Surgery with Levick COMPLETE (29-08-12) <pre and post op pics posted>

[darkstar]

Thanks enom. Well I had a little moment of panic last night. I suddenly got worried about the size difference between the two sides. I was worrying that paul had taken out too much from one side. But after looking at the chest for a while, I think it's just the fact that there is a difference in swelling and scar tissue. The RHS has more swelling and I can feel some hard lumps, which I think is scar tissue, not completely sure though. The LHS has swelling up near the armpit, directly above where the tape was, securing the bandages. i think the bandages were put on wonky, and too low down on this side, hence the swelling. I also tried on a t-shirt without the vest and that made me instantly happy.

I'm in aweful shape at the moment, I feel awful. I've put on a good bit of fat over the past few weeks, and thats also effecting my self-esteem. But I keep telling myself, that I'll be in the gym hitting it harder than ever in 5/6 weeks time.

[darkstar]

Yesterday I spent the whole day sitting outside in the sun, drinking cider, had the BBQ going as we were sending two good mates off traveling. Last time I'll see them in about 10 months so I though 10 days post-op i'd drink. Wasn't intending to drink so much, but we had a 20 litre box of cider to get through!

I then decided to take the compression vest off, when we headed into town. I wore a tight fitting white t-shirt that I've never worn out before. I couldn't quite believe I had such a flat profile. Had an amazing night, didn't feel my chest once, no pain. Woke up today with a hangover but still buzzing. Went to watch the rugby today, pretty much felt normal, with the odd exception when I need to reach for something.

I know things will get a bit worse from here before getting better again, but I'm loving life right now

[darkstar]

Well I'm 15 days post-op now and things are going well. The one thing I'm really trying to do, is resist the temptation to look at my chest too often. The only time I see it is every morning, when I have a shower, and even then, I don't study it. This is mainly to stop me obsessing over it. It's best to just leave it to get on with healing. I can feel large pieces of scar tissue. On the LHS it's near the incision. On the RHS it's spread throughout the chest. I'm not massaging yet as I think it's a bit too early, will probably wait for another week, as it's still quite tender to touch and there are still a few visible bruises.

Over the past 3 or so days< I've really noticed a huge increase in mobility. I can reach for things with more ease now. I can't extend my arms straight above my head yet, but it's close. I also (out of habit) leaned at an angle on the kitchen work surface, which involved pushing myself up (like an easy push-up). I had no pain doing this, which was interesting. But I won't be dropping to do proper push-ups anytime soon.

I'm slightly apprehensive thinking about the effect the recovery/vest will have on my first week at uni, starting monday... I'm even debating if I should stop wearing the vest during the day. It's be 5 days before Paul recommends but I'm questioning the impact it'll have (if any).

EDIT- Just a little piece of advice. I only have 1 compression vest and think it's enough. If I were you, I'd save the £40+ you'd spend on a second one and spend it on some new clothes. I wash it every couple of days, depending on how active I've been. It takes about 3 hours total, including hand wash and drying outside. So you are not without compression for very long at all.

[wingman]

Hi dark star, what colour compression vest would you recommend? Can it be seen through shirts?

[improving]

Good point about the colour of the vest, i too was only planning on buying 1 vest.

Could you describe what the scar tissue feels like mate? Does it distort the shape of your chest much? Have you got any swelling at this stage?

[darkstar]

My vest is white and can't be seen through most t-shirts. You can see it through thin, lightly coloured shirts though. But on the whole, it's not a problem at all. For example though, last night I went out for a meal and wanted to wear a white t shirt, so just left the vest at home, a few hours doesn't seem to make any difference.

Scar tissue feels solid. You'll know you have it as soon as you feel it, as it's like no other tissue you'd expect to have in your chest. I have a couple of large pieces and when studying the chest you can see the odd lump, and on the LHS it's noticeably raised. But under t-shirts it's not visible.

Swelling has not been too bad at all. I think the bandages worn during the first week make a huge difference.

