no more vest for me

[a-man]

Well here's the deal...

I had my surgery 2 weeks ago exactly. My PS said to wear the vest for about 6 weeks, but I think I'm just gonna ditch it now.

Before you all yell at me, let me explain why.

First of all, i saw my results immediately after the surgery; I didnt have to wait days for 'swelling' to go down or anything like that. Furthermore, i had almost no bruising (just a tiny bit of yellowness), and it is more than completely gone now. My chest never swells up when I take off the vest, and it has never swollen up at all period, since the surgery. I never had any drains, and I never had any fluid build up.

I had PAL (power assisted lipo) ONLY (no excision), as I believe my gyne was mostly fat. PAL is supposed to be less traumatic to the body, and therefore you need less recovery time. For reference, I had about 500cc's taken out from each side.

I am 100% satisfied with the results, and I am more than fine now, I can run around and stuff (very minor discomfort), but will keep away from heavy cardio for another week.

I don't think the vest is helping me heal at all... it's just tugging at my skin, and causing all-around discomfort.

I've seen other people here who had a lot more bruising/swelling than me, and who stopped wearing their vest as early as 2 weeks (or even 1 week), so I think I'm just gonna go that route.

I realize I should trust me PS, but I trust my body and my judgement just as much.

Anyway, I realize this isn't necessarily the best decision, but it's the one I have made. Feel free to yell at me and tell me what a mistake I am making. Of course if after a few days (or a few hours) I feel uncomfortable, or feel some swelling, I will put the vest back on.

I'll keep you all posted on my progress...

[Badgene]

man all that sounds so scary. But I guess not scarier then a complete future with gyne! Good luck

[a-man]

what sounds scary? the fact that i am healing perfectly, am 100% satisfied with the results, and that i dont think i need the vest anymore?  

[a-man]

my problem wasn't "puffy nips" my nipples were perfectly flat before surgery and still are..

my problem was just that I had large breasts... I am guessing they were mostly fat..

not that I am a fat guy... I was 155lb at 6', with 12% body fat, and I still had breasts... people were saying I looked anorexic at the time.

Anyway for an update, they are lumpy from the scar tissue (which I'm confident will fade over time.. it is already getting better compared to a few days ago), but I have had the vest off for about 5 hours now, just played some basketball (just shooting around by myself), and have no swelling at all.

[doddy]

PLEASE put your vest back on for at least a couple of more weeks. It would suck so much for something you regret to happen.

[a-man]

hmm....

your concern touches me doddy.. and just for you I will wear it as often as I can..

My new plan is just to take it off when I go out with friends.

[kelley]

I also just had surgery about two weeks ago, the day after I looked perfect and I also only had slightly yellowish bruising. My surgeon told me that althought I was healing great, the vest is to be worn, it isn't a person to person case everyone who has surgery should wear the vest for atleast a month, and he did go to medical school for eight years. How much medical school did you attend
But seriously if you spend thousands of dollars like I did for a way out how on earth could you cut corners now!!!!!!
Two more weeks or four more weeks is better than a deformed chest, I know this because you got the surgery. Hang in there man and just let your body heal.

[nukem2k5]

My PS with 27 years of experience explained to me why the vest is only beneficial for the first week or so.  Basically, it takes about a week for one's skin to adhere to the new tissue (granted, this is with regular lipo - I don't know how PAL works).

He told me that when Liposuction was introduced in France, women were instructed to wear their compression for 6 months.  When it moved to the USA, many patients were unwilling to wear the vest for so long and eventually the recommended length of time became shorter and shorter.  He told me that he's never seen a benefit to wearing the vest for 6 months over wearing it a week in terms of final outcome.

The other benefits to the vest are to reduce swelling / bruising, but if you aren't having much of that, then there really isn't much point to wearing the vest for more than a week or two.  Also, obviously the vest provides comforting support, as bumpy roads and things of that nature can be quite painful if one has recently had surgery.  

Some people claim that wearing the vest for 1+ months will prevent what many people here think is scar tissue.  This rough tissue is in fact called 'induration', and it's favorable healing tissue that takes months to go away.  Massaging at least two weeks post-op is supposed to greatly reduce this healing tissue, or at least soften it.

I'm not trying to start a debate, and nor am I trying to say that you shouldn't wear it for more than a week or two.  I only wore the vest for a week and I look fine.  I am now about a month and a half post-op.

[doddy]

hmm....

your concern touches me doddy.. and just for you I will wear it as often as I can..

My new plan is just to take it off when I go out with friends.

That sounds like a good plan. As nukem pointed out, maybe it won't make any difference. BUT, when you're alone or whatever, it's hardly a big deal wearing it, so may as well be safe, rather than sorry.

[a-man]

ok I have to admit, I'm at work today and I'm not wearing the vest... and I feel great.

It's not that the vest annoys me or is too hot, but I really just feel like it is NOT helping my recovery... in fact I think if anything it is doing the opposite.

Right now I could pretty much run a marathon... but with the vest on, when I try to run around it pulls on my chest area because it is very tight and sticky.

Anyway I'm gonna see how this goes. Maybe I'll just wear it at night or something.

[nukem2k5]

with the vest on, when I try to run around it pulls on my chest area because it is very tight and sticky.

That's how I felt.  I had to walk around with a hunch all day and whenever I tried to stand up straight it pulled down in my chest and sort of hurt it.  Of course, walking without it also hurt because just my steps made my chest hurt.  At abotu 2 weeks it didn't bother me as much to walk without it.

[a-man]

That's how I felt.  I had to walk around with a hunch all day and whenever I tried to stand up straight it pulled down in my chest and sort of hurt it.  Of course, walking without it also hurt because just my steps made my chest hurt.  At abotu 2 weeks it didn't bother me as much to walk without it.

Yeah whenever I stood up I would have to hunch over so it wouldn't "pull" on my chest.

Walking without the vest for the first week or so would hurt a bit... but now at 2 weeks post-op, I can even run pretty comfortably without the vest.