Surgery Levick 17/12/14 - Low Fat, High Gland & Puffy Nipples

[Glennjamin]

Hi all,

I've not posted here much but I thought I'd share my experience for those who are in a similar boat to me (and to not hijack Maurice's thread).

I'm mid twenties with gynecomastia since the age of about 15, when I developed very a very hard nodule of gland directly behind each nipple which was extremely sensitive and painful at the time. My chest continued to grow during that time, eventually resulting in my nipples becoming very puffy. In warmer conditions they were completely conical almost.

I spent about 6 years using weights to build up my chest with zero impact. In all that time pinching and pinching to keep my nipples erect to avoid embarrassment. Fast forward to now, after all this time I decided enough was enough. Sure there are some drug options on the NHS but a true solution without messing with your hormones is surgery. Mr Levick seems to be the best option given the lack of nipple incisions, going through the armpits instead.

Pre-op pictures:





As you can see, the puffy nipples were my biggest problem given how prominent they are. These are examples of almost entirely unerect nipples. You may know the testicular skin and nipples are two exmaples of skin which can be controlled by musicles to change size & shape. When you pinch or are cold you can change your nipple shape by stimulating the muscles to become erect. See partial erect nipples in the following images, taken minutes before surgery:







Despite the reduced nipple side here,you can still see the contours and developement of the gland bulking up my entire chest. That bulk underlying my puffy nipples has made hiding this condition very difficult.

Burger shot image:



For those interested in the stats. As you can see, the lipo jar isn't particularly full, less than 50cc for each side of fat (the foundation layer that sits around the gland). Right gland: 80g, Left gland: 90g.

You'll notice if you look carefully a very tough central whiter section in the central part of the gland, this being those hard nodules I talked about earlier. Levick said these were incredibly tough to cut through and get out. It stretched my incision holes a little, hence some extra bruising there now...but better out than in!

My a person my size, the surgery was 1 hour with about 50 minutes recovery from the GA (I'm just a sleepy person), but with no nausea or any issues waking up. Superb experience in recovery, provided with anti-thrombotic pumps on my calves, extra oxygen (my O2 saturation was 90% when I woke up, they prefer 94%+) and an excellent water pump vest under the binder to reduce swelling. No pain felt until the next morning, when I had a dull ache in my upper pectorals. Two paracetamol shifted that though.

Recovery day 1:

The main thing now is comfort and pain management. On my travel home I left my paracetamol a little late and the pain kicked in. I'll be honest, there is pain and discomfort doing this, you need to be prepared. If you keep on top of your timings you'll be fine. You are also given Codeine but you should only take that if you NEED it, it's good stuff. I have quite a bit of swelling along the upper line of my binder and armpit area, my whole chest hurts to touch, nipples are numb and I'm quite stiff. Still it's only day 1, you learn to tolerate these things. I'm not lifting my arms up very much in order to give the incisions time to seal over, Levick only puts 1 loose stitch in each incision, they naturally close and the anti-biotics are doing their thing too.

I'll upload more pictures in a few days, currently my chest looks no different to the one in the burger shot.

Be good to hear from anyone else who had a similar situation to myself! I'm also happy to answer any questions on what I've been through so far.

Thanks,
Glenn

[j86ui]

Congrats making the decision to get this sorted, I was operated on a week before you (11th Dec) and im currently at day 8. Have you been re-tightening the binder yourself as I found it would slip and loosen. I had alot of extra swelling above the binder near the armpits but this is beginning to subside now. My current issue is there is alot of fluid behind my nipple, see my thread for a picture. Will be interested to see if this happens to you around the week mark of if ive got a problem. I will be keeping an eye on your progress, keep healing!

[Glennjamin]

Hey thanks, really glad to have made the jump to do this at last.

Yes I've retightened the binder once already, it does seem to slip a little bit. Need to get a good balance of compression and comfort, not much comfort to be had in this thing though.

I talked to Levick yesterday about protecting the nipple under the binder by using padding under it. As fluid can sit behind the nipple he said you can put a folded handkerchief or similar behind the binder as an extra layer pushing on the nipple centrally. You might want to try doing something like that to disperse the fluid from that point? All you basically want to achieve is extra compression it sounds like.

[j86ui]

I've had an email from Mr Levick and he seems to think the fluid/loose skin should go with extra padding like you say. I have folded up flat a couple of pairs of socks and put them over the nipple area and really tightened the binder with someone's help and things seem a lot more supported now. I think I will leave it like this until Sunday evening and skip a shower for tomorrow as I want to give it a good chance of draining. I am rather sick of wearing this binder thing at night especially, I cant seem to get comfortable with it digging and it seem to be making me walk with a hunch, but I will persist until the fluid is draining.

[j86ui]

How are things coming along for you, day 4 for you now?

[Bobby - LAgyne]

I would never guess that much of gland was on your chest under the skin.
Congrats!

---Bobby

[Glennjamin]

Hey!

