My experience with Dr. Law (Raleigh, NC)

[Art Vandelay]

I'm have a surgery coming up with Dr. Law. I thought I'd share my experiences here for anyone else interested in getting surgery from his office.

A little background:
I've been aware of the "issue" since I was a teenager. For the longest time I just assumed that I was overweight and that was the way fat distributed on my body. I didn't like to walk around with my shirt off even when I'm alone. Eventually I started losing weight, but I noticed that the "moobs" never went away. It was annoying, I wanted the flat chest I saw all the other thin guys had, and even some of the guys that weighed far more than I ever had. It wasn't until I read a post on forum.bodybuilding.com that I realized plastic surgery was my only option.

I did some googling and eventually found gynecomastia.org. After looking around a bit, I found Dr. Law on the list of doctors and decided to arrange an appointment. First thing I noticed at his office is that the women (at least the receptionists) are very attractive. It wouldn't surprise me if one of them is a model. Everyone was friendly and helpful. My only complaint was that I had to call several times before the office manager got back to me to schedule the surgery. I figured once I said I was interested they'd want to schedule it ASAP.

The doctor's recommendation was that we do a "staged" surgery. He said if he removed too much fat and breast tissue in the first procedure it would leave the chest with a "deflated" look. Dr. Law suggested doing an initial surgery in which he removed most of the fat and breast tissue, then, after letting the skin tighten back up (9-12 months), he would perform a second surgery to remove the rest. The cost for the first surgery would be $4900, the second (if I wanted it) would be $1800.

I wasn't prepared for the variety of medications that would be required. There are seven different kinds of medication in my bathroom right now. I also had to give up alcohol for one week before surgery and two weeks afterwards. I also can't take melatonin, which I use to help me fall asleep. That's going to be rough.

During the preliminary exam the PA discovered I had a heart murmur. That shocked me since I had a physical last year with my doctor and he didn't notice anything. Just to be safe, she ordered an EKG, but it showed some spikes (whatever that means). Finally they ordered an ultrasound which showed that my heart was normal, the wall was just thickened. Whew. (Side note: One of the clerks at the ultrasound place said the procedure would cost over a thousand dollars! Thankfully that was a mistake on her part)

Now I have the final go-ahead for surgery. Here are some pics:

[George Pope, M.D.]

So Art, are you an importer or exporter? And good luck with the surgery.

[Art Vandelay]

It's been a few days since surgery. Here are my impressions.

Day of surgery: Had to get up way early to be at the hospital by 6 AM. Everyone was very polite. I talked to the doctor and anesthesiologist before they put me under. The last thing I remember is giving the nurse my underwear for storage (why they needed me to take them off, I'll never know). Next thing I knew I was waking up and surgery was over. I had some slight pain, but nothing serious. That night I didn't get much sleep. The compression vest was rather uncomfortable and the Ambien the doctor prescribed didn't do much for me.

Followup appt: The doctor said things were looking good. The PA suggested I double the dosage of Ambien to 10 mg. I don't care for the compression vest. I've read that other people liked the way their chests looked with the vest on, but mine bunches up and makes it obvious that I'm wearing something underneath my clothes. Oh well.

It's been a few days and the pain is mostly gone except when I raise my arms in the air. I've quit the painkillers they gave me. Little to no nausea. The only issue is I'm constipated and I'm taking milk of magnesia to hopefully alleviate that. I can't wait til I'm done with all the different pills they've given me. Right now for bruising and swelling they've prescribed arnica montana, bromelaine, and quercetin. To prevent infection, I'm taking the antibiotic cephalexin. Additionally there's hydrocodon for pain, ambien for sleeping, and zofran for nausea (as needed).

Anyway here are some pics, with and without the compression vest:

One day after surgery with dressings still in place.


From the side


After the doctor removed the dressings

So Art, are you an importer or exporter? And good luck with the surgery.

Hehe thanks 

[Art Vandelay]

Had my one week followup today. The PA removed the tape over my chest so now I have a full view of the results at this point. Already I'm pleased with the difference in my nipples, which look semi-normal now. There's still some swelling, which is to be expected. I'm happy so far.

