Afraid I will have excess skin and Require mastopexy HELP!!!!

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Ok so I just finished my consultation with Robert Anooshian in SF. He says that there may be some excess skin left over and in the event that the skin doesn't retract I will need a seperate surgery to rectify that.

I am deathly afraid of hospitals and even more so of needles so going in for this procedure is about the scariest thing I have ever done. I am so afraid that I will have to go in for another surgery when I really want to just get it over with 1. I have browsed the boards here quite a bit and I would say that my chest does indeed sag a bit. I would say I'm one of the more severe but a far cry from the as bad as it gets. My chest does protrude but and sag but not grossly. A lot of the surgeries that I have seen on here seemed less severe then mine. Where the individual started out with smaller breasts and got the result im hoping to achieve.

So now for the cold hard truth. I've been dealing with gynocomastia for 10 years (now 21). I want this surgery done but really don't want to trade a better shaped body for grossly excess flabby/floppy skin. I want to do this in 1 surgery because i'm not sure if i'll be able to put myself through another. So my question is. Do I have a ghost of a chance of getting the desired sought after mostly flat chest or since i'm starting out with a little bit more than others am I off to a bad start and inevitably doomed to have to have a mastopexy as well? If I felt like I wasn't a shoe in for being forced into the skin surgery in addition to look normal I wouldn't be so worried. Im scared of additional surgery (I know im being redundant but bare with me).
Do I have a chance of avoiding it?

[headheldhigh01]

anytime you're this concerned about something like this, it's worth getting a second or even third opinion even if you have to pay for it.  i believe delgado's another specialist in that area, and there are probably others.  

pre-op fear is normal even for guys who aren't afraid of needles, though the pain of the needle's minimal, probably less than a bee sting, and i bet you will remember the next part as one of the most relaxing experiences of your life.  see, there's balance in nature  

it sounds like your case is borderline enough that maybe he really can't tell whether the skin will tighten up enough, because it does tighten up some, so there may be no simple answer.  the flip side is that if he does skin work and it would have tightened up, you'll have unnecessary scarring.  so you probably have some chance of avoiding it, but it may not be possibly to predict it perfectly either way. 

get other opinions if you want, but also explain your concerns to him.  and look on the bright side, even if you did have to go back again later, you'll be experienced enough by then to say the op was just the mosquito bite followed by the nap with mild nausea/grogginess and a little soreness afterwards.    welcome to the site  

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Thanks for the welcome. I also feel Im more or less a boarderline. Unfortunately i'm just afraid that i'll be saying good bye to gynecomastia which I finally figured out what to live with and replace it with something I have no idea how to cope with. I just don't want to end up destraught and broken up over what is supposed to be the best thing i've ever done for myself. Just how common is excess skin anyway. Like really common like pack your bags kid your done or your odds are good but its on the table. Wager a guess?

More opinions guys please. Keep em coming.

[DrBermant]

Ok so I just finished my consultation with Robert Anooshian in SF. He says that there may be some excess skin left over and in the event that the skin doesn't retract I will need a seperate surgery to rectify that.

I am deathly afraid of hospitals and even more so of needles so going in for this procedure is about the scariest thing I have ever done. I am so afraid that I will have to go in for another surgery when I really want to just get it over with 1. I have browsed the boards here quite a bit and I would say that my chest does indeed sag a bit. I would say I'm one of the more severe but a far cry from the as bad as it gets. My chest does protrude but and sag but not grossly. A lot of the surgeries that I have seen on here seemed less severe then mine. Where the individual started out with smaller breasts and got the result im hoping to achieve.

So now for the cold hard truth. I've been dealing with gynocomastia for 10 years (now 21). I want this surgery done but really don't want to trade a better shaped body for grossly excess flabby/floppy skin. I want to do this in 1 surgery because i'm not sure if i'll be able to put myself through another. So my question is. Do I have a ghost of a chance of getting the desired sought after mostly flat chest or since i'm starting out with a little bit more than others am I off to a bad start and inevitably doomed to have to have a mastopexy as well? If I felt like I wasn't a shoe in for being forced into the skin surgery in addition to look normal I wouldn't be so worried. Im scared of additional surgery (I know im being redundant but bare with me).
Do I have a chance of avoiding it?

Hello Dr. Bermant
My name is Lamar and I am considering gynocomastia surgery. I have a date booked 12 days from now. I worry greatly about being left with excess skin. I don't have a minor case like many on the site. I am 21. 6'0 tall. 170 pounds originally 220. In my case my breasts do sag over the top of my chest. I would say its severe but not the worst out there.

I am deathly afraid of hospitals and needles. I was told in my consultation today that excess skin was a possiblity but my surgeons outlook was optomistic though he didn't make any promises. I am afraid of being forced into this skin surgery in addition because I'm already starting off with a worse condition.

How common is it to have excess skin that is unfixable myself. I understand all our bodies are different but I am trying to find some light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like no matter how hard I look through this site though those that have a condition similar to mine are cursed with the excess skin.

Do I even have a ghost of a chance of coming out correctly during the first surgery or are my prospects grim? Meaning should I just book a second revision and skin surgery before even the first surgery?

Please shed some light on this. I have seen you are very knowledgeable about those that must cope with the excess skin. I hope you can at least give me some hope that I'll be fine. At the end of the day I want the cold hard truth though so please be honest and frank. Thanks a lot.

Skin reduction is a good compromise for the patient with a great deal of sagging skin.  For a patient with normal skin elasticity, skin reduction is not normally needed during breast reduction surgery.  Elastic skin can really shrink quite well on its own and skin reduction scars then are normally not needed.

How well skin shrinks after removing mass behind it can vary greatly as shown by the two balloon examples on that link.  For my techniques, most of the change occurs in the operating room.  There can be some further shrinkage over time after surgery.  Building muscle mass can be one way of filling up a loose skin envelope.  However, it is very difficult to maintain such large muscles throughout their lives.

However if after weight loss or surgery the nipples are low and tissue hangs and bounces around, skin reduction can really improve the contour of the chest.  Too many patients have commented to me how their lives were changed and that the scars were a good trade off.

Excess Skin of the Male Chest with Gynecomastia comes in various degrees.  Here are my Standard Pictures for Evaluating Extra Skin on the Male Chest.

For some patients, my small incision skin reduction chest lift is an option.  This eliminates the unnatural very obvious unnatural vertical scar.  For smaller problems, I have evolved my Internal Lift Male Mastopexy Surgery that has even smaller scars.  My internal lift is not suitable when the excess skin is a major contributing factor for the deformity.  A Male Donut Mastopexy when pushed too far will leave a star burst deformity that detracts from the result. That is why picking your surgeon carefully can be so important.

Yes, scars are a compromise.  We need some place to remove the excess skin.  The shorter the scars, the less skin that is removed. 

Options are best explored during an evaluation with an experienced surgeon who can demonstrate their skills with this compromise issue of loose skin of the male chest sculpture.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Male Mastopexy Chest Lift for Sagging Tissues

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Thankfully I don't really need to lose weight I need to put on muscle. I could lose a few pounds on my stomach but we all could (he tells himself for closure). Truthfully I want to be optimistic that my skin will be fine. I'm just worried that the odds are not in my favor and i'm taking a huge gamble here. I guess i'll go ahead with the surgery and pray (not religious) that things will be ok. I hope being young works in my favor. Lets hope I haven't run out of luck.

Any more advice is welcome. Your all helping to bolster my confidence.