What aftercare will be needed?

[InAmberClad]

Hi,

After 16 years of self-loathing and blaming myself for my large chest I finally went to see a surgeon about getting something done. I assumed liposuction would be the course of action but he said that I have Gynecomastia. I was aware of the condition as a friend had it removed when he was in his teens, but I always assumed I just needed to lose weight. After losing over 4.5 stone my chest was pretty much still the same.

I live alone at the moment and my parents are worried about the sort of aftercare I will need. Although everyone's case is different, what are people's experience of needing help and for how long after the surgery?

Many thanks and I'm really glad I found the website. I no longer have to suffer alone    
  

[work in progress]

Welcome! I had surgery this past August with Dr. Jacobs. I'm going to reply based on my experience. I'll preface by giving you a few details to help when comparing to your own situation: I had an outpatient  gynecomastia procedure combined with liposuction of other areas. Both excision and lipo were used in dealing with the chest. No skin reduction was performed. No drains were needed. Twilight anesthesia (sedatives + local) was used.

Day 1 Post-Op

(Some assistance needed)

I had a ride waiting after the procedure due to the mild impairment that can linger from IV sedatives. We patients must wait a day before operating a motor vehicle, skeet shooting, or performing brain surgery!

I had also arranged for a friend to come by that evening to check on me. She hung out, but I didn't need any help in particular.

The pain wasn't bad. Rarely past a level I'll call "discomfort". It began a couple hours after the procedure as the final effects of local anesthesia faded. Brief, sharper pinches of pain came and went. A common cause of these ouch moments would be the act of extending my arm and twisting my torso to get up from the bed or couch. Tylenol was enough to dull it. Sleep was restless.

Day 2-4

(No particular aftercare or help needed)

Soreness. Trying to lifting my arms over my head was another one of those moments for wincing. On the first 4 days I stuck to wearing short-sleeve shirts that buttoned in the front. Tylenol use continued until day 3 and then was no longer necessary. To this day I've never used the prescription painkiller given to me by the Doc.

Day 5 through Week 4

(Recovery had become very routine by this point. Unless you want a couch moved you should be fine)

Soreness. Back to work at the office. Except for not being able to lift heavy objects or work-out at the gym, life is not far from normal. No help was needed for driving, carrying regular objects, or (slowly at first) lifting arms overhead to put on shirts and what not. During most of this period the sharper variety of pain was limited to occasional flickers of sensation beneath the areola at the direct excision sites.

Week 5 and on

Full speed life. You won't need help. But it's nice when you can get it.


-Dan

[InAmberClad]

Hi Dan,

Thanks very much for the reply. I will be having gland excision, lipo and skin removal. I'll be having a general anesthetic and the operation will be about 2.5 hours. I'll also be having lipo on my abdomen to get rid of the excess fat I can't shift. I'm guessing that I'll need some more care as I'm having more work done.

Thanks again,

Paul