Surgery with Dr. Bermant (3/14/2009)

[mizuno]

What is Vitalzym Supplement (270 pills): $83 ?

[mrpower33]

Just enzymes, they are supposed to help you heal faster after surgery, but I'm not sure whether they have any real effect. 

[trojan213]

Wow dude. Congrats. So far so good. Thanks for the write up and pics as well. I've been on these boards for freaking years. I need to get this done...

P.S. nice delts . . . I can't bulk mine up for the life of me.

[mrpower33]

Hey guys, as promised, here are some photos 12 weeks post-op with close-ups of the nipples to see the incision.  Everything feels pretty good, I stopped wearing the Stage 2 vest as of today.  There is still a slight bump along the incision line, the scar line is raised up a little bit.  Massaging a little bit everyday with cocoa butter and applying Palmer's scar gel twice a day. 

[trojan213]

Wow...Thanks for updating us again.

Again, your results look amazing. You say that there is a bump along the incision line, but it's not visible from the pics. Would you say someone would notice you had surgery just by looking at it? These are impressive results for 12 weeks. I'm sure when you hit the 6 month mark, you'll be golden, if not much sooner.

What did you think of the Stage 2 vest? Was it annoying at all? Do you get used to it?

[mrpower33]

You can definitely feel the scar along the incision line if you touch it, but it is difficult to see even close up because I think generally it is hard to see texture on the areola and they're also a little smaller than they used to be.  But you can see the scar just outside the areola even in the pictures I think. Part of the incision is inside the areola and part of it is just outside.  The part inside the areola is raised, but you can't see it because the skin is darker.  The part that is just outside the areola is not raised, but it is a light pink color.  You still have to look pretty closely to see it and I honestly don't think that anyone would be looking that carefully.  It's also starting to fade, I think the scar creams I've been using have definitely helped.  I'd be pretty comfortable to take off my shirt in from of people now without worrying that they'd notice anything.  The raised scar is also softening with massage.  I really do hope by the 6 month mark that it's completely healed, at this rate that sounds pretty realistic. 

The Stage 1 vest is REALLY annoying, but the Stage 2 vest is very comfortable, just make sure you get the right size.  It really needs to fit very snugly, I had to trade my size small in for a size x-small because the first one wasn't tight enough.  The Stage 2 was comfortable enough for me to wear another 8 weeks after I ditched the Stage 1 (which I wore for about 4 weeks), which is above and beyond what Bermant had suggested, it really wasn't a big deal so I just kept wearing it.  The trick to the Stage 2 is to step into it and pull it up the entire body rather than trying to put it on overhead (if you are skinny enough).  It is very difficult to put on overhead because there are no straps or hooks, it's just like a thick undershirt.  So just post-op when you're still sore and tender, it is painful and dangerous to try to put the Stage 2 on overhead.  Had I known how easy it was to put on by stepping into it, I probably could have transitioned from Stage 1 to Stage 2 a lot earlier.  Just a tip for all you guys on the vests.

I've seen your pics also, you have a pretty minor case as well.  If you do decide to go with the surgery, I highly recommend Bermant if you can afford him, he is very good at subtle cases.  You are going to need the results to be almost perfect or you will regret even having the surgery in the first place because you look pretty good the way you are right now, it's even more minor than mine, so you really need to think this through, it was hard for me to pull the trigger myself. 

Can you feel the gland underneath?  Can you tell how large it is?  Do you feel uncomfortable taking your shirt off in front of people?   

[trojan213]

You can definitely feel the scar along the incision line if you touch it, but it is difficult to see even close up because I think generally it is hard to see texture on the areola and they're also a little smaller than they used to be.  But you can see the scar just outside the areola even in the pictures I think. Part of the incision is inside the areola and part of it is just outside.  The part inside the areola is raised, but you can't see it because the skin is darker.  The part that is just outside the areola is not raised, but it is a light pink color.  You still have to look pretty closely to see it and I honestly don't think that anyone would be looking that carefully.  It's also starting to fade, I think the scar creams I've been using have definitely helped.  I'd be pretty comfortable to take off my shirt in from of people now without worrying that they'd notice anything.  The raised scar is also softening with massage.  I really do hope by the 6 month mark that it's completely healed, at this rate that sounds pretty realistic. 

