The Ultimate outcome of surgery

[MRM]

In exploring results of surgery on this board, I am not totally convinced that this procedure is producing the results that most expect. It appears  most people are pleased with the results anywhere from 1 week to about a month after the procedure has been performed.. After that it appears their level of enthusiasm deteriorates quite rapidly. I am basing this just on the experiences that I am reading on this board. It would be helpful to hear from those that have gone through this  and are still pleased with the results one  or more years after they have had surgery.

[mizuno]

I agree with you to some point.
But, keep in mind a few things. The ones that has great surgery results don't usually come back to the board.
They hang around for a few weeks and then they are gone. I can only assume that everything is great.

I have looked at some pics on this board and I do see that a good deal are significantly overweight. That can cause unsatisfactory
looking results.

No offense to anyone but that is how I see it. My case is not to bad from what people have responded. But, for me it is still
a daily distraction and something that I allows focus on it. I think that surgery will not gid rid of my gyne. But, I have to do this surgery
soon so I can move on with my life.

[speck3]

I would think that after a year from the time ones surgery is complete and the patient is
100% satisfied they would be all over these boards. I believe, of course   the process of surgery is very psychological. First what most be on everyone's mind is the the decision of getting the procedure done is very difficult. Then the fact that one most worry about the safety of the procedure. Lastly when it's completed the thought that I'm fine and I have this problem taken care at last.
Now I've seen a lot of photos that have been taken a few days or a couple of months after the surgery. What I haven't seen on these boards are pictures of the results one year and afterwards. Why not. Wouldn't you think that if you had this done and you were completely satisfied you would like to express this on the boards. Just curious but after reading about revisions and other questions after the surgery is performed I wonder sometimes.

[manic91m9]

i think most people would like to forget about it and move on with their lives and not have gynecomastia.com in their favorites list for when guests use their computer. i feel that making a post of every detail of my recovery a bit pointless so far as there are many similar cases already. i do plan on answering questions on here from time to time tho.

[DrBermant]

I would think that after a year from the time ones surgery is complete and the patient is
100% satisfied they would be all over these boards. I believe, of course   the process of surgery is very psychological. First what most be on everyone's mind is the the decision of getting the procedure done is very difficult. Then the fact that one most worry about the safety of the procedure. Lastly when it's completed the thought that I'm fine and I have this problem taken care at last.
Now I've seen a lot of photos that have been taken a few days or a couple of months after the surgery. What I haven't seen on these boards are pictures of the results one year and afterwards. Why not. Wouldn't you think that if you had this done and you were completely satisfied you would like to express this on the boards. Just curious but after reading about revisions and other questions after the surgery is performed I wonder sometimes.

Although we offer free follow up evaluations, few patients take advantage of long term office visits.  Since I see patients from around the world, it is not realistic to ask happy patients with no problems to travel back for long term photo documentation.  Using a patient's own pictures for long term comparison can be misleading with variations in photographic techniques.

Actually almost all of my patients move on with their lives after surgery.  For most, living with gynecomastia is a painful emotional experience.  I use many techniques to help my patients heal the emotional component of their problem.  Comparing a patient's after surgery contour compared to the before helps realize how far each individual has come with their sculpture.  However, some patients comment they had forgotten how bad things were prefer to forget the stress and pain of living with gynecomastia. 

You can listen to one patient's emotional experiences of his gynecomastia chest deformity here.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture

[latediagnosis]

yeah i have to agree that a lot of the people who get surgery are overweight so its hard to be 100% satisfied afterwards. but it seems over 50% of people dont post after they get their final results which means theyre moving on and are over it.. thats why when i get my surgery i will make sure that i post pics and have a detailed post with pics, because i know how reassuring each individual story is for me.

[DrBermant]

yeah i have to agree that a lot of the people who get surgery are overweight so its hard to be 100% satisfied afterwards. but it seems over 50% of people dont post after they get their final results which means theyre moving on and are over it.. thats why when i get my surgery i will make sure that i post pics and have a detailed post with pics, because i know how reassuring each individual story is for me.

Healing the emotional issues of Gynecomastia is almost as important as the tissues sculpted.  Almost all of my patients find that they want to forget their male chest contour problem and I encourage my patients to move on with their lives.  It is rare for my patients to post in forums and even rarer for them to stay around after they have their surgery.  The satisfaction rate for my patients is very high.

Surgery for overweight men is a compromise option with limitations on what surgery offers.  Men with excessive fat do tend to have certain contour issues.  Check out this link about Sumo Wrestlers.  Men tend to carry excessive weight in their chest and stomach.

Weight Loss Before Surgery is typically better than weight loss after surgery.  Losing weight is a coarse tool.  Plastic Surgery is best reserved as a refinement tool.  You cannot pick where the weight comes from, nor goes onto.  Men typically gain weight first on the stomach, love handles, and chest.  We typically take weight off the same areas last.  Major weight loss after surgery may not come from your chest.  If like most men, you do not lose as much from the chest, it may look as if your gynecomastia has recurred.  Some of my patients loose their weight after surgery and get away with it.  However, weight loss after surgery is a gamble.

Getting to a weight you are comfortable with is often best.  Taking weight off, having surgery, and then putting weight back on is a problem.  If as with most men, weight is put on the breasts, it can look like the gynecomastia has come back.

After major weight loss, there may be loose drooping tissues.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture

[emjay]

Ever since finding this board in October I have come here just about every single day.  I finally had my surgery at the end of December, and I am in the process of healing.  I still come here almost every day, but I anticipate that after another month or so, I will probably never visit this site again.  Once I am healed from my surgery I hope to put this experience behind me and forget about it.  To me, it clearly seems that the overly negative results you are referring to on this board are due to selection bias...those that visit this site well after their surgery are the people looking to do some research on what may be going wrong with them or to vent to people that they know will have an interest in what they have to say.

[lucky]

I haven't had the operation yet.  However, this site has been crucial for getting me to think positively about this - that something can be done about this incredibly uncomfortable topic.

I imagine that most people that use the site before their ops don't come back.  Understandably - I think most of us want to put this behind us and not think about it anymore.

Getting the op has been on my mind for the last year or so.  I'd classify myself as a minor case - but I'm tired of being self-conscious.

The biggest scare for me is the scarring.  It appears that most people have some slight scarring - but I would imagine that a vast majority do not have scarring that would be apparent to anyone but their significant other.  Besides, this is my line of thought for getting off of the fence:

If I'm afraid to take my shirt off now, that can't possibly be any worse after the operation.  The worst case scenario (probably like a 2% chance) is that I will have some obvious scarring.  Even with that - I'm free to wear whatever I want, and not worry about the shape of my body - which is still a 1 up in my book.