Hi Guys,
I’ve been reading through this forum from time to time for over a year and finally decided to take the plunge and go through with my surgery with
Dr. Delgado in San Francisco 3 days ago. So far I’m very happy – read on!
I wanted to share my story because I’m sure there are others going through the same things I went through and I hope they get something out of this.
My StoryI’m 25 years old and have had mild-moderate gyno/puffy nipples from the age of 12-13. I was self conscious about it throughout the years but it never really overtook my life. I had low self-confidence in high school which gyno contributed to but wasn’t the main factor of, but it increased throughout and after college to the point where I’ve been a fairly highly confident young man for the past few years. I’ve never really been overweight and have been around 5’11 and 170-180lbs since high school. I have been, and could live with gyno but I felt that there was so much I was missing out on and that things could certainly be better at times that I decided to bite the bullet and go through with surgery.
ResearchI had no idea what gynecomastia was until googling ‘man boobs’ a few years ago to understand why I looked the way I looked and that is how I found this forum. It was really great to know that there were others going through the same thing and that there was a solution. Surgery seemed appealing but I was living with the condition and was hesitant to fork out that much money and go through with surgery (what about the time off I will take? What will I tell my friends? My parents?).
What finally made me take things further was browsing facebook and seeing a friend’s pictures from a recent houseboating trip with a bunch of girls. I wished I could have gone! I decided I didn’t want to miss out on certain things in life anymore and started doing research on the forum for the best surgeon in my area. I’m from the SF Bay Area and while there were several local doctors that came up on the site the one that seemed to have the best and most abundant feedback was
Dr. Delgado who happened to be in SF so I scheduled a consultation.
ConsultationDr. Delgado and his entire staff were very polite and courteous and
Dr. Delgado himself is a real cool dude who gives you confidence to go through with the procedure because you can tell he takes great pride in his work, has done a lot of it and has the pictures and customer feedback to prove it. We went over my situation and he helped answer any questions I had then took me to a separate room to take a look at my chest. It was real casual and he described what the procedure, healing process and outcome would be like. I got pricing from him and left saying that I’m going to think it over and call back when I’m ready to schedule surgery.
I left knowing this was the doctor for me because I wanted the best and he seemed to have a ton of experience, having specialized in this procedure for many years, and had books and books of examples of his work, all of which seemed great. My gut reaction as well as others’ feedback on this site made it an easy choice.
Cost was pretty high compared to some other estimates I’ve seen on this forum but I didn’t feel this was something I could bargain over. I was quoted around $7500 total which includes
Dr. Delgado’s surgery fee, the operating room fee, the anesthesiologist’s fee, vitamins/supplements to aid in the recovery and vests. I felt I could afford this given my new job and decided to go for the best because I wanted the best possible result.
Telling my Folks“Mom, what are you doing next Monday?”
“Nothing, why?”
“I want to get surgery for my chest.. could you drive me?”
My mom wasn’t freaked out but was worried whether this was a medical scare or if it was just cosmetic. I explained that it’s mostly cosmetic and that I just wanted to look and feel better about myself.
We decided it’s better if dad drove and I basically went through the same routine with him.
We never brought up me having “man boobs” at home but it’s pretty obvious there was something there as I’d walk around with my shirt off at home. I never brought it up but it was something pretty obvious and when they heard that I wanted it fixed I think they understood. I’m very lucky that they are very supportive parents.
Telling my Friends“I can’t hang out next week I’m getting surgery on Monday”
“What are you getting surgery for?”
“Well…. It’s kind of embarrassing but… You know how I kinda got these bitch breasts, well I’m getting them removed”
“oh haha.. alright..”
That is kind of how I told my closest friends and they’ve been cool and we’ve been joking around about it. I told friends who I’m not as close with or who haven’t really seen me with my shirt off that I was getting hernia surgery so I’d be out of it for a few weeks.
Telling WorkI basically told work that I’m getting hernia surgery and will be working from home for a week. Everyone was understanding and wished me well. I’m still working from home and will be back on Monday, hopefully the vest isn’t too obvious, though with an abdominal hernia perhaps a vest isn’t so far-fetched.
