I will spare the story of how gynecomastia affected my childhood and teenage years. I knew I had a problem, however was only diagnosed of the condition in December 2009. I went for a consultation with Dr. Sandip Jain in Mumbai. He was very patient and explained the procedure carefully and provided details on cost, recovery period etc.
I did not consult with other doctors, however extensively researched online to compare the procedure Dr. Sandip explained. I was comfortable with his credentials and the procedure of excision and liposuction. However it took me a further 6 months to get the courage to finally have the surgery. I live overseas, so booked a flight to Mumbai and decided to stay for a week.
This post will focus on my surgery and aftercare experience.
Last week, I visited Dr. Sandip for the 2nd time in Saifee Hospital – Polyclinic (Ground Floor, left side). This time we reviewed the discussions we had in December, and he re-explained the procedure. The surgery would include an initial excision of 2/3 inch and subsequent gland removal and then liposuction to reduce risk of crater deformity.
During that meeting, we scheduled the surgery for the following morning. There are tiers of pricing structure, as follows:
Rs. 60k – General ward – 6+ beds per room
Rs. 85k – Economy ward – 2/3 beds per room
Rs. 100k – Class A room – your own room
Saifee Hospital is fairly modern, however you have to factor in ‘Indian standards’ – please don’t take offence at this statement, as I am of Indian origin myself. The hospital is OK at best, but like much of Mumbai, it has creaking infrastructure and a chaotic entrance with every conceivable type of patient. I would strongly recommended going for the Class ‘A’ room, this was the option I chose. Granted the price is somewhat on the high side, but I am very glad I chose this over what I believe would be slightly more unpleasant options in General and Economy. (Personal preference – depends on your budget). I will provide a description of the room later in this post.
So, once we agreed on the surgery date, I had my blood tests taken upstairs in the 1st Floor Pathology Department. As mentioned, Saifee is a little chaotic. I went to Pathology, I was then instructed to goto the 2nd Floor to billing, and pre-pay for the blood tests, approx. Rs. 1,500 (note this was eventually factored into the Rs 100k fee). Then only could I return and have the blood tests. It just involved a lot of walking around as no-one really knew where things were.
Tests complete – it involved collecting 6 vials of blood, and included many types of test, from blood clotting rate to HIV test etc. I returned to Dr. Jain’s office and this is where I paid the balance. He insists on only cash, so I handed over Rs. 98,500 (remember Rs. 1,500 was paid already for the tests). I felt like I was doing some sort of underhand deal, however I fully trusted Dr. Sandip. I would have preferred to have received a receipt though. He provided me an ‘Admissions Form’ and a number of other documents required for the next morning.
Transaction complete – I returned to my temporary residence. The following morning, I arrived at Saifee Hospital at 7am. My surgery was scheduled for 10am. I presented the documents to the Admissions desk at the entrance of the hospital. They allocated me a Class ‘A’ room on the 7th floor. Note, if you’re travelling from overseas for surgery, you must have your passport with you. I presented this along with my other Admission documents.
So onto the room – I was taken upstairs by a hospital attendant. As I went to 7th Floor, the lift doors opened onto the lower, less premium floors. And this is when I breathed a sigh of relief, happy in the knowledge that I was not in the General or Economy floors. They were chaotic, with people rushing around, a lot of noise etc. My room was fairly basic, but clean. It had an en-suite bathroom with a shower and a seaview from the windows. Saifee Hospital is close to Marine Drive, so it was pleasant. The room also has space for two relatives or friend to stay (you are issued two guest passes – however I was alone). You have an allocated nurse who caters to your needs.
Another attendant entered, requested I remove my shirt and then shaved my chest with clippers. They shave you from under your neckline to your waist. For some reason he also shaved my lower back, perhaps he thought I was having tummy liposuction! The nurse returned and provided me with an Iodine solution and requested I apply this brown disinfectant liquid to my body, in particular the chest area, and then shower using antibacterial soap. At this stage I because a bit nervous, the surgery was only 2 hours away.
Once showered and ready, I wore the hospital patient outfit, an ill-fitting pant and shirt combination. I then lay down and napped for an hour to ease my mind. I was then asked to sit in a wheelchair and was taken to the 8th or 10th Floor (I forget exactly), that is the Operating Theatre floor. I was transferred from the wheelchair to a ‘waiting bed’. The room is very very cold, and I was shivering at this point. Dr. Sandip arrived and talked me through the procedure, and drew with a black marker the area where my glands were and the excess fat deposits surrounding the gland. He felt my chest, asked me to sit up and ensured he had properly sketched the surgery area.
