Surgery with Dr Fielding, my story so far (1 week post op pics)

[nickname]

 Hi everyone, so your stories all helped me come to my decision of going through this and I decided to write about mine and hopefully help someone out there one day

So I started having gyno since I was young.. around 8 years old... kinda ruined a big part of my childhood as I would avoid pool parties or beaches... summers was never my favourite season. Growing up I was hoping this would one day go away but it never did... I was also an overweight kid and lived a big part of my life overweight.
In my early 20's I lost alot of weight, around 15 kg... (but no exercise) and was weighing around 80kg.. however my gyno did not budge.. I saw changes in the rest of my body.. but nothing else... I kinda lost hope after that although I maintained that weight for the most part.
Then 2 years ago I got fed up and decided to do more research and stumbled upon this forum, and I was so happy to know I wasnt alone in my issue... and better yet.. there was a way to fix it!!
I started to do my research and was living in Vancouver at the time.. but due to not being stable, I couldn't do anything so soon. Unfortunately I found out that the best doctors were in Toronto and no noteworthy ones in Vancouver... That is when I realized that this will be a little trickier than I thought..
But I had to try.. I didnt want to spend another summer slouching... So in the end of last = summer I was stable enough job wise to book an appointment with doctor Fielding for last march.
Here is how I looked last summer and how my gyno was:

[nickname]

While planning on the trip I started working out and dieting in February as I wanted to look the best I could and get into the habit of living a healthy lifestyle. I also read it would make the surgeons job alot easier if we loose the weight.

So March came up, and I went to dr Fielding for an appointment.. trip to Toronto was a pain but the end goal was totally worth it. So I got to the office and it didn't take long for me to talk to dr fielding. He made me feel comfortable and at ease, checked my chest and said I had gyno (no surprise there) he said my case was a bit more pronounced than most and that I should keep in mind that it will never be perfect results.. but it would be better than what I have now... Honestly.. if I can wear a tshirt without slouching, that would be good enough for me. He asked me a bunch of questions about my health and explained the basics of the surgery and asked if I have any questions. He made sure I was aware that I should have realistic expectations and that the healing process may take up to a year. He also mentioned that he was gonna make 2 incisions on my upper chest to tighten up the skin. Overall he was a really nice. I walked out already decided I was gonna have the surgery..

My surgery cost was 2600CAD + 350 for hospital fees, and I booked it for end of August which was the only time I knew I could take time off of work. 

The payment was a bit annoying as they do not accept credit or internet banking transfer.. so I had to mail a cheque. Also all communication was made via phone or post which was a hassle cause I would of prefered the speed and efficiency of email.

So to prepare for the day of my surgery I worked out 4 days a week since february until today. I would do cardio, lift weights, and try to get into better shape. I just hit 102 trips to the gym yesterday . I managed to lose 8% body fat and gain muscle. Also lost 5kg.. being 75 kg now. Here are my pre op photos.. 6 months of preperation for the surgery..

[nickname]

I am kinda worried about how flabby my stomach is, but that isnt my main concern right now. Will keep working on that after I am able to return to the gym (1 month off)
I now have my surgery scheduled for Wednesday and am flying to Toronto tomorrow night. I started to feel extremely nervous today at work and could hardly concentrate. The plan is.. leave tomorrow night at 10 pm.. arrive in Toronto at 6am.. get to the hospital by 9 am and have the surgery that day and stay over night at the hospital. I will then stay at a hotel on Thursday and have my followup appointment on Friday and I leave to Vancouver on that same day..
I am a little worried about carrying luggage during the trip after the surgery so I am gonna try and go as light as possible.
It's amazing how my excitement from when i fist booked suddenly turned into a nerve wreck.. but I am still looking forward to this. I still am sure I want to go trough this..
So wish me luck!

[nickname]

**Will update after surgery with all the details and photos**

[nickname]

I did it!!! I finally did it!!...

I went to work on Monday and could hardly get any work done.. I began to feel so nervous about it..

Then on Tuesday I had my flight to Toronto at 10:30pm..wich would mean I would arrive at 6 am. Plenty of time considering i needed to be at the hospital at 9am. Unfortunately my flight was delayed to midnight, and I arrived in Toronto at 7:30am. It takes while to get to the hospital by public transit but i thought I could make it.. And I did, made it to the hospital at 9am sharp! Phew!

Signed in for surgery, put on the surgery gown and waited for about an hour. Finally the anesthestian came and talk to me and asked a bunch of questions. All seemed fine and I walked to the surgery room. Once I got to the surgery room, that is when my nervousness spiked. They set me up with an iv and waited for Dr fielding.


When Dr fielding arrived he was in a great mood. Really talkative which put me a little more at ease. He was talking about my condition and knew quite alot which was great considering my appointment with him was months ago.