Thanks, a lot of people expressed surprise at me wanting this done, I'm sure many people here can relate...it's a big issue in our heads but not other people. But yes, for my body size and shape this much gland, felt like a lot to me. Does anyone have any average figures for gland weights?

Day 4 Update:

Been happy with the recovery so far, having to be more careful with my movement. It's very easy to over extend without thinking and you get some incredible shooting knife pain, always my own fault for moving too quickly though. The look of the chest is so impressive, it's flat and my pectoral muscles actually now exist. I've removed the gauze from my incisions now to make sure the wounds are dried out to the air, they're sealed and tidy.

This morning was the first real introduction to the development of the bruising. Very yellow and widespread across the chest. The bruising is a necessary truth of this surgery, I'm not worried by it at all, I'm just interested to see how much / how far it develops. I'll add pictures below. The actual compression from the binder seems to be doing a great job so far as keeping everything together.

I'm finding my only issue is the top line of the binder where I'm experiencing a lot of swelling and some fluid build up. Natural movements throughout the day seem to exacerbate the swelling and the binder doesn't reach there to compress it. I've considered reaching for my compression vest early since it will compress my higher chest area too and then wearing the binder on top of that too. Levick suggests this usually after the first week, however I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions / experiences?

Regarding pain relief, ibuprofen is obviously necessary as an anti-inflammatory in my case, so I've taken some of that today to relieve the upper swelling. Levick said it's fine to take it, I don't plan on taking it long term though.

[bagels]

Looks great Glenn,

Thanks for the update, ill be booking mine early this year I think and its a great confidence boost to see someone with similar gyne to me make it on the other side and with good results.

Keep us all updated :-)

[Glennjamin]

Looks great Glenn,

Thanks for the update, ill be booking mine early this year I think and its a great confidence boost to see someone with similar gyne to me make it on the other side and with good results.

Keep us all updated :-)

Thanks so much, early days but I can see the potential already. Glad to hear you're getting there! Have you been for a consultation yet? It took me so long to get there, it's really important to get the ball rolling to make the whole thing real. It exists in our heads for so long, I think we find it difficult to turn into a physical response. There is obviously no obligation to proceed when you go for a chat, but it'll give you a different kind of strength.

[bagels]

No I haven't been for a consultation yet but plan to get the ball rolling in the new year. Its taken me a long while to get to this point both financially and mentally. As you say the consultation gets the ball rolling, its just making that first step that is the hardest I think but I have reached that point like many others on here where I've got to do it.

If you don't mind me asking, how much has the whole thing cost?

[Glennjamin]

Well I'll start by saying the consultation is free, which is why you really must make sure you make that bit a reality. It's hard to pick the phone up and do it!

But the actual surgery is quite publicly mentioned in many threads on this forum so I'll echo the fact it's £4060.

Day 6 for me now - I'll be taking the binder off Christmas morning I think, that'll be a real treat! I contacted Levick about the issue of the swelling / bulging at the top of the binder. He said don't use the compression vest + binder yet, only do that after the first full week. Instead he suggested reducing the compression of the binder. Guess what...he's right, it's improved it without sacrificing any other mid-chest compression.

The yellow bruising has dispersed a little now, I generally heal quite quickly to cuts and such so I'm not sure if it's me or the Arnica (I'm very skeptical on homeopathic things...). I have some tightness when I twist and turn or stretch my arms too far. Pain comes in here and there, generally comfortable though.

The actual chest is quite amazing though, I have full pectoral contours now with the reduced swelling, and although the nipples are still numb (and will be for quite some time) they're looking exactly as I wanted. Still early days I know, but they've completely shrunk down with the centre even protruding (not sunken) within seconds of dropping the binder to look. Touching and poking things confirmed for me that it feels mostly stable and the pain was fine for me to get some wipes and just give everything a freshen up.

Binder back on now - tomorrow will be the week mark, so I'll be sending Levick the progress pictures he asks for & I'll post them here too.

Glenn

[Glennjamin]

Nothing new to add today, just the pictures I've sent to Mr Levick after 1 full week. I told you I heal quickly, don't call me Wolverine just yet though.

[AchillesUK]

For one week post surgery, that is fantastic healing and results.

[Carpenter1]

Your gyno is just like mine. Does surgery make the nipples smaller as I have puffy nipples too like yours

[Glennjamin]

Your gyno is just like mine. Does surgery make the nipples smaller as I have puffy nipples too like yours

Hi there,

That was probably the driving force in me wanting to get this done. In warmer conditions, the conical shape of the nipples would make it impossible to ever feel comfortable wearing anything remotely tightly fitting (or a t-shirt). As I'm sure you know, the constant pinching is your only solution to keep the nipples flat! There are muscles in the areola which keep the nipple in that erect & smaller state you aim for. The surgery involves removing the glands by cutting the ducts & nerves connecting to the nipples, so you end up with numbness but permanently retracted and non-puffy nipples. Beyond that, the nipples shrink in size over a longer time too, Maurice's thread is a better example of that.