The Stage 1 vest is REALLY annoying, but the Stage 2 vest is very comfortable, just make sure you get the right size.  It really needs to fit very snugly, I had to trade my size small in for a size x-small because the first one wasn't tight enough.  The Stage 2 was comfortable enough for me to wear another 8 weeks after I ditched the Stage 1 (which I wore for about 4 weeks), which is above and beyond what Bermant had suggested, it really wasn't a big deal so I just kept wearing it.  The trick to the Stage 2 is to step into it and pull it up the entire body rather than trying to put it on overhead (if you are skinny enough).  It is very difficult to put on overhead because there are no straps or hooks, it's just like a thick undershirt.  So just post-op when you're still sore and tender, it is painful and dangerous to try to put the Stage 2 on overhead.  Had I known how easy it was to put on by stepping into it, I probably could have transitioned from Stage 1 to Stage 2 a lot earlier.  Just a tip for all you guys on the vests.

I've seen your pics also, you have a pretty minor case as well.  If you do decide to go with the surgery, I highly recommend Bermant if you can afford him, he is very good at subtle cases.  You are going to need the results to be almost perfect or you will regret even having the surgery in the first place because you look pretty good the way you are right now, it's even more minor than mine, so you really need to think this through, it was hard for me to pull the trigger myself. 

Can you feel the gland underneath?  Can you tell how large it is?  Do you feel uncomfortable taking your shirt off in front of people?   

I'm pretty sure I'll go to Bermant, or maybe Jacobs because I live in NYC.

I can definitely pinch off what feels like gland. It feels pretty diffuse though. I'd say it's somewhere between the diameter of a nickel and a quarter (money). When I flex, I can clearly delineate between muscle and fat/gland. Not a day goes by that I don't look in the mirror and pinch away the fat, imagining what my chest would look like with surgery. I don't feel comfortable taking my shirt off in front of people. I will post more pics sometime, because my other pics make my boobs look better than in person...

Anyway, thanks for the detailed info on the scarring. Hope to keep following your progress

[mizuno]

Trust me I think their is a day that goes by that most of us think about our gyne.
Windy days are the worst expecially in the summer time with no jacket on.
I look in the mirror everyday.

[moobydo]

I have a question about the Stage 2 vest: you said you used a size x-small, but the smallest I've found is just "small" (this one: http://designveronique.com/cgi-bin/ic/dv2/1240.html, which seems to be the one Dr Bermant uses). Did you buy from another source?  Thanks!

[mrpower33]

That's the brand.  I don't know why there is not an x-small option but I definitely got one.  Call Bermant.

[DrBermant]

That's the brand.  I don't know why there is not an x-small option but I definitely got one.  Call Bermant.

We fit each of our patients with their Male Chest Compression Garments before surgery.  Because the garments are so critical and we see so many different sized patients, we have them made by special order and stock smaller sizes so that each patient can have the advantage compression after surgery.  Jane is my office manager and can explain how to get the smaller sizes they make for us.  She can normally be reached at our office by phone Monday - Friday 9-5 Eastern Time at (804) 748-7737.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[Santos05]

Great RESULTS DUDE, BUT WOW thats alot of money i only paid 5200.. and my results are pretty good as well.. but congrats

[istillgotit]

Hey guys, as promised, here are some photos 12 weeks post-op with close-ups of the nipples to see the incision.  Everything feels pretty good, I stopped wearing the Stage 2 vest as of today.  There is still a slight bump along the incision line, the scar line is raised up a little bit.  Massaging a little bit everyday with cocoa butter and applying Palmer's scar gel twice a day. 

Are your areola's hard in these pics?  Just asking because the appearance of a soft areola I think is the true measure of success with this surgery.

Thanks in advance.

[peh123]

wow those are amazing results!!!! How did your scars look like a week after surgery?? Were they bad or could you not even see them?? Did they fade when you used the scar cream???

[mrpower33]

Thanks guys, I'm pretty happy with the results.  The scars looked pretty much like how you see them in the photos right after the surgery, although the incision line on the left side was raised somewhat for several months.  That has since receded.  They're not hard in the pics, that's just how they look at room temp.  When they get hard, they pretty much looked like how they did when they got hard prior to the surgery. 

I will post new photos this week since I finally got my camera back.  I am now almost 7 months post-op.