Surgery Mr Levick (25/06/14) ONE YEAR UPDATE (including 'gym' pics)

[AchillesUK]

Hey man hope you're well.

Just a quick question that I can't remember... When it comes to payment. Do you have to ring a number, do they call you or do you pay on the day?

Cheers

Hey man. When I went for the surgery I think the letter said you had to pay 10 days in advance. I did initially try and do a bank transfer, but my bank (Natwest) refused to transfer the money as it was such a large amount, so I ended up calling BMI directly and paid using my debit card.

[FlatAsAPancake]

Cheers mate, all sorted now. Op next week. Eeeep!

[AchillesUK]

Cheers mate, all sorted now. Op next week. Eeeep!

You'll be fine, its perfectly normal to get pre-op jitters

[AchillesUK]

Tried on a bright coloured polo t-shirt today, still looks horribly like I've got gyno. With darker t-shirts its not so bad.

[FlatAsAPancake]

Patience is a virtue my friend!

[AchillesUK]

Four months Post Op

Today is exactly 4 months post op. Not too much to report on:

* Still massaging most nights for 20mins with biooil. Skipped a few nights over the last fortnight as been very busy.

* Gym has also eased off due to lack of time.

* Still look somewhat perky, especially if I wear a tight fitting t-shirt. I'm just less bothered now than a couple of months ago.

* Right nipple still looks inverted most of the time. Creases have eased off a bit though it seems.

* There probably has been minimal improvement generally from last month.

* Tbh I'm just waiting for the 6 month mark now so I can go back to Mr Levick and see what he says/steroid injection/further correction etc As mentioned previously in this thread they say lumps and bumps could last until 6 months so I'm just waiting for to hit that mark. Of course, if I have a flat chest by then I'd be over the moon.

Some pics from today:

 

 

 

 

[AchillesUK]

Ok, I've just realised tonight there is some improvement, particularly on my left hand side. Not so long ago I had a 'train track' of scar tissue or hard post operative tissue coming down from my deltopectoral groove down towards the nipple. I realised tonight, that that's almost completely gone, just a small amount of hardness under my left nipple.

I still have a big mass of hard tissue (scar tissue?) under my right nipple which makes it look as though I still have gyne. But hopefully with continual massage and time it will all dissipate.

[AchillesUK]

Circa 4.5 months Post Op

I took a few pictures today of the right side. I thought I'd upload them on here just as part of my 'log' so I can look back, but to be honest I felt so disheartened looking at them I've also emailed them to Mr Levick.

My intention was to wait to wait until the 6 month mark before contacting him, but I'll see what he says.

 

 

 

[jinr0h]

looks great imo , whats your concern exactly?

[AchillesUK]

looks great imo , whats your concern exactly?

Thanks, appreciate the comment. But I was hoping by the 5 month mark I'd have a relatively flat chest and as you can see, my right side is anything but. With clothes on it still looks like I have gyne.

[AchillesUK]

Gym Update - 4.5months Post-Op

So after another month or so of going on hiatus due to various reasons (not chest related), I've gone back to the gym over the last couple of weeks.

At close to the 5 month mark now, I pretty much feel no limitations and am not holding back. I've got my bench back above 100kg now and don't feel any strain, doing heavy squats again etc and even on chin ups where the arms are fully extended I don't feel any tightness or feel restricted. The only concern I have at the moment is that with my chest training, it will only push out the scar tissue even further, similar to pre-op when chest training would push out the gland/fat out further. But alas, that is a different matter, not one of physical limitation...

If I fully extend my arms above my head and focus, there is still a very minimal tightness on my right side in the deltopectoral region, but its close enough near negligible now and as mentioned it hasnt stopped me doing chin ups or any other activity.

[bob1234]

Hey mate, probably not what you want to hear, but I checked your original (pre-OP) pics and your chest looks great in comparison. Whilst I can see the right pec nipple area is slightly more "perky" than you'd like in a perfect world, it is only because I am looking at it from the perspective of someone on a gynecomastia forum, if I saw you on the beach or at the swimming pool I honestly wouldn't notice a thing.

[AchillesUK]

Hey mate, probably not what you want to hear, but I checked your original (pre-OP) pics and your chest looks great in comparison. Whilst I can see the right pec nipple area is slightly more "perky" than you'd like in a perfect world, it is only because I am looking at it from the perspective of someone on a gynecomastia forum, if I saw you on the beach or at the swimming pool I honestly wouldn't notice a thing.

Hey Bob,

Thanks for your comment. Yeah, definitely I'm a lot smaller than pre-op. I guess I was hoping for a flatter appearance by the 5 month mark.

I got a reply from Mr Levick, he said just to persevere with the massage and stretching and that there's a long way to go yet. He also said to get in touch at the 6 month mark and if the scar tissue is very hard he will use a steroid injection. He also said he's happy to see me anytime.

Although in the booklet provided by Mr Levick's office they mention that it can take 'up to 6 months' for all lumps and bumps to disappear, I feel it will take close to 10-12 months now in my case, possibly even corrective surgery at some point.

I still have no regrets having this done. End of the day my current gyne appearance is due to scar tissue which will eventually disappear, whereas without the op it was gland which would have never disappeared.

I also would have been kicking myself had this happened with a 'cheaper' option i.e. had I gone to Europe and got this done, or with a very inexperienced surgeion. I had surgery with probably the best and most expensive surgeon in Europe, so no regrets on that front, the longer than expected recovery would possibly have been worse had I gone for a cheaper option.

[AchillesUK]

5 months Post Op

Today is exactly 5 months post op. Tbh I was thinking of stopping posting updates, but I'll do it as it may help others.

I'm trying to gain perspective over this whole thing. £4k was a lot of money for me.

Am I better off than I was before surgery? Yes.

Do I have the flat chest that I had hoped for, with perkiness, gyne appearance a thing of the past? No.

Does my chest still droop/look perky? Yes.

Is it improving with time and massage? Difficult to tell. My right side slightly maybe, my left side I feel has actually gotten worse over the last month.

There's no two ways about it, I'm not happy. I look at other guys who've had surgery with Mr Levick and they've undergone remarkable transformations. Admittedly one or two I've privately thought what the hell, whats happened to their nipples etc. but those were very soon after their surgery. For me, at 5 months, I'd really hoped for a flat chest around this time.

On the plus side my right nipple is not inverted for most of the time and some of the creases on that side have cleared up. There is still some hard tissue under the right nipple. Sometimes I cant tell whether it is soft scar tissue, hard scar tissue, muscle or even rib!

On the left side, things have actually gotten worse as mentioned. Whereas a month or so ago I was relatively happy, even the left side for some reason looks pointy now and drooping down, not sure why.

Another thing - my entire chest feels soft, and there seems to be two 'folds' under each chest. I do wonder if enough fat was removed. I've lost a lot of weight since surgery and if anything it should be firmer, but thats not been the case. At this moment in time, I just cant wait to hit the 6 month mark so that I can go back and see Mr Levick for an assessment.

Massages continue religiously, 20 minutes each night with bio-oil (on my second bottle now).

  

 

 

 

 
 

[FlatAsAPancake]

I assume you are referring to what happened with my post op results when you mentioned "what the hell".

I had a lot of tissue removed so I was expecting it and it has improved a lot over the last month and I've hardly been massaging. I've never been happier and I hope you can eventually be satisfied with your results.