My experience so far with Dr. Lista (updated with pics)

[shaknbake]

Well, I've got my 4 week follow up appointment today.  Kinda crappy weather to be driving 3 hours away, but whattayagonnado?  Every day now my chest is starting to feel more normal again.  I've started to regain sensation in my right nipple already!  I honestly wasn't expecting that for months from now, so that was a welcome feeling.  I've been religiously massaging as instructed, and I think it's making a difference.  The large mass of scar tissue on my left side is much softer than it used to be, ans seems to have shrunk away in some spots.  It is still swollen a bit though, so it doesn't "look" much different.  The range of motion in my arms is pretty well back to normal too.  I used to have a "pulled muscle" feeling when raising my arms over my head, but no longer.  I'll post more once I see Dr. Lista for the last time today.  C ya!

[HellandBack]

Good luck with your follow up bro, let us know how it goes glad to hear your improvements 

[shaknbake]

I'm in the doctors waiting room as we speak!  What a friggin' drive    I hate highway driving in the winter!

[shaknbake]

So my 2nd follow up consultation went really well.  Dr. Lista said every thing looks great!  I would have to agree.  I stopped him to ask about the large lump of scar tissue that had formed on my left side, and how long it may take for any other lingering scar tissue to break down.  He said it could be anywhere up to a year!  Bummer....oh well.  In the meantime, he said I should continue to massage frequently, and keep it up as long as there is scar tissue that can be felt.  So looks like I have at least a year of massaging to look forward to....   (Maybe after the sensitivity had dropped off a bit, I can get my wife to help out with that hehehe!) 
As always, Dr. Lista was polite and pleasant, but seemed in a bit of a hurry.  To be honest, I could have just saved myself the time and expense of driving 3 hours there and 3 hours back for the whole 6 minutes he spent with me in the check up room.  That's the one thing I wish would change about him.  Don't get me wrong, he's really great at what he does, and my personal results are wonderful, but because he's in such a rush, I forget to ask him all of the questions I had previously been thinking about.  I guess I should have written them down.  But I almost get the feeling that he rushes through the visit so that there is no chance for his patients to complain about anything.  I had questions, but certainly no complaints!  But that's the impression that I get anyways.  It's too bad really, because with all of the skill he obviously has, if he would just sit down and take a few extra minutes to ask his patients if they have any concerns or questions, he would be the "total package" you'd want in any doctor.  But, regardless of bedside manner, it's the final results that count.  So that being said, I'm extremely pleased!

[jordan1x]

The pictures are really small so its hard to see but are there visible scars from the incision? Did you call Dr. Lista directly or did you see your doctor first? I'm thinking of seeing him asap but i noticed he only does lipo? Isnt having solely lippo and no gland removal not recommended?

[shaknbake]

The pictures are really small so its hard to see but are there visible scars from the incision? Did you call Dr. Lista directly or did you see your doctor first? I'm thinking of seeing him asap but i noticed he only does lipo? Isn't having solely lipo and no gland removal not recommended?

Actually, he does gland removal and lipo.  He removes the gland, and does the lipo through the small incisions at the side of the chest, instead of using a secondary incision below the areola.  This minimizes the visible scarring.  I have 2 small incision marks on either side of the chest, which I am currently treating with silicone patches.  The patches help to make the scars become less noticeable over time, and blend in with the surrounding skin.  I didn't see my family doctor at all, until I had to get the pre op physical done.  You won't either.  Just call or email his office, and they will take care of the rest from there.  Sorry about the size of the pics, I'm new at posting pictures, and haven't quite figured out how to re size the pictures properly.  I actually have to post more in the next day or so.  I'm just over the 6 week mark, and things are improving nicely.  Keep an eye out for the new pics.  I'll try to make them bigger next time!

[hmm512]

thanks of these posts! how's the chest feeling these days? i went for a consult with Lista over 1.5 years ago and still havent booked a surgery appointment . I really need to pull the trigger, especially after seeing your results! how much did you pay, out of curiosity?

[shaknbake]

Thanks!  I just looked at the pics I posted again, and its amazing how much things change in a short period of time.  I have to post more pics since this Thursday I will be 8 weeks out.  THings have really begun to smooth out.  I still have swelling on both sides, more so on the left, but the sides of the chest under the arms are beginning to look alot better.  My cost ended up being $5900 plus tax ($6667) in total.  I was charged an extra $1000 to have additional lipo done on the sides of the chest since I had "rolls" that would have ruined an otherwise good outcome.  It's not perfect yet, as I still have much healing to do, but it's a huge improvement over what it was before!  I'll be posting more pics soon though, keep an eye out!

[zm]

Hey shakenbake...
I have to say your results look amazing....

i'd be interested to see some pics of the incisions around the side of the chest as my surgeon went in under both of my nipples. scars not noticeable to be honest.

[shaknbake]

Ya, I've got to post some new pics.  Things are looking quite a bit better than they were on the last ones I posted.  As far as the side incisions go, they aren't too bad at all.  A bit reddish right now, but I've been using the silicone sheeting like the doc recommended so I expect they will be much less noticeable by summer.  I'll definitely post some close ups of them though along with the next set of pics.  Thanks for reading along!