Unfortunately, I cannot find any pre-op pictures of my gyne, but here is my story of the operation:
I am 27 now, and I have always been slim and had what i feel is a pretty nice body. When I was around 18, I felt two small hard lumps appear in both sides of my chest, under my nipples. They were pretty tender so I went to the doctors about them because I wasn’t sure what they were and I though that it might be cancer
The Dr said that it was perfectly normal, it was to do with puberty and that the lumps would disappear of their own accord as I got older.
Well, the lump on the right hand side vanished as suddenly as it appeared but the left hand one remained. It didn’t seem to be growing and it certainly wasn’t visible, but it was tender and if I knocked it or a girl put her head on my chest and pressed it, it was pretty uncomfortable.
This is a animation to show how it grew from when I was about 20 to 27. The red shows what felt like hard tissue.
When I was 21 (and until the present day). I got into Thai Boxing in a pretty big way. I was always taking knocks in the nipple and I don’t think that this helped it at all. and certainly when I started, I think it was around the time that I really noticed my nipple and pectoral was growing and getting larger.
In late 2002 I went to the doctors to enquire about getting the lumps cut out as I started to feel much more tenderness in them, and although nobody noticed it, I was getting more self-aware of its size and difference from the right pec.
In January 2003 I went to see a NHS plastic surgeon who diagnosed it as gyne and said that I didn’t have a bad case of it at all, and the effects of scarring and possible deformities from the surgery would be worse than what I currently had so it was best to leave it to see if it went of its own accord.
I was pretty happy with that, as 1) I am pretty vain and didn’t want a scar! and 2) I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to Hospitals and surgery, and excuse not to really go through with it!
I carried on living with it. It was not noticeable to anyone but me, this was until late 2004 when the lump started to grow under and across my nipple. The thing felt like it was growing at so fast a rate that I would be the proud owner of a DD sized boob within months.
I rushed back to the Dr's who wrongly referred me to the Brest clinic, who then made a mistake and made an appointment for me to see the wrong Dr who then made an appointment to see the correct plastic surgeon (the original guy!) 4 months after trying to see the plastic surgeon.
He agreed that It was much larger now (5cm was the size recorded) and the fact that it was pretty painful and I was very embarrassed about it meant that he thought that it should come out. I couldn’t wait... When could they do it? Damn, 10 months away
That meant that I would have to put up with it for months, and if it carried on getting bigger, then I was sure to become a recluse with a unimoob!.
This summer it was pretty big, though according to most people it was only noticeable when I pointed it out to them. It also made excising painful. Even jogging felt like my left pectoral was going to rip itself off because of the extra hard lumps. I also had not been able to sleep on my left side for a few months. I felt that the operation could not come soon enough...
...And then I got the date through in October and it was time to start the pre op fear!. December 12th 2005 was the date scheduled for my operation, and once I knew it was the time flew by. Not exercising had made my lump feel less painful and I felt that it had reduced in size a little bit. The only thing left for me to do now was to count down the days until my operation (oh god, only a week away etc!)
The morning of my operation came around, and I decided that I would go to the hospital alone as I like to withdraw away from people when I get worried and hell I’m 27, too old to be a mummy’s boy! though I would recommend taking someone along to keep your mind busy, as I don’t think that I did myself any favours calming myself down...
Well The Plastic surgeon came in and I had to sign a disclaimer which said that I was aware of some of the possible complications of the operation. These included (from what I remember) bad scarring, infection, death of nipple(!) nipple stuck to rib-cage and gyne returning. He also examined the nipple again to see if it was still worth doing the operation as it had shrunk slightly since I had stopped exercising. I still really wanted it done, and he said that it was still bad enough to do, so I had to get changed for the surgery.
With my heart pumping and my legs shaking uncontrollably, I got onto the trolley and was wheeled to the theatre. I remember them putting in the anaesthetic, and me saying "ohhh god nooooooooozzzzzzzzzzzzz" as I went all dizzy and everything went black.
It was like time stood still until I woke up. I had no recollection of it passing. I had a beautiful Italian nurse pulling the breathing tube out of my mouth (which I didn’t feel, but I remember) and asking me how my pain was on a scale of 1-10. I felt that it was a 1, but hey when in Rome, I lied and said 5... She gave me morphine and I felt pretty relaxed and warm. She gave me it two more times, when I still said that the pain was a 5 (it was still 1) I lay in the recovery room for about 20 mins then went back to the ward.
In the ward my pain never went above a 2 I would say, and I started to feel a little silly for getting so worried about the operation, which had so far been painless. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that I had a tube leading out of my chest to a drain tied to the floor.
Here is a photo of me about 16 hours after the operation
They removed the drain, which was the only painful bit of the whole operation and I was released from hospital to recover at home shortly afterwards. My advice to anyone worrying about the operation is not to. This whole experience for me has been painless, and if I had to get the other side done I don’t think I would sweat over it at all!
Now my questions:Has anyone ever had a bandage like this:
The nurses in the NHS ward said that they hadnt seen one like it before. It feels uncomfortably tight now and I am not allowed to take it off for 2 weeks, and its only allowed to be taken off by the surgeon. Does this seem right? My curiosity is growing as it feels all tingly, scratchy and sore underneath the bandage. The only open area is just under my armpit, and is slightly crusty with old blood.
My main concern is that I have received my outpatients appointment and its for the 30th of December, which I think is 2 weeks today. this means that the bandage will have been on for longer than 2 weeks, nearer 3. Will this have any negative side effects such as an increased infection risk?
Thanks for reading. Hope this relieves some peoples fears about the operation. It really didn’t hurt at all!
Topic: (post-op) My NHS Surgery Story and a Question (Read 4325 times)
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