Surgery with Mr Levick 9th April - NEW PICS ADDED

[Squire]

Well done matey. Welcome to the week long wait to get the binder off. I'm two weeks post now and have no regrets. Looking at you pre photos and what he's taken out your going to be amazed next week. The binder is a pain to sleep in but I still use it atnight out of choice rather than the macom vest because i find it more comfortable. I do have it looser than when Mr Levick applied it but still with plenty of pressure. You may find the sticky tape from the dressings is causing some uncomfort; don't be afraid to change these or leave them off.

[Donut]

You'll have to ask Mr Levick for the weights of your burgers... mine totalled 109 grams - same as a 1/4 pounder! - unsurprisingly I haven't had a McD's since...

 

[Squidge]

Recovery is going well so far...but does anyone have any good tips for getting in/out of bed comfortably?! I dread waking up in the night to go to the loo because of the really awkward (and v undignified!) fold-and-collapse into bed afterwards. Getting up is harder, I can't figure out how to get up without straining but guess I might just have to be patient with that.

Will ask for the weight of the burgers...can already tell my profile is really different, which is promising!

[Donut]

Just have to persevere with the awkward movement for a little while longer - things are a lot better once you get in vest instead you'll be pleased to hear!

[Squidge]

Hi guys, now on Day 4 and today's been the best so far in terms of pain/discomfort/mobility.  However, the binder is really pinching under my arms and the bruising/swelling just above the binder seems to be getting worse and is now 'spilling' over the binder slightly!  There bruising is also getting a lot darker on both sides, slightly worse on the right...hopefully nothing to worry about and all part of the recovery, but is this more or less what others experienced?  Here's how it looks today:

[Squire]

Hi squidge, that looks similar to my experiences. It was the most uncomfortable stage for me. It was around this stage that the bruising and swelling started improving noticeably daily. Chin up, three more sleeps til you can take it off.

[Donut]

Yes, that was same for me - lots of "spill over" swelling... it just goes to show how much that binder does to stop swelling on the rest of your chest! - so keep it on, and keep it tight as possible... worth it in the end.  My bruising got a lot darker too at about the one week stage - then slowly went away over next couple of weeks I think - check back on my thread for loads of pics of the bruising I had

[Squidge]

So tomorrow the day when I can take the binder off and replace it with the vest...can't wait!  I called Mr Levick's office yesterday to ask if it was ok to tighten it up as the swelling had gone down a lot and the binder seemed a bit loose; Julie was really helpful, she called me back within 5mins to say it would be fine to tighten as the binder should stay as tight as it was after surgery.  Despite telling myself I wouldn't have a peek until Wednesday, I couldn't help myself!  I had a 10-15second look and was slightly overwhelmed by how good it looked!!  My chest is completely flat, and although I know this is only the beginning and I probably have creased nipples and swelling to look forward to, if the final result is close to how it was when I looked I'll be really happy!!  The only thing, just as I was getting excited, the colour of my skin literally started changing in front of me..quickly developed into a dark purple & red colour...I freaked out a bit and just put the binder back as tightly as I could, and just assume (hope!) that is completely normal, that as soon as the pressure is eased the swelling will come up.  Did others have that experience too, an instant change of colour to the skin?  It was like an ink cartridge had be dropped on tissue paper, the colour just spread over my chest. I'm sure it's normal..but I'm seeing my GP for a check up in the morning so will be looking for some reassurance then!  Will post some pics tomorrow of Day 7 when I take the binder off.  Can't wait for a long hot shower!!!

[Donut]

Some people get a lot more bruising that others. Mine was about average I'd say from what I've seen - you can look back at my daily photos and see how the pretty colours changed from reds and purples to yellows before finally disappearing for good. It is all part of the normal process. Important thing is to keep that compression up as much as possible. You'll probably find the 'arm holes' of the vest will really dig in and aggrevate the bulgey bits that were out the top of the binder. I would advise getting a compression t-shirt to wear underneath the vest - that helps keep pressure on that underarm area much better and keeps it all contained as it were. Worked for me, and recommended it to a couple of others who also found it much more comfortable. Plus 2 layers of compression even better than one!

Look forward to seeing some pics of progress

[Squidge]

Hi guys, so I took the binder off this morning, was really nervous about it...but I'm really chuffed with the results!  I know this is likely to be the best my chest will look for a while...probably have lots of swelling/bruising/lumpiness/creased nipples etc to look forward to now until it settles down to something (hopefully) that looks like this eventually!  But if/when that happens, I'll be really pleased.  I had my first shower in a week this morning, felt SO good, then I was able to walk from the bathroom to the bedroom with a towel around my waist, probably for the first time in about 15 years!  The bruising is actually no where near as bad as I was expecting, although the worst may yet be to come.  I went to see my GP for the first time about it this morning, just to see if he's happy with the healing etc and get some advice on how best to recover from this point...he was useless!  I think I've been spoilt with the staff at The Priory and with Mr Levick...my GP was completely uninterested - I couldn't work out whether he was disapproving of a 'cosmetic' procedure or whether he had no idea about the procedure, either way you guys on here have been far more use than he was!  Twice he said to me "well I'm not a gynecomastia surgeon so I wouldn't know" then said that the compression vest wouldn't be necessary from now on?!  Obviously I'm ignoring that part.  But anyway, more positively, I really am thrilled with the results so far - like other guys have said, how Mr Levick is able to get so much gland and fat out from those tiny nicks in the arm pit is a complete mystery...but so far I think it was the best £4k I've ever spent and am likely to spend!  Just ordered a few new t-shirts and some decent running shoes...am motivated to now feel as confident about the rest of my body now, so hopefully the photos I upload from now on should hopefully track some decent weight loss..  So here are some photos I took this morning, 7 days after the surgery:

[Squidge]

I've also done some quick Before & After shots, just because when I was looking through other people's posts it was a bit annoying having to scroll back through the previous pages to find the Before photos to compare the post-op pics!  Also, for me to see the huge comparative difference is a really good motivator and completely validates (not that I really needed it) that it was absolutely the right decision to have the surgery.  If I was a bit more organised/forward thinking, I would've thought about the angle of the photo while taking the Before pics so that I could line up the After pics alongside them...but I'm just not that organised!!  So here's Before & After, 7 days after the surgery:

[Donut]

One word: WOW!

Pretty thrilling isn't it! 

The pancake-flat look doesn't last though, which is just as well as after the initial elation you realise it looks a bit weird anyway!! - so yeh, brace yourself for the roller-coaster ride ahead.

I'm 3 months post-op today - took some pics to make up comparison shots with, which hopefully I might get around to doing late tonight.

[ian89]

Excellent results. You have a right to now feel smug 

[Squire]

Blimey, you've got some bruising there! Life changing; congratulations.

[s00ntobe]

one word. FLAT.