* PRE AND POST OP PICS* Gynaecomastia surgery with Dr Vik Vijh November 2016

[pct2014]

Hi All,
After years of living with glandular Gynaecomastia I finally had my consultation with Dr Vik Vijh yesterday and my surgery is scheduled for the end of the month in Birmingham!  Dr Vijh was very reassuring and took his time to cover every aspect and answer any questions.
I have had Gyno for maybe 15 years or more in just my right side.  The chest is larger with a lumpy painful gland behind the nipple.  The cosmetic look is only half the issue, the other half is the pain if get if bumped which can be eye watering.  I have always had a hairy chest which has done a good job of hiding it for a long time, but over the years it has slowly grown.
I will be having the Levick Technique of an incision under the armpits, and unfortunately I will be having both sides done so that we get the best possible end results.
I will add before and after pictures at some point and detail how it went.

[williamb]

All the best for the surgery! I'm also booked in at the end of november... so will be good to compare our experiences/progress!

I'm really looking forward to getting it done now! Slightly nervous but just focusing on the result!

Keep us updated!

[Anon16]

I'm booked in with Dr Vijh on Monday 14th November.

Levick technique including overnight stay at the priory,  pre assessment this week on Friday. Hopefully all goes well. Will keep you posted.

[pct2014]

Same here, procedure being done in the Priory.  Also feeling anxious as it approaches but its taken a long time to get to this point so no turning back now.  I will post back once done.  Good luck.

[Anon16]

Goodluck with your surgery pal.

There really is nothing to worry about. The staff at the priory hospital were 10/10 and made sure I was comfortable throughout the whole process.

Having gone through this whole thing alone I was somewhat anxious in the days leading upto the surgery and questioning myself, but now 10 days post op and very happy with the results. You are in good hands with Dr Vijh.


On the day just visit reception and check in, a porter will then take you to your room where all will be explained by the nurses. Luckily my surgery was first thing in the morning so I had the whole day and morning to recover before leaving the next day.

Again goodluck and if you have any questions regarding my experience let me know.

[pct2014]

Goodluck with your surgery pal.

There really is nothing to worry about. The staff at the priory hospital were 10/10 and made sure I was comfortable throughout the whole process.

Having gone through this whole thing alone I was somewhat anxious in the days leading upto the surgery and questioning myself, but now 10 days post op and very happy with the results. You are in good hands with Dr Vijh.


On the day just visit reception and check in, a porter will then take you to your room where all will be explained by the nurses. Luckily my surgery was first thing in the morning so I had the whole day and morning to recover before leaving the next day.

Again goodluck and if you have any questions regarding my experience let me know.

Thanks for the info, I'm anxious now I guess but mixed with a little excitement too.  Overall I just want it done and dusted.  Operation is tomorrow morning, so I'll post back with my experiences!

[ParkedOutside]

anon16,
Do you have pre and post op pics from Dr Vijh? I'm currently deciding between him, Karidis and Dr Ravi Jain and all I can see is Karidis praise on this website...

@pct2014, good luck tomorrow man! Big day very envious of you

[pct2014]

Hi All,

Well today was the big day!  I arrived at the Hospital by 7:00am and had my op around 9:30am.  I was back in my room just after 11:00am feeling pretty out of it but otherwise fine.

Going into theatre I expected to be nervous as I was not looking forward to the anaesthetic, but all of the staff had been so reassuring that when I finally got there I just let it take its course.  Didn't manage to count any numbers, think I went out too quickly for that

When I came round I felt like I had been asleep for about 10 minutes. I was being tended to by a nice nurse, I asked her if she was looking forward to Christmas and if she had kids lol. I spotted a woman in a bed opposite me who was also in recovery, confused I stared at her for a bit before waving and getting a confused wave in return.  Like I said, out of it!

I have been comfortable in the room since then, food was good and everyone has been quick to respond to my needs.  Lots of cups of tea etc.

Now on to the bit you are most interested in!  I have briefly seen my chest when they repositioned the compression garment and it is completely flat at the moment. Skin colour was normal and there was no bruising....yet.  Being on a cocktail of pain killers has given me the most enjoyable relaxed feeling with no pain from the chest area whatsoever.  I have had a bit of sharp pain near the incision points under the arms because the compression garment had rode up a bit and is quite stiff.  Sorted that by sliding it down slightly so it wasn't pressing.

