Fantastic Karidis + question

[Deymorin]

Hi guys!

I had surgery with Dr. Karidis 10 days ago and just want to say what a fantastic job he's done. I didn't have the worst case in the world but I stay very fit and it always upset me that I could never remove the fat from that area - I was at about 8% body fat and Karidis says he removed 200ml of fat and 20 grams of gland (so that seems like a lot to me!)

If you are thinking of going to get the op (it took me 9 months to build up courage because I've never had any op before) then my advise would be to go for it.

Although after reading many posts my opinion is people don't place enough emphasis on how you feel after surgery - I guess this is because I've never had an op before, I'm 24 and very healthy so I assumed I'd be back in work the next day lol - now I realise why the nurse laughed when I suggested it!
Maybe everyone recovers differently but you will feel very crap for the first week and you'll need lots of help doing every day activities e.g I still need help getting a bowl every morning because it's on the top shelf of the cupboard lol. Only now is my energy level starting to return to it's normal level.

Anyway enough of the negatives the results so far are fantastic I feel like I've got that "fitness model" curved chest now that I've always dreamed of but Im not getting my hopes up too much yet because I've got the dreaded "scar tissue phase" that eveyone talks about to come heh.

Just as a question for other people that had surgery. My right nipple is fine but the incision under my left nipple keeps splitting open when I move. I tried pulling the plaster off on saturady and it pulled the flesh apart so I could see the inside of my chest - it was pretty rough and hurt like hell.  I've put the plaster back on but it still doesnt really feel like it's healing. Anyone got any ideas?

If anyone has got any questions about my experience please post and I'd be happy to help

p.s if anyone is interested Ill post some photos up soon as soon as all the bruising has gone down to (it almost has all gone) to show a good before and after comparision.

[Nebula]

Thanks for the account Deymorin, I had my surgery 7 days ago with Doctor K. So i guess you had yours on the Saturday. Yeah i was thinking the same, there is not enough emphasis on the after surgery part, it does annoy you when you cant reach for a cup in the cupboard or you take 10mins to put a jacket on etc. Also the vest is so dam tight and sleeping on your back is very annoying as it interrupts sleep no end.

But i guess we would be naive to think there would be no after effects after being cut open and dug out for 45mins.  Everyone heals differently and after reading some of the other posters stories i remember some saying there was no pain or they were back to normal in a week etc, probably made us drop our guard. My advise to anyone having the op would be - take 2 weeks off work and don't expect to do anything you usually do in the 1st week. Just take your time and prepare for an uncomfortable few weeks and make sure you have someone around in the 1st 48hours to help out.

As regards to your open cut, you should probably phone chantelle or one of the other nurses there and ask them what they think. 10 days is along time for that to be open, gona be at risk to infection which would cause so many problems. Best not to take any chances.

Glad your pleased with your results, i imagine it looks really good with just 8% body fat. Im pleased with mine to and want to thank everyone who praised Karadis in the 1st place because thats the reason i went with him. Will post my account of the whole process probably when i take the waterproof plasters off and take some more pics.

[Deymorin]

Thanks mate really nice to hear from someone else who's gone through it all at the same time. How's your healing coming along then?
I think my left inscision is really improving it doesn't really hurt any more and I've starting massaging both sides with bio oil as recommended.

Also went back to the gym for the first time yesterday for some light cardio and arms and gonna try to do some heavy leg stuff tonight. Just as a sidenote I bought a couple of those Nike compression vests - you can get them from sports direct for like £8. And when you come to only wearing the stage 1 vest at night it's pretty good to wear during the day cause they offer a bit of support but don't show up in the same way.

Anyway I can feel some hard scar tissue forming at the bottom of my chest. I've had a look round the internet and can't find anywhere a video demonstrating how to massage your chest after surgery. As a suggestion to the top surgeons out there it might be a useful inclusion to the content on their websites (just a thought)

[ineedhelp]

hey mate,

dr k does not use stitches to close the wound or anything like that for a reason. he leaves an open wound (just a small amount) so any excess blood can ooze out and it heals naturally. that way, you end up with hardly a scar at all. im 5 months post op and i cant see a scar at all now. my cut was very open too. you will get more scar tissue building on one side as gyne usually affects one side worse then the other. i had no scar tissue on the left and a fair amount on the right. dont massage it too early. let it heal and then give it a go or just phone up dr k's office and speak to the nurse for any advice on massaging.

good luck

[chipsmagee]

Congratulations on the surgery, how much did the total cost come to?

[Deymorin]

About £4200 mate - but well worth it!

Update: the cuts have healed up and now I can't even see the scars as you said - very impressed

Coming up to a month post op... doing the massage 3 times a day but it's amazing how fast the scar tissue keeps reforming. When you massage it feels like most of it goes away and loosens up but then it goes hard again. I guess this is where people say it takes about 3 months + to properly heal.

Could anyone give me a rough idea of how long it will keep forming for? Also I remember reading somewhere before that you shouldnt get sun exposure on your chest... how long is that for again?

Thanks