Dear Keep_it_Moving et al,
Sorry for not updating for a long time. I've been trying to let things heal before assessing my results.
The areas of induration (hardness) under my chest have faded away. This is a relief because I talked with another patient with the same situation who apparently still had hardness long after surgery. I was worried this would be the case with me, but amazingly the hardness faded week by week, month by month.
In addition, I'm not sure if I mentioned this but my chest was very discolored after surgery. The areas of my chest that had liposuction applied to them were significantly darker compared to the surrounding skin often looking pink/red.
I researched this and found out there are some cases where people are essentially tattooed by their own pigment molecules following surgeries or unintentional injuries. If it is thought to be due to hemosiderin (an iron-containing pigment molecule) deposits it's called "hemosiderin staining", for instance. I was worried that maybe I would have this severe discoloration for a very long time or permanently since it was still present even a month after surgery. Fortunately, it has faded substantially. I will post a picture sometime of what it looked like before versus now.
In terms of scaring, the sutures lines seem to be fading and blending in. The skin near the incisions is a bit harder and thicker, moreso on the right side, which seems to have more residual puffiness pushing out the nipple/areola. This was the case even the first time I recall changing the gauze, so I'm not sure to what extent it is due to scarring vs. the nature of the suture, the underlying tissue, et cetera.
Finally--and this is why I haven't updated--I need to talk with
Dr. Delgado's office some more. I think my results are close to where they need to be but that I will need a touch-up under local anesthesia (on the right, in particular). I've seen posts by
Dr. Delgado where he mentions doing this with great ease in his office, so I'm optimistic. I intend to post pictures at some point.