No sensation in nipples + more

[InvG]

I am currently 4 days after the operation. I went to a Dr.McCain (spelling?) in North York just near Toronto, and he is a really knowledgeable doctor, not to mention he does this surgery all the time. It was completely covered by my health plan, which was a plus. I will be going to see him this coming Thursday as well.

The surgery supposedly only took 20-odd minutes, which he said was normal. I was put under via IV. I had the incision at the bottom of the areola, and I had to wear a straight-jacket contraption after.

I have noticed quite a bit more bruising on the left side than the right side, but I was also told that is somewhat normal.. however I seem to be a hypochondriac (or so I'm told) so every little detail bothers me. On the left side I have also noticed there is a dark red blister-like thing on, however it isn't on an incision, so I'm unsure what this is. Anyone have any idea? It has a radius of about 2 millimeters.

Anyways, after 2 days (had the surgery on a Tuesday, went back on Thursday) I had the straight jacket removed. He then wrapped me up with some bandages which are to help with the liquid buildup. I can take it off to shower, then wrap it back up and I have the next appointment scheduled this coming Thursday just to check up and see if I need the fluids removed.

I have noticed, however that both nipples are completely numb. I can't feel anything when I touch them. I'm wondering if this will go away after time, or what the chances are of it becoming permanently numb. I have spoke with my friend about everything thats happened, and everything I'm experiencing up until now, and he replied with, "does it really matter if your nipples are numb? Or are you really gonna miss rubbing them that much" lol. This made me think its not really a bit deal, however I'm still curious about the chances of permanent numbness.

Anyways, in point form here are the main questions I'd like answered:

-Is the nipple numbness ever going to subside?
-What is this red blister? (its not hard, its 'soft' - picture putting plastic wrap over a little bit of blood, I don't know how else to explain it)
-How bad is the scarring normally?
-What are these odd pains I get sometimes when I move, like I 'ripped' something in my chest or somethings leaking?
-Whats with the pressure-like feeling I sometimes experience?

Thanks to anyone who can help me out here, and I apologize for this being so long.. but its 3:00AM here and I'm very tired.

[PeterBateman]

stop being a hypochondriac!!!  all normal, except the 20 minute surgery??? maybe each side...did u have gland removed and lipo, or just lipo?

[InvG]

I'm unsure, all I know is this doctor has been doing it for 10-20 years, and he is a specialist on this kind of surgery. I'm unsure what this kind of doctor is called, but he specializes on the chest/breast area as well as some other cosmetic surgeries.

Is it bad that it only took 20 minutes? I mean, he says the surgery is complete. I had a bilateral something something-ectamy lol I can't remember what its called exactly.


But still, if someone would be able to answer each point in my first post.. that would be awesome. People can say "stop being a hypochondriac", but its a LOT harder than that. If you've ever had a panic attack before, and people said calm down, you know how that didn't work.. the only person who can help you is yourself. (By the way, I know you were joking when you said it  )

[gynogone]

I'm one month and I'm still numb in my chest and nipples.

AS regards to feeling, I think it's normal.  I'm much less numb than right after surgery.  There is a lot of healing that has to go on...give it at least a few months before you start worrying about loss of feeling.

Comfort yourself with the fact that this guy has ton a lot of these surgeries....what does he say about the feeling in nipples?  If he had problems with people not having feeling he probably would have changed his technique by now. 

So don't worry about it too much.

[InvG]

Thanks for the info, the thing that made me think was when the first post said "all normal, except the 20 minute surgery?"

Anyone able to explain why that isn't normal please?

[PeterBateman]

ya i couldnt care less if they took 20 mins and i was happy...i have to go for a revision so whose to say...i was just shocked they could do both your ti.ts in 20 mins....

[InvG]

I am happy, yes. This is what he said to me after I took the straight jacket thing off:

"It may look like we completely forgot to do the surgery, but don't worry.. it's just swelling."

He did fill me in on info post-op, just I always like to get info from more than one person.. even if the one person has a huge amount of experience. I don't doubt this doctor at all, since he really knows what hes doing. I just still had a few extra post-op questions that I wanted answered, and most were.. thank you

The biggest thing I was wondering about was the red blister.. or whatever it is. My dad told me it could possibly be a broken capillary, but he isn't 100% sure. I'm not too worried since I'll be heading down again this Thursday and the doctor will most likely be able to tell me what it is - if it isn't gone already.

I do just have one general question out there for people who have already had the surgery. After you had the fluids drained from your chest a few days/weeks after, did you notice an instant improvement (I don't mean complete improvement)? Or did it still take a while for the space the fluids filled to slowly go down?

Anyways, thanks for your previous answers.

[Oblivion1022]

Hey I've been reading on this site for months now, and I actually had surgery not so long ago(17 days ago). I don't know exactly how much the severity of my problem was (just the puffy nipples) I am 5'7 160lbs and 19yrs old, and I go to the gym 5 days out of the week and play any sport any given day. Anyway, I've noticed that a lot of people after surgery have needed drains, and a few other things that I don't remember off the top of my head. My surgery experience was pretty well off, had surgery on Friday Feb. 9, took off the bandages the following Monday(Feb 12)...then I went the following Tuesday (Feb. 20) to take off my stitches. and today I actually started working out and life seems pretty much back to normal. I never had any post surgery pain, swelling, nothing. The doc even told me when i took out my stitches that I don't even need to use the compression vest any more, so now I use it only at nights to sleep. Now about your topic, my right nipple has 100% sensibility and my left one has about 60%. So now I'm pretty much ready for the Miami summer coming up soon =), I have no scars whatsoever, the bruises that i had went away after about 4 days post op. if you have any questions about my surgeon let me know and I'll be glad to inform you about him.

[InvG]

Just an update, I went back today to the doctor for me 1 week or so post-op checkup, and he says everything is fine. It is starting to look really good, the swelling has somewhat come down. He called me a "bruiser", so it may take a bit longer for me to notice my results. All-in-all I'm very happy, and can see this turning out amazing.

I was told by a nurse that the surgery was going to be 20 minutes or so, however she was completely wrong. It was, in fact, a 1 hour surgery. So my concerns about that are gone. The red marks were just scabs that formed due to rubbing of the bandages. Numbness I'm experiencing is completely normal, and everything else is fine. The left side scar-wise looks great. I can barely even notice the stitches, let alone the incision mark. The right is a little more noticeable, but it will eventually fade once the stitches dissolve.

So.. I guess this is one of those success stories everyone likes to hear. If you are suffering from embarrassing gynecomastia, do not hesitate to let your parents know if you are too young to get it done yourself. They should understand, and you should definitely go see a doctor about it. Luckily my surgery was covered, and hopefully yours is too. However, if its not, it is worth every penny.

Heres to hopefully everything turning out perfect at the final result! One of the few times I've been excited for the summer months


EDIT - I actually have one more question. I have hard and somewhat painful bruises. Just curious as to how long these take to go away.