I finally did it. booked surgery, have a few questions.

[camarojoe]

This is the 4th surgeon ive seen in the past few years. Im finally financially ready to have this done (24 years old)....the only good news about waiting this long is that ive gotten myself into really great shape. Been lifting heavy for almost 5 years, and am very happy with my body other than the gynecomastia. I have a minor case of gyne, puffy nipples with gland.

However, This surgeon has convinced me to do an ultrsonic liposuction only surgery. I of course brought up my concerns with lipo only, and I thought I needed excision of the glands, etc...

Apparantly he is very sucsessfull with this technique on minor cases, and actually uses the ultrasonic liposuction method to remove ('burn') a portion of the gland and contour the area. I saw a few before and after photos and they did look good

I felt so confident with him I booked right there, no cutting of the aerola, no drains, no major recovery. sounds great. too good to be true?

[headheldhigh01]

they say if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.  sounds like at least you know there have been lots of people here before who have been very dissatisfied with lipo only.  at minimum he should be willing to adjust his procedure based on what he finds, but if he's not making a lipo cut, how's he going to really know?  i'm no ps, maybe your case is mild enough, but in spite of the claims made for it, i personally just don't trust it enough to bust up serious gland tissue enough, since that's probably what would leave problems if any in the end.  

do you feel confident you look like his successful before cases?  it's possible, but maybe it matters if they're different composition.  you could ask him if he's so sure of this he's willing to stand 100% behind it as in completely free re-op, not just surgeon's fee waived.  you might find out how confident he really feels  

if you really want to play it safe, you could get a second opinion from somebody who isn't exclusive with this technique.  

[Grandpa Bambu]

Who is the PS, if you don't mind me asking...

GB...

[GynO_DuDe]

Tell him this.

If he doesn't remove the gland, you'll definitely be asking for your money back!!!

[camarojoe]

Dr. Zvi Sharf. He says the ultrasonic lipo will remove the tissue he intends to remove. Does this sound legit guys?

[Mustoofee]

Will you ask him , how much the scar of the surgery takes to go away ??
and please ask him about using "Ultimate 'diet aid of questionable value'" & "'diet aid of questionable value'" stuff ??

thank you
wish u luck

[headheldhigh01]

here's the deal.  a number of people, probably people with harder tissue rather than soft, have not been satisfied that it adequately took it apart, and therefore left too much in.  it may depend on the particulars of the case.  i'd make it clear, in an email or however, that you wanted excision and he said this would be as good as or better.  that way if you're unhappy later, you can say he promised a certain result that would be as good as or better than the excision, and he should be responsible for it (not partly but in full) because of his statement.  maybe it will work, but you'd be covered.  if you want to be preventative however, get that second opinion.  

[wildbilly]

If I were you, I would listen to those on here who have learned the hard way (including myself). I too had a very reputable surgeon convince me that lipo only would work, that it is less risky, it will leave less scarring, it is proven to break down and remove gland, blah blah blah. I trusted the guy even though I questioned him if lipo only would work. Initially I was thrilled with the the progress, but after a few weeks, it was obvious the fat was gone, but the gland was still there completely. If you don't decide to find another surgeon who is experienced in excision, you will later regret it. For me, the emotional letdown of finally deciding to get surgery then having it fail made the gyne more difficult to deal with than ever before. Listen and learn from those who learned the hard way and get it done right the first time.

[George Pope, M.D.]

Ultrasonic lipo has been around since the mid 1990's.  "Vaser liposelection" is a fairly new variation on the same theme.  I used ultrasonic liposuction for years on different anatomic areas, and it was pretty good for melting fat, but I was never able to melt and remove breast gland with it alone.  I have always had to open the breast and remove gland that remained.

I don't use ultrasonic lipo anymore, because I found that some patients were having prolonged postop swelling and induration, or hardness, in the treated areas.

Ask your plastic surgeon if he is willing to go back and directly excise gland tissue if he doesn't get it all with the lipo alone.  And ask what that will cost.

Dr. Pope, M.D.

[buster72]

Hey Dr. Pope-

I just read your reply above would like to run something by you.  I had surgery (excision and vaser lipo) two months ago.  when the dr removed the banages two days later i couldnt believe how flat i was.  about 4 days post op the bruising began which was pretty substaintial.  At about four/five weeks (maybe about the time that i was told to stop wearing the compression vest i noticed that i was not as flat as i was.  I also discovered that a had a firm spot bewtween my nipple and armpit that had a distinctive ridge on the edge of my nipple. I was worried that it might be more gland but oddly enough massage of the area reduced the mass with several days.  Can this be a result of the vaser as you discussed?  you also mention prolonged swelling with vaser.  What is the longest you have ever seen a patient be swollen after having it done?  and lastly if i am still sore to the touch is that any idication that there could possibly be swelling- do the go hand and hand?  The end game here is: am i going to get back the flat chest that i had two days post op??? 

Thank you in advance for your time.  i appreciate any advice that you cold give me.

[George Pope, M.D.]

Hopefully you'll get back the flat chest you had immediately after your surgery, but you could always develop scar tissue that would prevent it.  You are possibly still swollen.  To answer your question, I've seen prolonged swelling after ultrasonic liposuction for up to six months.

Were you instructed to massage your chest?  I recommend to my patients that they use a flat head massager twice daily for 6 to 8 weeks.

Dr. Pope

[MrRossZ28]

Get lipo and gland excision done. I am verry happy with my results cost me $3,000

[desi]

Will you ask him , how much the scar of the surgery takes to go away ??
and please ask him about using "Ultimate 'diet aid of questionable value'" & "'diet aid of questionable value'" stuff ??

thank you
wish u luck

excision + lipo is the only way, seriously, excision requires more skill (IMO) and this step should not be skipped. Listen to everyone here, i had my surg also in 2005 with a very reputable surgeon and he left the gland behind. i had to go in for another surg, dont make that mistake, even if he offers a free revision, the recovery time, emotions, etc is not worth it. let the doc recommend you to do excision..... listen to the poeple here ...... good luckk... :-)