After 15 minutes, I was wheeled into the Operating Theatre. This is a very modern room, unlike the lower floors of the hospital. I would say the equipment was world-class. Again this room was very cold. I lay on the operating bed, and Dr. Amas/Aswan (I forget his name), the anaestheticion took my right arm and pricked a drip into it. He was a jovial chap and eased my tensions, he said it is a simple procedure. He then mentioned I would feel some pain in my hand as he administered the general anaesthetic. I counted to 5 and passed out.
I woke up groggy, in the same ‘waiting room’ where I earlier lay. Shortly after Dr. Sandip came to my bedside and pronounced the operation went very well. They had removed two glands and approx. 50 to 100ml of fat (I didn’t have much fat, approx 80% of my gynecomastia condition was due to glands). I was subsequently wheeled to the 7th floor and rested – at this stage I felt no pain. I was wearing the compression garment. In addition, I had a tube from my chest area to a vessel that collected blood. It was slightly unpleasant to look at, and I had to carry it around with me in a small bag.
Princy was my allocated room attendant. She was very helpful and gave me a sponge bath for the two days I stayed. The annoying thing about the sponge bath was it took place at 5am both days; however they provided some excellent ‘chai’ at 4.30am. I didn’t really move about much for the duration of my stay. I had brought my iPod with me, and listened to music and watched videos on it. In addition to Princy, there was a nutritionist who took down my preferences for food and drink. Although I am not vegetarian, I preferred that option and for lunch I usually had Indian meals and for dinner Continental dishes. In both instances, I found the food of good quality, filling and healthy. Princy also administered my daily dosage of medicines. I had to take pain-killers 3x per day, a dose of b-vitamins in the afternoon and some another pill in the evening (I don’t know what it was for).
During this whole period, I wore the compression garment. Dr. Jain provides 1 garment for you to wear for 4 weeks, 23 hours a day. I was not happy with this arrangement, as it would be like wearing the same t-shirt for a month. As I live overseas, I was concerned that if something went wrong with the garment, a replacement would be hard to get hold of. In addition, from a hygiene standpoint, having two means you can alternate and wash them. I usually wear one at night, and one during the day – changing after showering. I wash the garment on low heat and let it dry naturally every 2 days. I paid an additional Rs 2,400 for the second garment.
Aside from sleeping, eating, medications and the odd-sponge bath, I didn’t do much. I was given 3 hours of internet coupons to use in the premium-visitors lounge on the 10th floor. However as my surgery was on the weekend, and I could only start walking on Sunday, it was closed.
Prior to leaving the hospital, Dr. Sandip re-did the dressing. This was the first time I viewed my chest. It had dramatically decreased in size – it was relatively flat, however there was a pronounced crater on the right, and the left side was swollen and not completely flat. I remained calm as Dr. Sandip explained the true results will be evident in a month.
After 4 days, I returned to Saifee Hospital where Dr. Sandip checked the dressing once more, checked to make sure everything was ok. I once again expressed concern about the swelling on the left-side of my chest. I was concerned that not all of the gland was removed. Dr. Sandip had earlier explained that the gland removed from the left side was very slightly smaller than that removed from the right side. This might be purely psychological, as the left side was more bruised in general than the right. This can lead to hematoma (collection of blood etc). Once the consultation was complete, I returned to my temporary accommodation, packed my bags and went to the airport. Just a short note about the airport - Mumbai security were somewhat perplexed by my compression garment. I anticipated this and kept my medical receipts with me. I was requested to unzip the garment in a side-room to confirm it wasn’t a bomb! Lol. They let me pass through without incident, yet still looked perplexed!
It has been two weeks since my surgery, as so far I’ve been pleased with the results. However there is unevenness between my left and right chest which I hope will sort itself out in a few weeks.
In general, the change in daily-life experience is something worth noting. I have free to walk outside, without concern for my protruding chest. I am more confident when I speak to people and it has made a marked difference in my outlook on life in general. I am still at the early stages of the recovery cycle. I’m eating well, and resting, and not putting pressure on my chest. Absolutely no exercise until the 4-5 week cycle with the compression garment is complete.
I will post pre-op, and 1 month post-op photos in a couple of weeks...
Overall experience: 7/10; Value for money: 7/10; Surgery outcome: 8/10
Topic: Surgery Experience - Dr. Sandip Jain - Mumbai (**Detailed review**) (Read 8300 times)
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