My Pre and Post Op Pics

[sivadithya]

I am 51 years old from Canada and just had my breast reduction surgery which I wanted to share with you all.

I had teenage Gynecomastia which shrunk to a manageable size when I was in my early 20s. But I could not wear tight T Shirts all my life. To my surprise, starting last December (2011) my breasts became tender to touch and started growing, right one faster than the left one. My GP conducted various tests including MRI of Pituitary gland and ruled out any health issues. He referred me to an Endocrinologist, but again all additional tests came back with no hormonal issues as well. Upon my request I was referred to a PS in our area.

Finally I had my bilateral breast reduction surgery (partial removal of glands and lipo) on this December 13th (Thursday). Fifth day post op, the drains and external sutures were removed. I am wearing a tight under garment with 5 mm thick sponge pads under the garment on my chest area, need to wear it for 6 weeks. So far so good. I am looking forward to my followup appointment with my PS on January 8th.

I am sharing pre and 8th day post op pictures for your review and comments. Thanks. Happy holidays.

[sivadithya]

Just to add to my post, did anyone, especially the guys who had this surgery before or the doctors on the forum,  see any abnormality or concern I need to worry about based on the post op picture? I know it is only 8 days after the surgery, and need lot of healing to take place for the final results, but if anyone could throw some light, I would greatly appreciate. Thanks again.

[George Pope, M.D.]

I think you look fine for 8 days postop.  One side appears a little larger than the other, but it was larger in the preop photo as well.  Hopefully that will go down some as swelling resolves.

Dr. Pope, MD

[sivadithya]

Thank you, Dr. Pope, for your quick response. Really appreciated. I will share my progress on this post frequently. Thanks again.

[Monkey83]

Was the surgery covered by provincial medical? I am in Canada too and want to have it done.

[srnd2012]

Was the surgery covered by provincial medical? I am in Canada too and want to have it done.

I'm also from Canada and mine was covered.  Actually I have to spend 1000 for the lipo and contouring, but the excision gland removal was covered in full.  I'm just anxiously waiting for my appointment to be booked.

[Monkey83]

I sent a formal request to my PS to request it be covered. We'll see. If I only had to pay 1000, I would be ecstatic. Just out of curiosity srnd2012 on what grounds was it covered? My PS told me for adults it's rarely covered.

[srnd2012]

I sent a formal request to my PS to request it be covered. We'll see. If I only had to pay 1000, I would be ecstatic. Just out of curiosity srnd2012 on what grounds was it covered? My PS told me for adults it's rarely covered.

I'm not exactly sure why but I was surprised to find out medicare was covering the surgery.
I visited my family doctor in the summer, then was forwarded to a Endo of his choosing.  I had my hormones checked and came to find out I have lower than normal T levels (I will be getting TRT in the near future), afterwards I mentioned to the Endo that I was interested in a PS that only was an hour away so he sent the request and I had my first consultation a month later.  Its been a long process but it's well worth it since I don't have to pay much.  I've noticed on here many of you guys getting appointments a month or 2 after your first consultation,  I had my consultation back in Sept and I'm still waiting for a confirmed appointment.  So in a way its a double edged sword here in Canada, or at least on the east coast.  My PS does all of his surgeries in the hospital so I'm at the mercy of them,  they decide when the appointment will be and then notify the PS office and then me.  So it could be late spring before I even know when it will be done.   I keep telling myself I'm getting this done for little expense so I try not to think about it too much.

[sivadithya]

My boobs became very tender to touch and started growing, hence my Family Doctor recommanded for surgery. I believe glands removal is covered by Govt healthcare, but lipo and Plastic surgical procedures like technics for hiding sugical scars by making cut along the border of Areola etc., are not covered by Givt. Hence patient pays to PS. In summary, my understanding is that if gland removal is done by a general surgeon on family doctor recommandation, it is fully covered by Govt medicare, but if PS and lipo are involved patient has to pay on top of Govt coverage. Hope this helps.

[fguss01]

My boobs became very tender to touch and started growing

Hi, I am interested to learn whether your breasts were still growing at the time of the surgery?

I am in the same position as you - gyne as an adolescent, slim build and then gyne growth at 51 either due to 5 days of  domperideone or as my endo would have it - idiopathic (no clear cause) - all hormones now normal range. Five months in and I have underarm heat and my chest/nipples are tender and breasts are still growing (slowly) - I didnt realise that it was possible to have the surgery before the growth had finished and stabilised?

Thanks for any advice you can give.....

best regards.

[sivadithya]

Hi fguss01,

Sorry I had problems logging into this site for few days. Hence could not reply early. My boobs again started growing from December 2011 and were growing fast, right one faster than the left one. By the time I consulted by GP in April 2012, the gorwth slowed down and by the surgery time I say they stabilized and tenderness reduced as well. But my PS did not comment about this aspect though. He did say in about 30% of cases after surgery the left out gland material may start to grow again.

Hope this helps.

[fguss01]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

I am having yet more blood tests at endo's request just to make sure that there is no underlying cause for my gyno, this will take a few weeks at which point my GP is going to refer me to our local (UK) NHS breast clinic for evaluation.

I am pretty sure that unless I get a lot more growth I will end up having to pay privately as my case is moderate and not quite as pronounced as yours was pre-op - based on your experience it sounds like giving the gyne time to stabilise before going for the op is a good thing to do.

Thanks and good luck!

[sivadithya]

Hi,

On my PS advice I have started massage (he said it will hurt) on hard tissue starting 5th week PostOp. I am doing massage on surgical openings (now healed along bottom of Areola) as well. I do massage twice a day for 5 minutes each time. I see mild pain and little bit general swelling all over the breasts. On surgery day I was told I only wear compression garment for 6 weeks postOp. I got rid of it at the end of 6weeks and now I am into my 7th week.

Is mild pain and little swelling almost throughout the day is normal once starting massage?
Am I doing massage too hard that I am internally hurting myself? Any experienced forum member or Doctors on the forum, please help.

Thanks in advance.