Hi everyone,
This is my experience with gynecomastia.
I’ve had this condition for most of my life and finally decided to do something about it back in November, 2012. I found this website and also found out that this was a correctable medical condition with plastic surgery. I also found out that my health insurance covered the procedure. I have Kaiser so I scheduled an appt. to see my primary doctor to discuss my options. During my consultation my doctor told me I would need to meet a certain weight in order to be a candidate for the surgery, unfortunately I didn’t meet these requirements by almost 50 pounds. They are going off by the American height to weight ratios of the 1950’s way before McDonalds or Carl’s Jr. went mainstream . Just kidding, but he said I would need to lose the weight before he would write the referral. He scheduled a follow up appointment for mid March, 2013.
From November to December I managed to lose 10 pounds and then in January another 4. At this rate I wouldn’t be able to get my referral until late in 2013. This is when I started looking for other options. I called several doctors in the Los Angeles, CA area and the going rate for the surgery was from $5,500 to $8,500 depending on the severity. This was obviously unattainable due to the price. I searched this forum and found Dr. Jose Luis Salas and his cosmetic surgery clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. I gave them a call and spoke to Karla who explained the whole procedure. I called her maybe 10 times before I decided to schedule an appointment for mid February.
The Surgery
My surgery was on February 16, a Saturday at 9am. I was told to arrive at 8am for the blood work. The night before I wasn’t able to sleep due to my nervousness and just being anxious. I left Los Angeles with my girlfriend at 5am and headed down to Mexico. Karla gave me very clear directions to this clinic along with pictures making it almost impossible to get lost. I arrived at 8am, I had my consultation with the doctor, then I spoke with Karla to go over the price one final time and payment. I was photographed, the doctor drew some lines, blood was taken and moved to my room. I changed to the hospital gown, put on anti clot socks and a nice little cap. An IV was inserted and off to the operating room at about 9am. This went by really fast. I was asked to get in the fetal position and a needle was inserted in my back. I felt pressure on my chest and then nothing. I laid flat on my back and then I fell asleep. I woke up right after the surgery was complete. The nurse said if I wanted to see what they had taken out. I saw two huge glands and a bucket full of fat. The doctor performed some lipo also. The nurse said they pulled out 11.5 pounds of fat.
Right after Surgery.
I was taken to my room on the gurney and transferred to my bed. My girlfriend was waiting and the next thing I hear is that I had lost a lot of blood. That scared the daylights out of me, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open from being so tired. I woke up again about 3pm. The surgery lasted about 1.30 hours according to my girlfriend. I had more IV and some pain medication. About 4pm I asked if I could leave and head to my hotel room. Karla said I would be able to stay the night, but not my girlfriend, so I decided to get us a room in San Diego, CA. This was agreed upon when I scheduled my surgery and I booked the room while still in Los Angeles.
Night of the surgery.
I left the clinic with my medication and drain attached. Just walking felt uncomfortable so I booked a room at the Tijuana Grand Hotel which is in the same office tower. When I was walking through the lobby I got dizzy and wanted to vomit. I knew I needed some food due to the blood loss. We stopped at the hotel’s buffet and ate,.The food was actually very good. I immediately felt better. During the night I had to empty out the drain. Not very pleasant and messy. The next morning I get a call from the clinic to come over for my first check up. They remove the drain, apply some fresh bandages and I get my compression vest and off to LA I go. All this before 9am. I got a Medical Pass to cross the border which took less than 15 minutes to do.
The first week.
Awful, that word describes it all. I was in pain, I developed a nasty rash due to the compression garment rubbing on my skin. I started using an undershirt beneath the vest. I changed my bandages twice a day, took the medication prescribed, swelling was pretty bad, had trouble getting out of bed, showering was awful.
Week two
The rash was going away, stitches were removed, felt much better, swelling was coming down.
Week three
Rash was gone, compression vest being worn during the day not the night. swelling was going away.
Week four.
rash left its mark, compression vest is gone, swelling still occurring because of my carelessness. I started lifting weights and over extended my chest which caused some pain and inflammation. Here some pictures of the before and after.
Price details.
Surgery $1500
Medication $100
Vest $120.
hotel in San Diego $58
Hotel in Tijuana $78
food $30
Total $1,886.
it would have been less if not double booked hotels. I also checked the brand of the vest and its manufactured in CA and sold here for $80. I also went down to the pharmacy on the first floor and checked the price of my medication and the total was $65. the clinic charged $100 I guess theres a little profit in everything. If you have any questions ask away.
Before
The night after.
30 days later.
Topic: Dr. Jose Luis Salas - Tijuana, Mexico With Pictures (Read 14771 times)
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