I had become so obsessed with my condition which was significantly worse on the left side, that I was constantly stimulating, poking, and pinching my nipple to keep it from looking so puffy. I had become obsessed with the gland which was in my eyes gigantic. Dr. Bermant informed me that it was neccessary to obstain from the stimulation and possibly see an Endo if the tenderness did not go away. He recommended I try a stage 2 compression vest as a way of improving the appearance and thus reducing my constant stimulation. Two days after returning home and eliminating my bad habit, the tenderness dissappeared. the compression vest was great. I called Dr. Bermants office to continue the discussion. Dr. Bermant wanted to see me again to continue the discussion so I again made the trip to Virginia. After reassessing my condition, we discussed surgical options. I decided to proceed with the surgery which was set for the following week. my surgery was scheduled for 30 days after my initial consultation.
OP
Making the third trip down, I arrived on a Friday afternoon and had my pre-op visit. I had now become tired of this trip and was glad that this was the last time I was making it. The pre-op was simple, with Dr. Bermant marking my chest contours in preparation for the next day. Leaving the office, I picked up my prescription, checked into the hotel, and grabbed some dinner. Although I understand people having trouble sleeping the day before a procedure, I was exausted from the drive and had no problem sleeping. The next morning, I arrived at the office at 10:30. The surgical staff introduced themselves and were all very nice. Jane, the office manager is always pleasant. And Jim, the anesthesiologist, certainly has a sense of humor. After starting an IV, I relocated to the Operating room and got in position. One of the nurses (Chris) and Jim entered, followed by Dr. Bermant. They put on some soft, beach like backround sounds and Dr. Bermant asked where I wanted to go for vacation. I told him Fiji and next thing I know I was waking up. I was pretty coherent and didn't feel any real paid except for some soreness in my elbow, the type you would get if you did Bicep curls for an hour staight. Someone showed me the gland which had been removed and I wasn't suprised. The left gland looked literally 6 or 7 times the size of the right. Final dimensions were something like 2x3x2 on the right and 2x5x3 on the left. It was amazing to see the thing which had been tormenting me for so long, no longer inside my body. The office had arranged for a CNA to take me back to the hotel and stay with me for 6 hours. My CNA, Barbara, helped me police up my things and took me back to the hotel. We stopped at a fast food place on the way back since I had not eaten since the night before. I don't remember being that hungry in my life. The food tasted especially good, perhaps every meal has tasted different since I've had this thing removed. I relaxed for the next few hours but I didn't sleep nor was I drowsy at all. I didn't need any pain medicine and aside from very reduced mobility felt pretty good. I watched 2 movies and the olympics. At about 10 PM Barbara drove me back to my car. I was a little nervious driving back to the hotel since I have a stickshift but it proved to be no problem. Getting in and out of the car proved to be much more difficult than actually driving. After arriving at the hotel, I took two tylenol and went to sleep. Sunday was spent mostly relaxing in bed, watching more movies. I walked to the local cracker barrel in the morning which was maybe 1/4 mile and got a nice breakfast. I slept fine again on Sunday night and took 2 more tylenol. Monday morning was my post op appointment, So I drove to the office around 9 am. Dr. Bermant examined me, explained my post op care and sent me on my way. I drove the 4 hours home without incident. Recovery since then has been pretty simple. I actually went back to work on Tuesday, less than 72 hours after the op and had no problems. Of course, I don't have a physical job. As far as disscomfort goes, Sunday was slightly uncomfortable at worst. Monday was dramatically better. Every day since has been slightly better, but there was no one day except for the second in which I noticed a dramatic change. I have been wearing my stage 1 compression vest 24-7. When I do switch to stage 2 compression, I intent to wear that 24-7 for at least 3 months. I believe that disipline is a key to the best possible result. As far as my result goes, my chest looks great. The actual area where gland and fat were removed looks great. A few spots feel somewhat hard but I expect that will soften over time. To not have this massive gland on my left side is a great feeling. I don't have much to say about the incision scar since I haven't really seen it much yet but I'm sure that Dr. Bermant did a great job with that as well.
THE FUTURE
Since I'm still in the early stages of recovery, it hasn't really hit me yet that next summer I'm gonna be able to do whatever I want and feel great about it. I love the water and love swimming, watersports, basically anything to do with the water. I'm going to make it a point to spend as much time at the beach/lake/pool as possible next summer. And since I have almost a full year, I should be close to my final result by then. I'm going to give myself a good 7 weeks before I think about hitting the weights, although I might do some light cardio at week 5 or 6. From there, I'm going to get myself in better shape than I've ever been. My goal by next summer is to look better than I did when I was 18 in my prime. After suffering for so long, I feel like this might be the life changing event that i've been looking for.
Topic: Dr. Bermant 18 days post op (Read 3608 times)
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