Lipo only - botched surgery. (now with pics)

[Cbatbh]

Well, it's official. My surgeon didn't remove breast tissue, only fat with lipo. He said I had breast tissue, yet he only lipo'd me.
I am only one and a half week post op and I know I'm not supposed to judge the result yet, but seeing as I only had lipo, I know I still have my initial problem... I can also feel tissue still being there.

What my surgery accomplished:

Minus 4000 euro in the bank
Overwhelming sadness
Sleep disturbances
Sore chest.

After I had the surgery I read all sorts of stories by people having a flat chest straight out of surgery, which after like 2 weeks post op started to swell and develop puffy nipples. I never had a flat chest, not even on the first day of the surgery. It was exactly the same as pre op.

If theres something good that can come out of this, its that I can warn other people to do their homework and don't trust their doctor on his words alone. My doctor was supposed to be one of the best plastic surgeons in the country.

The sadness I'm feeling right now is really too much..... just had to get it out of me, sorry....

The pics are like 2 days post op...:

http:// postimg.org/image/v3xpx6dyn/
http:// postimg.org/image/zcadhzfib/

I couldnt upload the photos cause they were too large. There is a space between // and postimg, just remove it and you will be able to copy paste the link.

[rhyno18]

Sorry to hear about your situation.  Had your doctor told you they were doing both, then decided on loop only? 

Like you said, it's very early in post op.  Hopefully the final results are better once the swelling goes down. 

[Cbatbh]

He told me he was doing both, but then when the day of the surgery came he said that he would only go through the side of the chest if it wasnt necessary to go through the nipple, and here I am with a flat wallet and a certainly not a flat chest.

EDIT: that post was a bit confusing. What I meant was that he would only go through the nipple if necessary. It seems that it was necessary, yet he didn't do it anyway.

He said I am getting a free of charge revision if this doesnt turn out well, but how in the darn am i supposed to trust him to not screw something else up???

[rhyno18]

The good news is that he sounds like he's open to other options and committed to the final result. 

Hopefully Dr Jacobs will weigh in, but perhaps there was a reason in your case that he felt that was the best approach.  If too much tissue is left, it's an easier fix than too much being taken out. 

Odds are your lipo area is pretty hard and swollen. As hard as it is, the only thing you can do now is be patient.  It'll be a year before they can do anything.  The results will likely be better than your original condition. I feel your pain though, the results of my original surgery were very disappointing.  You invest a lot of time and money to finally be over the condition, then find yourself back at square one.

[Bodybuilder1992]

Why didn't he removed your breast tissue ? You should ask him why because you paid your money and you deserve to know why ask him .
You should pay your money for the best plastic surgeon that everyone suggested about him and that you could talk to him about your problems and what you want to do and you will be happy with the results and not say anything to your doctor and then be disappointed with your result , i think you should wait 2 weeks after surgery and if you don't see results go to this surgeon and tell him what you should do and if you more surgery to do to remove the breast tissue

[Cbatbh]

Do I really have to wait a whole year for revision surgery? If there is still tissue left, can't he just cut it the f*ck out without me having to wait forever??

I have contacted him and he said he wanted to see me two months post op to see if revision was necessary. I am not entirely sure I want him to do revision though, since he screwed up the first time... what if he completely butchers my chest? Considering he did lipo only, it is a good bet that he isnt very experienced when it comes to gynecomastia and the second time around he might make the problem irreversible.

I advice to sticky this thread and let my surgery be a warning to everybody on this forum to do their homework BEFORE getting surgery...

@bodybuilder1992 - he said he removed lots of tissue, but I guess he lied or didn't know wtf he was talking about

[rhyno18]

Your body is still healing from the first procedure.  Swelling, scar tissue, etc.  no credible doctor is going to try to fix it until your 100% healed.   That will usually be a year demo the original procedure.

I'm a bit confused.  You said he did do excision and removed tissue?   A nipple scar isn't necessary  for excision.  The doctor who did my revision did it from the side.  I think Dr Bermant and Dr Jacobs did a similar type procedure.

Lessons learned from my situation.  Don't go into your PS guns blazing.  Most doctors have big egos.  Surgeons generally have especially big egos.  My PS and I had some tense visits where I let my anger and frustration put him on the defensive.   Things went much better when I took the calm rational approach 'I really like this, but am a bit concerned about'.  He went from feeling like I was questioning his work to the two of us figuring out if results were optimal and what could be done.  

While I didn't use him for the revision, I felt like I got a much better insight to his thought process, technique and plan.  That helped me when I was getting consultations with other doctors for the revision.

I know it sucks to wait- but odds are you would be waiting it out for your results anyway.  Whole some guys report 'perfect' instant results, for most of us it's a winding journey of swelling, bruising, pain, numbness, emotional ups and downs before we get the final result.

[Cbatbh]

Thank you for taking the time to reply man, it helps.
He said he removed tissue, but said he only used lipo. I'm guessing what he thought was breast tissue was in fact fat tissue.

I am not willing to pay another 4 grand (or more) for another doctor to do the revision. I, and the law, holds my doctor responsible for producing a satisfactory result. I know my chest isn't going to look absolutely perfect, but I think it's more than reasonable to expect a decent improvement. Why else would one go through with this mess...

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Difficult problem.  Let's try to look at it from the perspective of both you and your surgeon.

Surgeon's perspective:  remove as much tissue as possible with lipo and then, if necessary, perform an excision.  It is possible that the surgeon totally and honestly believed that he had achieved a nice result with the lipo alone and that further work (ie excision) could potentially produce a crater deformity.  And, if any tissue remains, then additional work could be done -- it is always easier to remove excess tissue than to replace missing tissue.  Final results can only be judged at a minimum of 6 months post op.

Your perspective:  Disappointed at results only a few weeks post op.  There is always some amount of swelling after surgery -- and then the body makes some scar tissue as well.  Miffed at the cost and that you are not absolutely pleased at this point.  Afraid to trust the same surgeon to perform a revision in the future if it is necessary.

Best recommendations:  anger is counter-productive.  Be patient and be in touch with your surgeon.  There are no "right" answers to your dilemma, but things do tend to sort out over time.  You can always get a second opinion from another gyne expert -- just to make yourself feel better.

Dr Jacobs

[Paa_Paw]

So your first post was only a couple of days after surgery?

If you have been following this site, You should know that you will have some post operative swelling that could take several months to completely diminish.

I think you are being too critical too soon.