I am not a body builder or fitness freak of any kind, but I have a normal physical appearance and am not overweight at all.  Believe it or not my chest is probably going to look flatter than I would prefer so once healed i will be replacing the fatty tissue that gave me a nice looking chest shape with bigger pecks by attending the gym and working on my chest area.

All in all I am happy that after all these years I am now at the other side of it all. A new chapter.  If you have any questions fire away!

[Pez2]

Well done 

Sounds like it's all gone well. I was one of Levicks last patients to be wrapped up in bandages. So if I remember rightly, it took me a full week before I saw my chest post surgery as had to keep that on for 7 days and it was yellow and black with bruising when it came off.

Don't be surprised if your chest changes colour with bruising and you get some weird swelling where it doesn't look as flat as it does today. It's a healing process that takes awhile. It has taken me years to be fully healed and and happy with my chest but it was all worth it. All the best for recovery

[pct2014]

Well its been 5 days since the op and I have spent a great deal of time relaxing and sleeping.  I was initially only going to take 1 week off work but Ive decided to take 2.  Pain has been minimal with not much need for painkillers, but the need to sleep has come over me in waves throughout the day.

Chest area is numb to touch and going through various shades of bruising, red, purple, green, yellow.  My chest hair has started to grow back and I am noticing what look like little white spots on my chest area around my nipples.  They resemble whiteheads, and I can only imagine they are caused by sweating, healing, and the fact that the skin underneath the compression garment is not getting any air??  I would like to gently wash this area but Im too afraid to touch it just yet.

As for the compression garment, its not pleasant.  Its a wrap around panel held together by velcro and is the type usually used for the abdomen and not the chest.  Because of this when I pull it up high over my chest area it cuts in under my armpits causing bruising and discomfort.  When I stand I am holding myself in a kind of hunched position, as when I stand up straight my stomach and back suck in and the compression garment slides down my body!  I have ordered a 'post gyno' compression vest online (at considerable cost) as I cannot stand wearing what I have been provided for 4-6 weeks.

All in all I don't know how I feel at the moment.  Even with someone paying some of the cost for me, it has still ended up costing more than I originally planned, due to trains, hotels, taxi's, consultations, and buying my own recovery garment.  I will update as the days and weeks progress...

[Chief Brody]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay total for your procedure pct2014?

I find it astonishing that a couple of post operative compression garments were not thrown in as part package. These are not cheap at £50 each and I'd be pretty cheesed off if I had to pay for them out of my own pocket. I've had 4 in total following my surgery with Karidis. The first 2 we're the incorrect size so they sent another couple of vests out in the post no questions asked.

[Anon16]

You will definately thank yourself for that extra week off to recover. In my case 2 weeks was just about right to feel comfortable with functionality pretty close to normal.

Found the first week abit difficult moving around, getting dressed, lifting of arms etc however this improved with every day that passed.

I recieved 2 x macom ab binders similar to yourself and initially found these a pain as my upper chest above armpit line was sticking out and not recieving compression and also digging into armpits and stomach when sitting upright.

By the 3rd night I found myself wearing a design veronique compression vest which I ordered (x2) prior surgery. If you order this from euro surgical they will have it delivered next day.

This was way more comfortable to wear however I would still wear the binder ontop of the vest as much as I could for the first 2 weeks as the extra compression it provided made me feel alot more secure. As the pain dies down from the first week it becomes more bearable you will appreciate the compression.

I showered 4 days post op, avoided water making direct contact with chest area and just washed residue from armpit dressings as this was making skin sticky, felt alot better after freshing up. Replaced dressings on incisions but did not notice any further bleeding so took these off also a few days later.

Strange but I also had the white spots around nipple and was panicking, I thought it was some sort of skin infection so went to see my Dr but he advised nothing to worry about and just to carry on taking the antibiotics provided by the priory. Went to see Dr Vijh who re-assured me not to worry and it was normal.

