Pro athlete, Need Advice ASAP

[Gynory]

I'm a professional athlete and have training camp coming up September 1st. I have been diagnosed with gynecomastia and have a surgery date set for Monday August 2nd. I need to have rigorous exercise (physical contact) weeks prior to training camp. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is enough time to recover from the surgery and start training? Ideally I don't want to be out of the gym for more than 10 days. My case is very minor but affects my confidence. Thank you for any help. 

[puffman1]

No that is not enough time to recover and any activity like that can compromise your surgery.

[Raider Fan]

Yeah, that's not enough time.  It would be more reasonable to put off the surgery until the off-season, and then you should have plenty of time to do it right.  Waiting a few more months shouldn't hurt anything, right?

[Gynory]

Thank you for the response. What are the concerns about specifically? Is the problem with the actual incision site or is it the tissue underneath the skin? Would it be possible to do heavy bike riding and lower body exercises after 10 days? I've had knee surgeries before and am typically a fast healer but this is a different thing. 

[puffman1]

Much depends on the surgeon. As far as lower body workouts go, I wouldn't see where that would be a problem other than it would raise your blood pressure which I believe slows healing, but I'm no doctor.

Also the main concerns with pushing yourself too early would be a combination of both the incision sight, and the skin underneath. You can pull the skin which would widen the scar, thus making it more visible. You could also have internal sutures that you could tear, which would result in a distortion of the overall contour, whether that be creases or crater deformities.

Like I said, I'm no doctor. A lot of this depends on your surgeon and his technique. Also, these questions are best answered by your surgeon. Like raiderfan said, I would suggest waiting until you have more time to heal.

[Gynory]

I'm using one of the top gynecomastia specialists in the US. I will ask him all these questions in the morning but am looking for advice from people that have actually had the surgery. What is a good protocol for icing post surgery?   

[puffman1]

Icing is not a part of post surgery healing, at least not with my surgeon, Dr. Bermant. Who are you using if you don't mind me asking? Also, what sport do you play? Basketball?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I make two requests of my patients in the post op period:  wear the compression garment as snug as possible for at least one month and avoid all strenuous physical activities for one month as well.  Icing the chest is not necessary at all.

Avoiding strenuous activities will lessen the possibility of raising your blood pressure -- which is the major culprit.  Gyne surgery will seal blood vessels during the operation -- but raising your blood pressure soon after surgery (such as doing exercise)  can "pop the cork" and you may bleed into the space beneath your skin -- and that is a true mess.

From the schedule you described, you would do well to defer surgery until your "off season" -- then go to a gyne specialist for the best possible chance of a fine result.

Have a great season!

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

I'm a professional athlete and have training camp coming up September 1st. I have been diagnosed with gynecomastia and have a surgery date set for Monday August 2nd. I need to have rigorous exercise (physical contact) weeks prior to training camp. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is enough time to recover from the surgery and start training? Ideally I don't want to be out of the gym for more than 10 days. My case is very minor but affects my confidence. Thank you for any help. 

Thank you for the response. What are the concerns about specifically? Is the problem with the actual incision site or is it the tissue underneath the skin? Would it be possible to do heavy bike riding and lower body exercises after 10 days? I've had knee surgeries before and am typically a fast healer but this is a different thing. 

I work with many Professional Athletes and Bodybuilders with Gynecomastia.

Getting back to activity depends on the problem to be treated, what is done, skill of the surgeon, after surgery care, garments, and many other factors. This is real surgery and tissues need to heal before stressed. Although I am not creating a sprain, recovery is just like a sprain. In bodybuilding: no pain no gain. In healing ignore the pain and you can hurt the healing. Just like a sprain, assigning a specific time interval to healing is really artificial. For my patients peak swelling is in surgery. Push the healing tissues too far too soon and new injury and swelling occurs. Heavy bike riding will use pectoral muscles, the injury site and can stress early healing. In addition bouncing and increased blood pressure can cause problems.

I prefer techniques that start out with minimal swelling and bruising after gynecomastia surgery. Less injury can mean a less to recover from and a faster return to activity. The more bruising and swelling the slower the recovery. Very few doctors show early after surgery evolution of tissues. What I show is typical for my patients. For my patients peak swelling typically occurs in the operating room and keeps going down during recovery.

Icing after surgery can kill marginal blood supply tissue. I always caution my patients not to use ice for this reason.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
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