The time has come. Surgery with Levick. 10 Month Update!

[Donut]

Looking forward to seeing your results!... at least Mr Levick is getting plenty of practice in on everyone before its my turn! 

[mike93]

Hey guys,

So i'm officially post op. I will update you all tonight. What I will say to you is that it was an incredible experience and I can't wait to tell you all about it tonight.

[mike93]

Ok so I've had some time to rest so here's what happened:

So I got to the Priory about 11:00 and I was shown to my room almost immediately by a really friendly porter. He was very chatty and showed me how everything in the room worked. The rooms are nice, very clean and comfortable and it was also good to have a TV in the room. One by one I was greeted by the nurses, the catering staff, the anesthetist and of course Mr Levick.

Every single member of staff was lovely and made me feel extremely welcome and calmed my nerves. I was given a menu card so I could pick my dinner and breakfast for the next day. I was then given the gown, stockings, a dressing gown and paper pants to change in to. They also gave me some antiseptic stuff to clean my chest with. At about 2:30 the anesthetist nurse came to collect me and assured me that I had nothing to panic about.

Mr Levick marked me up and took some pre-op photos and then the anesthetist came in and I just closed my eyes and next thing I remember I woke up in recovery very tightly bandaged up. I also had some kind of pressure pads around my legs. I was wheeled back to my room at about 5:30 and was given something to eat about 6:30. Mr Levick came in and showed me what he had take out and there was a hell of a lot more gland and fat taken out then I could have ever of expected. The food was fairly good. I had chicken soup follow by braised beef and roast vegetables and then some ice cream for dessert. During the night I really struggled, the drains and pressure pads really restricted my movement and I found I needed the toilet about 5 times during the night. The nurses were excellent and as soon as I pressed the buzzer they came running in to help.

I found it a little bit difficult to pass urine because of the anesthetic but it did eventually happen and I was fine by the morning. Mr Levick came in and checked everything. The drains were removed which was quite painful but after that I was discharged and I was back on my way home by 11:00am.

Will post the post op pictures when Levick has sent them to me.

[Donut]

Well done! - as much as everyone naturally worries about surgery and going under etc., afterwards almost everyone's description sounds a bit like quite a nice day out being pampered, with just the few seconds of quick pain when drains come out!

[shiftend]

Well done, its a nice fealing to finally get through it.

[mike93]

Thanks Donut and Shiftend.

Day 2 post op:

My chest is very sore this morning. I Feel a little bit restricted in terms of movement. It's really nice to walk around without my back hunched though. I don't feel like there's anything pulling me down anymore.

I'm strangely looking forward to posting what Levick has taken out. I had such a huge amount of gland and gunk come out of my chest It really shocked me. I'm not sure when I'll receive these pics but I'll put them up for you when I do get them.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym so that I can flatten out my stomach. Still need to lose about a stone or 2 there before I'm fully comfortable with my weight. I think this will be a lot easier without the gynecomatia. I'm hoping to get back to the gym on week 3 just sticking with light cardiac and take it easy until week 6 when i'll go back to weight training.

Just quickly on a separate note I wanted to thank all of you guys for your support. Reading others threads and comments is the only reason I went through with this surgery. Without this forum I probably would have gone to university depressed with my body and no confidence at all. I hope to keep everyone as updated as I can so that other people with this problem will consider surgery.

[mike93]

Day 3 post op:

Again I had no problem sleeping last night. When I'm lying down the bandages loosen and hence there is a bit of relief. The bandages are really itchy at the moment especially on my left side. Only 5 more days until I can take them off.

[craig321]

Well done for having the courage. Did you have to wait long between the consultation and having the op and did you have many options on choosing a date? What is the situation with blood tests before the operation?

I'm currently out of work but have plenty of money to pay for op. It's made me re-evaluate my life. I've suffered with this since I was 11, 35 now. Went to docs at 18, ripped and muscular to the core but still fat on my chest. He asked if I was taking steroids(Never touched them) and said I will grow out of it. Went again when I was 30. Doc was more understanding, had blood test done and came out ok. Offered advice about NHS but I've got no interest in NHS. I want someone who specialises in this area. Before you know it half your life is nearly over and your left wondering.

your a long time dead. I'm starting to think life is to short to be letting something like this ruin it. You know its the little things like trying to hide it in summer and even stupid things like when I get a new job, what sort of uniform will I have and will it show.

[mike93]

Well done for having the courage. Did you have to wait long between the consultation and having the op and did you have many options on choosing a date? What is the situation with blood tests before the operation?

I'm currently out of work but have plenty of money to pay for op. It's made me re-evaluate my life. I've suffered with this since I was 11, 35 now. Went to docs at 18, ripped and muscular to the core but still fat on my chest. He asked if I was taking steroids(Never touched them) and said I will grow out of it. Went again when I was 30. Doc was more understanding, had blood test done and came out ok. Offered advice about NHS but I've got no interest in NHS. I want someone who specialises in this area. Before you know it half your life is nearly over and your left wondering.

your a long time dead. I'm starting to think life is to short to be letting something like this ruin it. You know its the little things like trying to hide it in summer and even stupid things like when I get a new job, what sort of uniform will I have and will it show.

Hi Craig,

No I didn't have to wait long at all. I was offered potential surgery dates that were around 3 weeks after the consultation. I decided to take 5 weeks because I had to fit it around work. You don't need to worry about blood tests with Levick. Karidis requires them but Levick doesn't. I already had some blood tests done about 2 months before my operation because I was considering going with the NHS and everything was normal.

In my honest opinion, I wouldn't bother with the NHS. They're a waste of time and when on the odd occasion they do a gynecomastia operation (from what I've seen online) people are never happy with how it went. When you're paying about £4000 for an operation the surgeons are more careful and will do their best to make sure it's spot on the first time round.

Sometimes they do need to do revision but Levick offers this free if he's not happy with how it went. I wish I had this surgery done 2 or 3 years ago. I'm still bandaged up but I can see under the bandages and it looks completely flat.

As you quite rightly said life is absolutely too short to be worrying about what people can see through your t-shirt and how you're going to get through the day in the summer whilst wearing a load of layers to hide your moobs. I'm never had any confidence because all I can think about is that people are looking at my chest. Book yourself a consultation and see what he has to say, You don't have to comit to anything on the day.

I scanned this forum and the internet for 2-3 years to see if I could find an alternative solution or just hoping it would go away. Gynecomastia doesn't just dissapear, the only way you can get rid of it is by taking action and seeing a surgeon.

Just to add, I'm putting up my post op pictures on Thursday (that's when the bandages come off, my pre-op picture is on page one.

[mike93]

Day 5 post op:

Managed to get a look under my bandages. My right side is absolutely perfect. My left side looks like it could still do with some healing. The skin is stretched around the nipple. Overall really happy so far though. Looking forward to seeing the progression.

[mike93]

The time has come, tomorrow is 7 days but I've decided to take it off half a day early. The bandages were coming loose and It seemed pointless keeping them on. Still got another stone or 2 to lose off my stomach.

So drumroll please...

Pre op:



6 and a half days post op:

[3rdTimeLucky (Dave)]

That's an amazing result and its only a week out!

[Donut]

The man's a genius!

[mike93]

Thanks guys, Levick seems to have done a really good job. I'm really pleased with the results so far. Just wish I wasn't carrying so much weight on my stomach. Hoping to sort that out over the next few months.

[improving]

Great job there mate, well done.