You may find the Redness and spots will get worse before better however will soon clear up. My Areolas were bruised and scabbed over. This has now peeled off at 3 weeks post op and everything seems to be healing ok and Im pleased with surgery regardless of cost.

Other than that I have been giving myself the best chances of a quick recovery by taking it easy, eating clean high protein meals, taking arnica, a multivitamin, extra vit c, bromelein and going for daily walks for around 20-30mins. I have just started very light massaging with bio-oil at 3 weeks post op.

[pct2014]

Chief Brody - It was £4450 in total (minus all the additional costs of getting there etc).  In fairness I think they forgot to provide me with a second abdominal binder when I left and Im sure they would provide another if I phoned them as the Hospital were great.

Anon16 - Thanks for your detailed reply, it really helped.  Good to know that you also experienced the white spots.  Like yourself I also panicked that it was some sort of infection.  Im happy to report that they have already dried up and some of the harsh redness in that area has also begun to fade.  In fact today, exactly one week since I had the operation, I am feeling good with how it looks.  Every morning I slip the compression garment down worried about what I'll see in the mirror.  This morning I did the same, only today I could clearly see that I was happy with how its all looking.  Psychologically this has made a big difference to my state of mind as when I wrote my last message I wasn't feeling great.

Today I received my self funded compression vest in the post.  It fits great, nice and tight, and it allows me to stand up straight, something I couldn't do with the abdominal binder due to it moving out of place.  I do feel that I would have coped better so far if they had provided something like this as its so much more comfortable and practical.  I can now go out in public easily and the vest is supportive and invisible.  In the house I will continue to wrap the abdominal binder around my chest too for added support.

I have been photographing the progress including pictures of how I USED to look.  In a week or so I will upload them so that you can everything at the various stages of progress.

[pct2014]

Today marks exactly 3 weeks post op.  Healing has gone well with 99% of the bruising now completely gone.  The scars under my armpits are already barely visible, and its incredible to think this can all be done through such a small opening.
I have swapped back and forth between the abdominal binder I was supplied with, and the post op compression garment I bought.  I tend to use the latter if I am going out as it is less visible and allows greater freedom of movement.
There is very little pain, just the odd bit of soreness here and there, predominantly my ribs (?) and under my armpits.  I think I can attribute the armpit soreness to the abdominal binder being pulled up so high, but this is necessary to ensure it covers the very top corners of the chest where it meets the armpit.  This area was lumpy at first (with congealed blood I presume) as its the area between the scar and where the surgeon needs to get to.  My nipples have both scabbed over to varying degrees, but Im finding baths and showers are helping it heal nicely.

I have documented the progress in pictures, and will update as the weeks and months progress:


* As you can see my right side had become significantly bigger over a period of years.  Lots of chest hair to hide it as much as possible.


* Bruised and sore, the armpit wounds were sticking to the bandage and lots of bruising.


* Not looking good.  This was a heat rash caused by lack of air and the heating too high at home.  A GP can prescribe cream for this if it happens to you.  I got it to clear up by gently washing and giving it an hour or so of fresh air each day.


* Heat rash has cleared up but left scabbing and redness behind.  Shape looks uneven due to the abdominal binder, but its very early days.


* Scar is tiny and healing fast, afterwards I realised the other side looked even better.  When arms are down the scars fold into creases and cannot be seen.




* Starting to look a lot better, shape is also good with no lumps or bumps except for a couple at the corners of the chest near the armpits.  Keeping the abdominal binder up high and massaging them in the bath sorts them out.




* Very happy so far, colour is almost completely normal.  You can see that one of nipples has scabbed over but is happily healing.  Shape looks good with both sides looking even, although there are lines from the compression band.  I imagine once Im done with the compression garments my chest will be allowed to gain its natural shape without being flattened down all day every day.  Still a little puffy near the armpits but massaging in the bath has completely resolved the lumps.

Hopefully these pictures will help anyone considering this surgery to know what to expect.  I had read loads over the years but there were still little details I have discovered for myself along the way.  At 6 weeks I will begin light weights and exercise, as I plan to build my pecks up a little.  I will never be a fitness fanatic but I think my chest is a good blank canvas for gaining a nice modest shape.

[giggsy]

Nice man!