1 YEAR Post-Surgery by Mr Levick on 16-01-2014 : (98 photos)

[Donut]

I know other people have bought Nike compression shirts from sports shops to do the same job, and seems to have worked fine, so what you already have will be fine ok I suspect - it is just the design of the vests does not give any compression to upper chest / under arm area, and so when swelling sets in it tends to get "squished out" of the top of the vest in that area, and I and others have found that the vest straps and arm holes then dig into it and make it even worse in a vicious cycle. A t-shirt compresses that whole area and makes things much more comfortable, with the added bonus of 2 layers of compression over the surgery area itself, which is a good thing!

I bought 2 macom vests, wear one wash one (by hand, cool water!) and let it drip-dry overnight. Hot water in washing machine and / or tumble drying can adversely affect the fabric and destroy compression qualities... So look after them and they'll serve you well!

[AchillesUK]

Yeah I was thinking my amazon vest might not give good coverage.

Cool, the Nike one sounds a good idea, I'll be able to wear that long after the gynae problems are gone without getting any 'why are you wearing a corset' enquiries.

When choosing the size (for a Nike vest), should I try it on in the shop and purposefully go for one that feels extra tight? i.e. something I would normally consider too tight.

Also what made you go for Macom as opposed to the one Mr Levick's office recommends? Is it the 2070 you ordered?

Thanks again.

[Donut]

Yeh I would go for as tight as you can bear!

I liked the longer length of the macom vests - I got the 2070L version, as I'd read several people having problems with the shorter length vests either 'riding up' or just being very uncomfortable along the bottom edge digging into stomach - plus with one long enough to tuck into trousers etc there is no risk of a visible line under a t-shirt etc.

Doing it again, I would probably have ordered the 2070LB as that has the sleeves and coverage of upper chest area so would do the same job as wearing a T under the normal 2070.

I got a black and a champagne one (they didn't have any white in small size at time)

[Donut]

Well, nothing really more to report at the over-5-month stage.  No real visual improvement from 4 months I don't think, hence am resisting taking any photos until 6 months mark, in order to not get too depressed at lack of any progress! - hopefully in a few more weeks any very slow improvement that is going on will be more noticeable, plus general concencus seems to be that at 6 months the result is pretty much all there.

Also I'm about 10lb heavier than was on surgery day, so must make an effort to get rid of that before 6-month anniversary so as to give true comparison!

[thetodd]

What your going through is normal mate,

id day a year plus for final results to be honest, took me a year and a visit to Karidis to get my head clear dont feel too down in the dumps about it. Its all normal its psychological mate ive gone into massive detail before about post op recovery but i can never find that specific post. But yeah its normal mate and i know this sounds harsh but a lot of it is body dysmorphia post op, have a read up on it i know there are area's you are unhappy with but your mind will be making it so much worse than it actually is.

If you want to make the recovery progress a bit easier id say sign off the forums, and just focus your mind on other things for now because it doesnt help reading other people's diaries etc when they are whipping their top of 1 month post. But yeah grab yourself a book to read or something, do something productive you'l feel better about it down the line. If a revision is needed then its not a problem but give it a year.

[AchillesUK]

Hey Qaz,

No, Mr Levick says to leave this on for the full week and just wash around it - bit of a nuisance, but there we go! - it would be really difficult to get back on tight enough anyway because of the way it overlaps - you can't really hold the overlapped bit whilst you stretch it round, if that makes sense. Takes two of them to do it whilst you're out cold on the operating table!

I've ordered 2 Macom vests today, should arrive Tuesday, ready to swop on Thurs/Fri when I can take this off, have a proper look, and a proper shower!

No-one can know how this horrible condition affects us apart from ourselves. Mine was just about able to be well disguised most of the time - summer was always button up shirts with 2 chest pockets on, a size too big... Just about got away with it! - winter not so bad of course with a few layers. A lot of my life I've been 2-3 stone heavier than I am now too, and of course that balances out things a bit, but got fed up of being overweight, apart from it not being good for me.

Glad you're sorting it out at a young age - I missed all those years of topless summers and beach holidays etc. - hope to start catching up this summer!

You should start a thread on here 

Hey Donut,

I havent read your entire thread, but just to clarify, they put on the binder thing during surgery and it didnt come off for a week? Mine has already slipped off a couple of times (I had surgery yesterday). In fact when Mr Levick came to seem me for discharge, he just causually closed it for me (with a bit of pressure). I was just left with the impression that we could close it ourselves. I've had to already open and close it once since coming home since it was slippling too far down. Just a bit worried I havent got it on tight enough.

[Squidge]

Hi Achilles,  I would say email/call Mr Levick and ask him - he's always been really quick to respond in my experience.  My binder was put on in surgery and was really tight when I came around, and stayed like that for a few days.  When it did loosen up a bit, I called his office and asked if it was ok to tighten it myself, and his advice was to keep it tight for the first week.  You might need someone to help you with it, but I'd say it's definitely worth following up.

[AchillesUK]

Thanks thetodd.

I think it just goes to show how important the compression is, as under the vest I have no real 'normal' swelling at all (the seroma is a different thing of course). I'm right on the stated upper size limit of this small vest too (in fact probably an inch over), and I have it on its tight setting - so it is pretty snug! - But I figure it is there to do a job, so no point being loose.