They drew on my chest and gave me the  anaesthesia the next thing I knew I was waking up 2 hours later....


So when I woke up the pain was mild.. I had a slight burning sensation on where the incisions were made. This burning sensation would get alot worse later, but the pain meds helped alot. Right now, 16 hours after my surgery, I have a slight burning sensation, a tightness on the chest (probably cause of the vest), and a bruised kinda feeling in the chest (kinda like after a chest workout, but alot more intense). The pain is manageable though.


I stayed overnight at the hospital, and will go to a hotel tomorrow. I cannot see under my vest yet, but will post photos when I can.

Will keep updating this thread with more updates.

[nickname]

Ok, so its now day 3 post op.
I am finally back in Vancouver, and feel a huge relief cause the hard part is all done! Now just gotta take it easy.

After I left the hospital I was given a prescription for pain medication which I did not need. The pain was very mild throughout the days and hardly hurt, only when I would move my arm in a bad way or stretch it to much would i get a sharp pain... but other than that.. all was good. So overall recovery is going really well, barely any pain and I feel like i am healing nicely.

On Friday I went and see dr Fielding for my post op consultation, he said that if i didnt get a haematoma in the first 2 days.. its highly unlikely i would get one. He said he took a cup and a half of fat out (quite alot) and that everything went really smoothly. And that I should expect final results in about a year. He asked if I had any questions, and I had a list for him which i wrote down and he was happy to answer all my questions. But from what he said, I should expect a pretty could recovery. No exercise for 3 weeks, no heavy lifting for 3 weeks and dont take off the vest for a week.

On that same day I caught a plane to Vancouver, it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be but it was tiring. I asked for help to put my bag in the storage as I couldnt lift my arms, but other than that, I could manage everything else. Pain continued to be very mild.

So now I am home taking it easy and relaxing. I still cant believe how little the pain has been of an issue. I really did not feel much at all. I am also not getting all the itchyness everyone complained about... but it may change once i take the padding off.

Here is a photo of the vest... cant wait to see underneath... Tuesday cant come soon enough..
On my next update... I will show the photos without the vest

[flatness13]

My surgery was also this week so I know what you're going through pal, except my hospital was close from home. Traveling must have sucked, it's stressful enough leading up to it isn't it.

So did they only do lipo or also gland removal? I could take my vest off after 24 hours to take a shower. let me tell you the first time you get a look at it after surgery is how should I say..magical. Lol.

[nickname]

Hey dude... man, I envy you so much.... I really cannot wait to take my vest off and I cannot even take a peak cause the padding is really glued to my chest. I had both the lypo and gland removal.

And yeah, the travelling really sucks.. not only does it add to the cost, its adds to the hassle and stress factor.. Luckily for me it all went well.

 Most people I read on the forum had to wear the vest for a week, was yours a more minor case?

[flatness13]

I gotta wear a huge compression garment for 4 weeks, I also had lipo on my love handles in this surgery though. I hope I'll get used to it cause it's annoying and it's already starting to itch lol. I posted a thread in this section with pics in it if you're interested.
Good for you that you only need it for one week, I'd take that over 4 weeks even though I can take it off once a day. Btw did you need drains?
 We're gonna make it lets just hold on. It's nice to know that somebody else is going through the same thing in the same week.

[nickname]

Oh sorry, I didnt explain myself well.. I have to wear mine 1 week without taking it off and then another 3 weeks after that with just taking it off for shower. I didnt need drains though. 
Yeah I use this forum for inspiration, and all these success stories always helps. Good to see someone else having great results already on the same week as me. 

[nickname]

So... the day to take the vest has finally come...

Let me just say that the surgery did not hurt much and the pain is practically non existent right now... however... Taking off that padding glued to my skin was painful as $%#... Especially for a hairy guy like me..Seriously.. the doc said if I removed it with one fast motion it should be fine.. no way could I do that..Took me like half an hour to get it removed.

Anyway onto the results.. So as soon as I took the padding off I was kinda shocked.. never have I seen my chest like this. I have still alot of bruising and the swelling should get worse in the following weeks. I feel like the right side of my chest is a little bigger than the left however this may be due to one side being more swollen than the other. My right nipple also looks more mangled up than my left.
Those are just things I noticed at first glance.. it all could get better after the healing is all done. I am however really happy with the first results and cant thank dr Fielding enough for the great job he did. I can see a huge difference and improvement. Now all i got to do is wait 3 weeks to get rid of this vest.

[flatness13]

^Told you it's a magical moment  Hah looks really good man, it's always one of the best signs when it's completely flat(on the important spots) right after surgery.

Also I know this advice is too late now but I'm also hairy and I just trimmed the hair very short right before 'cause I knew they could be a pain in the ass later.