Dr Kapoor or Dr. Cruise in Los Angeles? recommend for bodybuilder/fit guy?

[silentsam]

I am trying to find a plastic surgeon with experience and an art of the craft close to the Los Angeles area - any further is out of the question.
I heard great things about Degaldo but he is just too far away in San Fran.

I have always been a natural fitness model and bodybuilder, which is why it sucks to get gynecomastia! I never took steroids, just regular supplementation, so I need a doctor who is confident in his approach and will not leave me with scarring and that looks great, and takes the pain away.

A lot of the before and after shots I see are of average guys who aren't fitness models or bodybuilders, so I need to find a doctor who is confident with these types of patients, and to make them look great again.

I have googled and used this website and it sounds like some of my best options in Los Angeles, surrounding areas are Dr Kapoor and Dr. Cruise.

I am just looking for feedback from people who have had surgery with either, or just any feedback in general.

What was the cost? Is it local or general anesthesia?

I have lied with this for years now and I am finally going to do something about it.
The pain is so bad I feel it all day, every day..



MY BACKSTORY WITH GYNECOMASTIA:


I have always had a mild case of puffy nipples (nothing that noticeable). However, in 2008 I started taking propecia as precaution to make sure my hair stayed looking well (i did a lot of fitness modeling - looks important).
I developed a lump and had pain - a lot of pain.

I stopped taking it shortly after - around mid 2009.
Pain never went away, neither did lump.

Stupidly, I started saw palmetto at the start of 2011 and the lump seemed to grow new tissue. I got off saw palmetto after a couple weeks on it and haven't touched anything since. All I care about is my body.

The pain on both sides has always never gone away. The lump on my right side is a lot bigger. The lump is visually the issue but the pain is so very bad!

I am lean, muscular and gynecomastia is effecting my appearance. I tried getting down to a very low  bodyfat but it just makes it worse.

Thanks in advance.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Both of these surgeons have excellent reputations.  Perhaps it is worth having a consultation with both and then decide.  Remember, go with your "gut" feeling -- someone with whom you feel comfortable and confident -- don't let the fee be the only deciding factor.

Sorry to hear about your gyne.  Both propecia and saw palmetto (which has estrogenic effects) are known to have gyne as a side effect -- but not for all guys.  You just happen to have been "lucky."  And once the tissue develops, it usually stays and requires surgery to remove it.

Surgery for body builders can be tricky -- go to an expert!

Good luck!

Dr Jacobs

[silentsam]

Dr Jacobs.. Thank you for your quick response & time!

I knew some of the risks with propecia/saw palmetto but they always down played these type of side effects.
I researched afterwards and found many, many men with gynecomastia from them.
I think many guys need to realize that the pain and look from gynecomastia is a lot worse than some hair loss.

[silentsam]

Both of these surgeons have excellent reputations.  Perhaps it is worth having a consultation with both and then decide.  Remember, go with your "gut" feeling -- someone with whom you feel comfortable and confident -- don't let the fee be the only deciding factor.

Sorry to hear about your gyne.  Both propecia and saw palmetto (which has estrogenic effects) are known to have gyne as a side effect -- but not for all guys.  You just happen to have been "lucky."  And once the tissue develops, it usually stays and requires surgery to remove it.

Surgery for body builders can be tricky -- go to an expert!

Good luck!

Dr Jacobs

I just checked out your website - loved that you had bodybuilder before & after pictures.. and that they looked very nicely done!

I do not see many plastic surgeons with these types of pictures in california… which is a surprise because it is the fitness model and bodybuilder state of the US… Maybe even world.

I think you are right. My skin is tight everywhere else. My chest shape is defined but I have slight puffy nipples and now a lump bigger than a golf ball in my right pec. It just sounds like more of a complicated surgery than a guy who has had extreme childhood gynecomastia - for which I feel for them because they have lived with the condition throughout school and college.

[Baba]

Dr. Cruise did a Gynecomastia on me and the results are really bad. Check these pictures and judge for yourself. Let me know if you have any questions.     

Don't use the[IMG] I had to add them otherwise I couldn't use the link.

[Baba]

I am trying to upload some pics from another site but it does not work.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

These post op photos can be misleading unless you also post your pre-op photos as well.  From what I see, you seem to be an older man -- and immediately, with age, one could predict some lax skin -- which is evident in the photos.  Routine gyne surgery, without skin excision (and resultant scars), cannot remove the infra-mammary fold.  Also, there is asymmetry of your chest -- check the positions of your shoulders.  The left shoulder is lower than the right -- and that will reflect itself in your chest.  And, there may be an accumulation of scar tissue, which is no-one's fault -- it just happens.  Scar tissue can sometimes be treated with cortisone injections.

In essence, no chest (and no human being) is absolutely perfectly mirror-image symmetrical.

When I meet with patients in consultation, I specifically discuss these issues ahead of surgery.

Dr Jacobs

[silentsam]

I think I saw your pictures before.

I had a consultation with Dr. Cruise and was very impressed with him. His staff are also extremely nice.
He told me that I would simply need gland removal, no lipo of fat. I am about 8-9% bodyfat right now, and even this is a little high for me.
I have been lifting weights since 16 and have been natural bodybuilder and fitness model, so I don't have this condition from puberty or being overweight, but from over the counter herbs for the past 4-6 years.
It has really affected what I wear, how intense I am in putting the work in at the gym, with my clients, etc.

He seems to do 5-6 of these on certain weeks and 100's a year. Although busy, he really puts you at ease and the conversation is specific to you, heartfelt and not scripted.

Some people have mixed reviews from gland only removal but from the new research I have done, especially with regards to my own body type, some doctors who specialize in doing a lot of bodybuilders gynecomastia surgeries remove only the gland due to the person having low bodyfat and the fact that they have defined muscle.

He made it seem like it would be an easier procedure than yours.

Trust me, I am really trying to do a little more research before booking any of the doctors I have looked at.. But I have to have this done soon.
I am sorry you did not have the results you would have liked. Did you have contact with Dr. Cruise months later? Most of his before and after pictures look great. Then again, I was looking at the less severe forms of gynecomastia results.

[Baba]

To be fair Dr. Cruise is the nicest guy you can deal with, also his office staff, I can't say anything bad about him or his staff but as far as the surgery he did I am very disappointed. I saw so many pictures from before and after and all those pictures look perfect. I did the surgery (Bilateral excision of breast tissue with bilateral skin removal in donut shape)in July of 2011. I have a huge/large crater on my left breast also which is very hard to see on the pictures. I saw him about six months ago and he wants to do an Anker lift to fix the issues. You can see his outline of the areas he wants to cut out. I got a second opinion from a double board certified plastic surgeon in San Diego and he said that is not a good solution and it will leave me with a lot of scars. I am really busy running a small business that's why I don't post more frequently. Maybe I am the only unlucky patient with bad results. Good luck with your surgery no matter which surgeon you pick.

[silentsam]

Was he considering the lift in the prior surgery? What else can be done to bring them up? Did Dr. Cruise lipo the surrounding areas for you along with excision?

It sounds like your case was/is a lot more severe than mine- with the skin removal, etc. However, thank you for posting here and letting me know of your surgery.

I am sorry your results did not meet expectations.