Question about recovery times

[gynominator]

I have a question: How long does it take normally to recover from the surgery, so that I can start working and move around in a close to normal way?

I ask this because I have two problems:
1) I cannot get too many leaves from office. I was initially planning on taking 2 - 3 days next to the weekend, so that would make it 4 -5 days of rest.

2) This problem's more complex. I'm in an arranged marriage scenario and am interacting nicely with a girl and will be expected to see her a lot before I get engaged. I cannot tell her anything abt this, as she may freak out and call the whole thing off. I can probably tell her that I'm going away for a week or so. But if I meet her after a week, will I be able to appear normal? I can probably tell her I have a sprain or something.

I havent yet gone to the doctor for consulting on this, but thought I would pose this question to the people who have gone through it personally.

I just want to lift this curse off my chest. I'm in decent shape, but my gyno just writes the whole thing off. I desperately want to do something about it fast, but that decision hinges on the above mentioned factors.

[DrBermant]

I have a question: How long does it take normally to recover from the surgery, so that I can start working and move around in a close to normal way?

I ask this because I have two problems:
1) I cannot get too many leaves from office. I was initially planning on taking 2 - 3 days next to the weekend, so that would make it 4 -5 days of rest.

2) This problem's more complex. I'm in an arranged marriage scenario and am interacting nicely with a girl and will be expected to see her a lot before I get engaged. I cannot tell her anything abt this, as she may freak out and call the whole thing off. I can probably tell her that I'm going away for a week or so. But if I meet her after a week, will I be able to appear normal? I can probably tell her I have a sprain or something.

I havent yet gone to the doctor for consulting on this, but thought I would pose this question to the people who have gone through it personally.

I just want to lift this curse off my chest. I'm in decent shape, but my gyno just writes the whole thing off. I desperately want to do something about it fast, but that decision hinges on the above mentioned factors.

Recovery after Gynecomastia Surgery depends on the problem to be treated, surgical techniques, skill of your surgeon, bruising, swelling, and many other factors. 

I prefer techniques with minimal bruising and swelling for male breast reduction.  Yes, these are typical pictures for my patients.  Check out early results on other doctor's web sites (typically you will not find any), or here in the forums posted by patients. 

My patients are typically up and about the day of surgery.  Activities creating bouncing or needing the chest muscles need to await tissue healing.  I have had patients return to light duty the next day after surgery.  Check out my patients' comfort after gynecomastia surgery.  Although we give each patient a prescription for strong pain medication, most find plain Tylenol more than enough to manage their minimal discomfort.  Patients describe their comfort level as if they had a really heavy workout. 

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia

[dondante]

You will definitely by out of commission for the first 24-48 hours, after which you will experience discomfort and more of a dull numbing pain for at least the next 1-2 weeks. Most surgeons suggest that you rest as much as possible for the first week - it's critical to your longterm recovery - however you will definitely not be incapacitated. Remember, most surgeons send their patients home with antibiotics, anti-inflammatorys and pain relief medication to make life manageable. If you tell your fiance you will be gone for a week that should give you ample recovery time. If she notices your compression vest (which CAN be avoided - the one I'm wearing is completely unnoticeable) - just chalk it up to a sprain or back ache.

Hope this helps!

[gynominator]

Thank you so much for your replies. I think I may have the surgery done at an opportune time in a couple of months. Will make arrangements to 'go away' for a week. 

[DrBermant]

Thank you so much for your replies. I think I may have the surgery done at an opportune time in a couple of months. Will make arrangements to 'go away' for a week. 

Picking the right doctor can be an issue for how long after surgery.  Some of the patients I have revised from misadventures of other doctors have told me they were on heavy duty pain medications for more than a week and out of action for much longer.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia Surgery