Surgery DayWe arrived at the Novato Medical Center on time Monday morning and checked in with the nurse. I was very calm, mostly excited.. couldn’t wait for everything to be over. Everything went super smooth. The last thing I remember was getting injected some anesthesia by Dr. Rodriguez (real cool guy as well) and laying down on the operating platform for 10 seconds. Next thing I know I woke up, was in a vest and being attended to by a helpful nurse. My dad came in shortly after and after spending some time doing miscellaneous things (can’t really remember much) I was wheeled out and we were off in the car.
I was in no pain whatsoever, just a bit of soreness and discomfort from the vest which was pretty snug. In fact I didn’t feel any pain since the surgery other than removing the drains 2 days later. Some people are afraid of full body anesthesia but I think it’s awesome – you just pass out, wake up, and you’re done. Pain free!
The First 72 HoursI took it pretty easy that first day and luckily was attended to by my parents. I wasn’t in pain but I was sore and it was helpful to have someone get me water, pull the Lazy Boy out, cover me, etc.
Dr. Delgado recommends sleeping in an upright position, like in a Lazy Boy the first couple of days to help with the blood flow and this is what I did. It was pretty hard to fall asleep that first night because I usually sleep on my side and had it pretty upright, but the next night was a lot better.
Two days after surgery we drove up to get the drains removed which was a quick procedure in the SF office. It hurt like a bit** and stung the area for about an hour.
Dr. Delgado layed me down and had the first look at my chest after the procedure and said it looked great and that I should have a nice recovery. That was reassuring.
Things got better at home as I’m getting less and less sore and recovering more range of motion around my arms. I finally had the first look at my chest after the surgery when I took a shower this morning.
First Look at My ChestIt was a surreal experience. I didn’t know what to expect because I saw so many variations of post-op pictures on this forum so I took the vest off slowly. It felt like it wasn’t my chest – not only because it looked so much better but also because it was so damn tingly and still kind of numb that when I ran my hands over it I couldn’t quite feel the connection. But it looked great – very flat, nipples weren’t puffy, not a lot of bruising or swelling, just some marks from where the vest had been tight. One thing that surprised me were the dark lines around the inside of the nipple where the incisions had been made – I was hoping they’d be smaller and less noticeable but I’m hoping they’ll fade away with time. It’s kind of hard to notice from the pics below but I’ll post some close-ups in the future.
To be honest
Dr. Delgado said I could take a shower last night (and by all physiological signs I should have) but I was anxious and afraid that what I’d uncover wouldn’t look as good as I’d hoped – but it’s looking great so far. I can’t wait for the healing process to complete and expect my chest to look better each day. Pics are below and I’ll try to post more from time to time to keep you all updated.
Things I’m looking forward to- Not wearing these damn vests !
- Wearing any sort of t-shirt (thin/light colored/whatever!) and looking great
- Not having to pinch my nipples before taking my shirt off at the beach so that they wouldn’t be so puffy
- Not having to sit awkwardly or slouch so that my breasts aren’t poking through
- Going to the beach or pool and not having a second thought about taking my shirt off.
- Running with my shirt off and getting a nice tan
- Going houseboating with friends
- Looking damn good in a suit
- Working out and getting fit again (and some definition back in my chest, the right kind of definition..)
- Not having to flex my pecs when a girl gets close to my chest when I’m dancing at nightclub or during sex
- Being confident during public speaking and not worrying about what people are looking at
- Plenty more I can’t think of now – feel free to add your own!
Final WordsIf you’re on this site you’ve been bothered by it enough – don’t waste another day not living the life you could be enjoying. I recommend finding the right surgeon for yourself and I can definitely recommend
Dr. Delgado – everything has gone smoothly so far and I’ll be seeing him again in the coming weeks and months to check up on my progress. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Alex
PicsPre op - Front
Pre op - Front close up
Pre op - Side
Post op 3 days - front
Post op 3 days - left
Post op 3 days - right
Topic: Dr. Miguel Delgado in San Francisco - Great Experience - 3 days post op recap (Read 5492 times)
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