I've gotten used to the compression vest, although I don't like to wear it when I'm walking on the treadmill. Still taking bromelaine, quercetin, and arnica montana to help with swelling. Also using Ambien to help with sleep. No longer constipated (thankfully that was miserable) after taking Dulcolax. I definitely recommend taking a laxative/stool softener the night after surgery. Trust me.

Enough talk, time for some photos!

[thunderwasp]

Glad everything worked out good for ya. I'm planning on scheduling a consultation with Dr. Law soon. Did the $4900 include everything or were there additional expenses like maybe bloodwork or something? Can you give more details about what kinda test they run before the surgery?  Keep me updated on your progress. If I decide to get this surgery done it will be my first time under the knife and being put to sleep. I'm kinda nervous and enjoyed reading your experience.  thanks for any help

[Art Vandelay]

It's funny that you ask about additional expenses. Remember that ultrasound I mentioned? Well it turns out that will cost me $950! Ugh. There are a lot of additional expenses, so you definitely want to have health insurance if you go in for this procedure. If I hadn't had it the ultrasound would've cost almost $3000! Here's what I recall as far as additional expenses:

$40 - 4 prescription drugs ($10 copay for each)
$15 - Arnica Montana
~$20 - Quercetin and Bromelaine (optional)
$25 - Pro-sil (optional, helps with scarring)
$25 - Copay for blood tests to approve surgery

There are other incidental expenses that I'm sure I'm forgetting. With any luck you won't have to pay for an expensive ultrasound on your chest. I'm not too happy about that.

Quick 2-week update: Dr. Law says I'm healing up nicely. I noticed the swelling has gone down a little. No new pics as my chest doesn't look too different. I can do some light exercise now, which is good. I don't want to get fat right after getting surgery!

[thunderwasp]

thanks for the help. I'm gonna try to schedule a consultation within the next month and hopefully I'll have enough money to get this done. I actually live about an hour and half from Raleigh (in greenville) and this looks like it could get expensive with having to take off work and gas. How many times did you have to visit his office before the surgery? I'm assuming I can get blood drawn here in Gville to avoid a trip. Also do you happen to remember what exactly they check for with the blood test? Again, I appreciate the help.

[Art Vandelay]

I had to go to the doctor's office 3 times before surgery. Once to meet with the consultant, where she shows pictures and answers general questions. The next time I met with Dr. Law himself, where he examines my chest and talks with me personally. The second meeting costs $100. The third time is after I've received an estimate and decided to move forward with surgery. At that meeting I sign forms and receive prescriptions.

The blood tests is a complete blood count, a Basic Metabolic Panel, and coagulation testing. They also do routine urinalysis.

Do you have family/friends that you can stay with in the Raleigh area? They don't allow you to drive yourself to or from surgery, so you need someone to drop you off and pick you up. You also have a followup appt the day after surgery. If you don't have family to drive you, you might consider getting a hotel room.

[thunderwasp]

yeah, I should be able to get a ride or two  if I need it but getting the money together might be another story. Anyway thanks for the detailed replies and I'll be checking up on this thread periodically so keep me updated. later

[Art Vandelay]

Here are pics now that I'm past the 1 month mark. I've started exercising more. I still wear my vest at home as it's more comfortable and the nipples are still sensitive. It doesn't look much different in the photos, but the swelling seems to have gone down a little.

[Art Vandelay]

Two months in, not seeing much difference from the previous month. Not much in the way of pain, but I do feel some light discomfort around my left nipple a couple of times during the day. Just feels like needles lightly hitting the skin. Still got plenty of scar tissue just underneath the surface of both nipples.  I got back into a full-blown exercise routine, definitely need to build up my endurance again.

Here are the pics. I don't think the angle is doing me any favors. Still, I hope there's considerable improvement over the next few months.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Don't want to burst your bubble, but at two months, you are probably looking at close to the final results of your surgery.  Sure, the tingling, numbness, etc will disappear and any firm areas will soften in the coming months, but the ultimate contours are pretty much what you have.

Dr Jacobs

[Art Vandelay]

Well that's discouraging. I guess I'll wait and see. I still have the option for the revision surgery.

[Art Vandelay]

3 month mark. I think things have improved a bit, looks closer to a "normal" chest now.

[Art Vandelay]

Dr. Law sent along some before/after pics. The difference is pretty evident in these, so I thought I'd share.