Surgery with Dr. Bermant - 5/23/2009

[tpatdd]

Like many of you, I've been a long time viewer of this site, but this is my second real post.  

I've been dealing with Gynecomastia since I was in my early teens and have been looking forward to the day that I'd be free ever since.  I'm 35 now and finally decided to move forward with surgery after reading countless posts on this site and researching several doctors.

I wound up choosing Dr. Bermant because of the extensive information and photos posted on his website as well as the reputation he has with members on this board.  I don't ever remember reading about someone who has had surgery with him and left unsatisfied.  For the most part, posters upload their results and disappear into the rest of their lives.

I don't live in Virginia, so I did the remote consultation in which Dr. Bermant reviewed my case, discussed the procedure and provided me with very realistic expectations.  He stressed from the beginning that he could not make me look perfect, that the human body is asymmetrical and his goal was to give me a more natural contour.  That gave me a great deal of comfort, because in my opinion, people who go to a plastic surgeon to look perfect wind up looking like Joan Rivers.

I arrived in Virginia the day before surgery for a pre-op appointment.  Everyone in the office was very, very nice as is often discussed in this forum.  Everyone to a person that works in his office strives to keep you at ease and answer any questions that you have about the surgery.  During my appointment with Dr. Bermant, we discussed the procedure in detail, he marked my chest and I was fitted for the post-surgery compression garments.  He gave me every opportunity to ask questions and really made sure that I was educated about what I was about to go through.

The day of the surgery, I arrived in the office about an hour before I was scheduled to have the operation.  After some waiting, I met with the anesthesiologist and he explained that he was about to give me 'breakfast and lunch' as well as an antibiotic, Valium, and the drug that knocks you out.  He hooked up the IV, gave me 'breakfast and lunch' and the antibiotic.  After that, we walked into the operating room and I sat down on the operating table, which is really like a big dentist's chair.  I was given the Valium (which felt really good) and the nurse told me to start thinking of where I'd be going on my next vacation.  The next thing I knew, I was waking up after the operation.

Immediately after the operation, I was taken to the recovery room where I hung out with the anesthesiologist for a few minutes.  I really don't remember how long I waited with him, but once he felt comfortable with me leaving, he wheeled me to the door of the facility where my wife was waiting to pick me up.

From there, we went out to eat, had some ice cream and went back to the hotel.  I was in minimal pain, not unlike what others have described here, so I took two extra strength Tylenol.  At about 5:30am, I woke up from sleeping on my back and took two more because my back was hurting.  To date, that's all of the meds I've needed.  I'm no hero - it just doesn't hurt that much.

The next day, I met with Dr. Bermant for a followup evaluation.  He took some additional pictures, we discussed wearing the vest and after a short visit, he released me to go home.  Yesterday, I had one additional follow up visit with him and the bandages over my nipples were removed.  We again discussed the use of the vest, he took some more pictures and I returned home again.

Overall, I can't say enough about the job that Dr. Bermant and his staff did to help me.  They were all very professional, they had a knack for putting me at ease and the overall results were actually much better than I expected.  At this point, I'll be able to do all of the things we've all talked about doing and I can't wait to get started.  They definitely have a great system down and I feel like they charged a fair price for the results that I got.  I know that there are other surgeons out there who charge less money, but the peace of mind that I got from doing it right the first time has made this whole experience very worthwhile.

As others have posted on this site, the operation is really the first step in the long healing process.  I've got another two to three months to wear the vest, manage scar care, etc.  I'm in no hurry to get back into lifting weights, running, etc. because I know that I'll have a long time to get back into shape once I'm done healing.  Based on what I've seen and read, taking care of your body during the healing process is just as important as going through the operation.  The last thing I plan on doing is taking a shortcut that results in a deformity or puts me back on the operating table.

The last thing I'll say is that if you are thinking of surgery, I'd suggest that you at least visit Dr. Bermant's website to get a feel for how much this man knows about this surgery and the innovative approach he takes.  I researched this for five years and he really does run a first class operation from beginning to end.

Below is a link to a few before/after pics.

http://img6.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=1008073.jpg

[mrpower33]

Looks great, my experience with Bermant was identical.  Congrats!