Just heard back from Mr Levick (pretty good service considering it's Sunday!), and I'm popping in to see him in the morning to drain he fluid. He says it will probably go away on its own in time, but is better to drain it off as that will lessen the chances of scar tissue forming there.

Like most guys I guess, most t-shirts I own currently are of the rather baggy variety! - so those would bunch up everwhere under the vest, so I might buy another compression t-shirt, as today is MUCH more comfortable now that the armpit swelling is under a bit of compression too. I'll leave it on through the night as will be interesting to see if swelling has gone down any by the morning. Don't know if this is a common problem with other guys or not?, but is interesting to note that Macom make a sleeved version of the compression top; which I wish I'd have bought now.

Hey donut, I was wondering if you could possibly look at my one week pics on my thread. Just wondering whether you think what I have are seromas too?

Thanks if possible, and thanks for keeping such detailed notes on your thread even when it seemed no-one else was reading/posting! It's certainly helped someone like me who is going through the journey several months after you.

[Dave92]

Top thread, thanks for sticking to it. I'm 9 days post op and this helped a lot.

[Donut]

Hey everyone!

I've not been around for a few months deliberately; the changes were slowing so much that I was in fear if obsessing over nothing, so wanted to give a good few months gap before taking and comparing any more photos.

I got a PM from a member today, which prompted me to log in.

Glad to see lots more guys have been "fixed"!

Summer has been fantastic: just the simple joy of wearing a nice t-shirt in public is something only us lot of post-ops will ever experience.

I've managed to put on a stone in weight over summer since my last set of pics, so am working hard on losing that again over the next few weeks before I take and post any more photos in order to give a true comparison. So for those who have followed me and are wondering how things look now, fear not! - ill be back in few weeks with some more pics.

However, just to let you know things are looking pretty good I think, seems to be a bit more fat on left side than the right, but only noticeable by pinching, doesn't show in t-shirt, and I don't think anyone would notice topless either... I of course am very self critical!  Once I've lost this little bit of excess flab, that may well sort itself out. Some is definitely soft fat, but there is a little bit of harder stuff that feels like the old glandular tissue, but is probably scar tissue. Once I've lost this bit of weight I'll pop in to see Mr Levick again to see what he thinks - if it's scar tissue then perhaps a jab of kenalog to help break it down.

See you all again soon!

[AchillesUK]

Good to hear from you Donut.

Looking forward to your updates. I must admit, a little surprised that fat has accumulated on your chest with only putting on a stone of weight. Mr Levick said you'd have to put on a huge amount of weight to put fat on the chest again.

Anyway hope it goes well at your next consultation.

[qazwsxedcrfvtgb]

Hey donut, hope your doing well. I have almost the same thing. The stuff under my nipple feels a lot like the gland used to but it's shrunk loads over the last couple months that I'm convinced it's scar tissue.
I went to levick 2 months ago and he advised against kenalog for my scar tissue. I will probably go to see him soon as well.

[AchillesUK]

Hey donut, hope your doing well. I have almost the same thing. The stuff under my nipple feels a lot like the gland used to but it's shrunk loads over the last couple months that I'm convinced it's scar tissue.
I went to levick 2 months ago and he advised against kenalog for my scar tissue. I will probably go to see him soon as well.

Hey. When did you have surgery, if you dont mind me asking? Also did Mr Levick give a reason for advising against Kenalog?

I've just hit the 4 month mark and there's still a whole load of hard tissue under my right nipple.Was hoping Mr Levick might offer the steroid shot at the 6 month mark.

[Donut]

Hello everyone and a much belated Happy 2015!

To those of you who's new year resolution is to 'get fixed' I wish you well - best money you'll ever spend!

Just like my last posting, I've been trying hard not to obsess over the miniscule changes. I deliberately haven't taken any photos for ages - so much so I actually forgot to take any at the one year recovery stage, which I *did* intend to do! Never mind!

Nips have just about evened out now I'm pleased to report. I doubt anyone would notice at all. There was quite a kind of 'dent' on left side for a long while, but that has pretty much gone now too. Still a good lump of scar tissue in that side; I did contact Mr Levick recently about it and he invited me to pop in, I just haven't had the time! - but will do soon.

My good intentions to lose that bit of extra weight didn't materialise. And then came Xmas. Oh dear. So got a bit more to lose now! With summer in sight, and thoughts of braving the beach topless for first time since I was a kid, I really must make the effort!

I will get around to taking some more photos, but for my own satisfaction and a true fair comparison, I need to get down to the same bodyweight again as surgery day. My left side still seems a little 'fuller' than the right, although seems to be slowly evening out. Again, not sure if that is late swelling that is still subsiding, or the result of lump of scar tissue under there, or a general increase in body fat evening things out. So again, not a fair before/after at the moment as could be any of those things, or a combination of course.

Fact is I look totally normal, even 'not bad at all' in a T-shirt, and that was what I wanted when I set out on this journey.  

So there we are - I've not disappeared, will be back again with more photos in coming months I promise!

Right, looks like I have a whole load of new threads to get acquainted with!

[hopetochange]

Great to read your update and look forward to seeing photos