question for the doctors - swollen chest

[herbie verschmels]

so as i am almost 9 weeks from surgery, my nipples still look almost the exact same as they did before surgery and swelling has gone down a bit. There is also a large stone like lump in each side of my chest. Will the skin retract and my chest before flat over time, or was i supposed to be totally flat from the beginning. I would also like to add that i weight lift, so my chest muscles already stick out anyways

thanks

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Everyone heals at a different rate -- it depends upon what you had to begin with, what the surgeon did, and how your individual healing is progressing.  You could check with your surgeon at this time.

Recommend patience -- it takes 3-6 months for all the healing to occur.  At six months, you can beging to become critical of the results of the surgery -- but not before.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

so as i am almost 9 weeks from surgery, my nipples still look almost the exact same as they did before surgery and swelling has gone down a bit. There is also a large stone like lump in each side of my chest. Will the skin retract and my chest before flat over time, or was i supposed to be totally flat from the beginning. I would also like to add that i weight lift, so my chest muscles already stick out anyways

thanks

9 weeks can be very early after surgery with some techniques.

Posting Standard After Gynecomastia Pictures can help other better understand your concerns.

How Soon Do You See Results After Gynecomastia Surgery depends on many factors, we tend to see instant results for my patients.  However, I prefer to optimize Healing After My Male Chest Surgery such that early results are possible.

How well the skin, areola and nipple shrink with surgery can vary as I demonstrate in the two balloon examples on that link.  How much skin retracts and the timing depends on

• how much it had been stretched
• how long was it streched
• how much elasticity remains in the skin
• how much was removed during surgery

Firm tissues after surgery can be residual gland, but also can just be healing tissues or scars.  Different surgical techniques injure tissues to different degrees. Time to tissues softening can vary depending on the original problem, what was done, after surgery care,
Scar Care, After Surgery Compression Garments, and many other factors. Options depend on the problem to be treated. Time can range from 6 months to a year but can vary depending on many issues best explored with your doctor.

I see many patients who complain of residual Puffy Nipple Gynecomastia after another doctor's surgery.  There are many possible problems causing such a deformity.  The most common is remaining gland behind the areola as seen in these Anatomy of Puffy Nipple Drawings.  Check out the images with the link for remaining gland after surgery to see what I mean. 

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Revision Gynecomastia Surgery

[herbie verschmels]

thanks you guys

you two are the best for sure. I really appreciate everything you guys have done to help me realize that getting rid of gyne was the best decision of my life