[improving]

Any updates on your mobility mate? I play in a squash league and I was hoping i'd be back into it 3 weeks post op. I'm starting to think realistically i'll be out longer,

[darkstar]

Hey man, I'm now nearly 3 weeks post op and mobility is good. Not 100% but OK. The chest is still a bit tender to touch and personally I wouldn't want to splay squash yet. I could, without doubt. But I don't want to push it too early and risk the recovery process going on for longer than it need to. I've accepted the fact I can't do much exercise now and will have the mentality that I'll go hard for 10 weeks and get back into decent shape.

I've stopped wearing the vest 24/7 now. I wear it all night and a bit during the day. But I'm at a new uni and meeting new people so want to feel normal.

[darkstar]

Time for a few picture updates. I'm 25 days post op and getting very fat. I feel pretty horrible about that, but........ the chest is flat

These two pictures shoe me wearing the typical t-shirt I would have never gone out in before the operation.

[darkstar]

These pictures show without the shirt. There are some visible marks because I took the vest off a few second before taking the pictures. You can see some slight lumps from the scar tissue, but I started to massage with bio oil last night and will try to do it at least once per day. There is no bruising anymore, but the chest is still tender.

[Nipper]

Mate, you gotta be happy with that comparison shot though eh?  I can see some thing close to one of your nipples I think you were referring too, but to be honest if I never knew about the whole scar tissue thing, would say that looks normal...Think the acid test is when you can compare a fully healed un-tensed to a tensed chest.  Still early doors, but I'd be happy with that, I'm bruised to fawk at the minute, and itchy!  Even those creases on the nipple don't look bad, I only noticed the second or third time I looked... It all still looks very masculine, and that's the point , right?

[darkstar]

Thanks man. Oh yeah I'm very happy about the results. I wasn't expecting too much before the op and at the 25 day stage I'm in a better place than I predicted. After a full day without the vest, the nipple creases goes away, so not worried about that. I can feel large lumps of scar tissue, but I know these will go away eventually so not bothered. They can't be seen through clothes so it's not a problem.

I'm just getting so frustrated not being able to live the lifestyle I want to live. I want to be climbing 3 times a week, getting to the gym to lift some weights, swimming etc. But instead I'm going out drinking and watching movies. I'm going to be very busy academically, starting from Wednesday, so this will have to change. But I'm going to need something to break up the reading/writing/lectures, and exercise is the perfect option. I lifted a few weight today. Just a few arm exercises. Bicep curls, hammer curls, triceps kickbacks etc. Felt a lot better after.

Whatever you do man, keep positive throughout. You can have the odd bad day, then your mood can change completely, within a day.

In summary though, I'm very happy with the results so far.

[Nipper]

I hear about 5-6 weeks is about right to get back to the gym.  Think Chopper would be the one to ask.  Me, I abstained from weight training all year, spazzed my back down the gym at Xmas but I knew I might do this so I never trained all year, just kept up the cycling but knew if I was in great shape at time of Op, I'd jump back in the gym too soon, fearing I was losing size etc.  I figure this time will be the last time I'm outta shape.  

Same reason why I chose to do it later in the year, plenty of time to whip myself into shape for next summer.  I can imagine it will get frustrating, especially if you are used to training, you will feel you are missing out.  I feel another week or two is critical at this stage and if you rush back, the results might not be reversible...or the healing would definitely be exacerbated.  I'm sure there is a log by someone on here who went back to the gym a wee bit early, they still felt ok while working out...but they write that they had done more damage than good..Think it was "wantridofgyno17"  check his thread mate.

[wingman]

I can only echo what others have said here, excellent results. Inspiring.

[darkstar]

I'm starting to notice some big improvements in my flexibility and use of upper body. When I raise my arms directly above my head, it still feels a bit tight in the chest, but a lot better than a week ago. I was out in town last night and someone came up to me and patted me on the chest, I didn't even think about it at the time, but it is still slightly tender.

I'm still not doing much physically. The massaging has taken a back seat, i've only managed it 4 times in the past week. I need to take it more seriously though, as I have a fair amount of scar tissue.