Karidis journey - from start to 12 months with lots of photos

[chopper]

So today is 4 weeks since having the OP and I'm still over the moon with everything.

I started taking my vest off for a few hours last week during the day and wore a tshirt for a few hours and would then have the vest back on at night time. By the weekend just gone I decided to ditch the vest until evenings, so pretty much did 4 weeks solid but started transitioning slowly to no vest.

My right hand side always had more swelling and was more tender than my left. My right swole up a fair bit when i first took the vest off and once the swelling had come up it was very tender to touch and bump, but after massage and pushing the built up fluid away from the area the swelling has really come down a hell of a lot in a week.

As you can see a little lumpyness and swelling still there, but i'm wearing fitted tops and you cant notice it at all!






In summmary, each week the healing really improves compare to the last. I can get my arms above my head no problem and I have a lot more feeling in my chest since starting massage. The scar tisssue is there and there is tons of it, but it should go in time, im certainly not worried in the slightest.

Anyone thinking of having the OP - go and do it. I doubt you will regret it.

[Choda]

From a noob perspective I can't see anything wrong with your results, infact it looks 100% perfect. But I'm sure you can see and feel a few little niggles with the scartissue ect.

I can't even begin to think how happy I'm gonna be if I have similiar results to you, you dream of something for so long and then it happens.

[sawyer]

perfect result mate, if mine look anything like yours i'd be over the moon!

[somedude999]

Looking great dude, can't notice any swelling or scar tissue.
What a result already and you've still got healing to do so will only get better !!

[lightweightbaby]

Good stuff mate looking spot on, how does it feel with the vest completly off now? I go for stages of about 5-6 hours with it off and then wear it again. Hows the massage going?

[chopper]

Im actually sat here in the vest as I've just been into town for a few hours and the right swelling makes it a little uncomfortable, so a few hours with this on, then I'll have it off for the evening and stick it back on tonight when I go to bed. It's just to bring the swelling down on my right which does get a little tender when it's up....the left side is perfect.

All good though mate! I just need to be patient and the swelling will go down. When I wake up in the AM the swelling takes a couple of hours for the fluid to build up, so I know once the swelling is down the end result will be worth all the waiting 

[pharmerjoe]

about the vests, did you get a few of them and/or have to keep putting them in the wash? Especially since its starting to get quite warm now.

[fingerit]

I think I read you get two...or at least I hope so, I dont want to be wearing one all night and all day for 7 days without washing it, the amount I sweat in the night and the hot days would make me a seriously stinky guy!

[Choda]

You get two.

[chopper]

You do get 2 vests and I found our zanussi washing machine on hand wash hasnt shrunk them at all. I was wearing each vest for 1 or 2 days depending how smelly i got...4 weeks of doing it and all was good with them 

[Choda]

You do get 2 vests and I found our zanussi washing machine on hand wash hasnt shrunk them at all. I was wearing each vest for 1 or 2 days depending how smelly i got...4 weeks of doing it and all was good with them 

I'm gonna have to wear my vest during the summer, making my journey home won't be fun if its blistering hot. BUT being moob free will have me in high spirits.

[chopper]

6 weeks post op today (Will snap photo when my phone is recharged)

All is pretty much back to normal. I can sleep on my front, have full range of motion, can lift weights....The only thing I do feel is a little tightness which I think Is some of the scar tissue because when I massage in the evenings the tightness is gone.
A lot of the scar tissue just dissapears on its own I think as it's been shrinking quite quickly and I'm sure It can't all be do to with massage, however I'm still doing about 30 - 40 minutes massage a day over a couple of sessions.

My left nipple was a bit puffy for a couple of weeks - all back to normal now. Still some bits of soft skin that feel like they have swelling  fluid under, so just going to keep cracking on with massage.

All in all I am ecstatic about the result. I live 5 minutes car drive from the beach, having the result I have is just perfect. You can't tell I've had an operation at all. I would gladly suggest anyone thinking about the operation to go and get it done with Karidis. I cant talk for the other docs but this dude has done me proud!

[chopper]

8 Weeks post-op

Sorry for the lack of pics, I have taken them at week 6, 7 and 8 and have them saved but havent uploaded them, but I will soon  

The only thing that I'm doing now is massage. Everything else about having gyne now feels a bit of a memory and I can understand why people abandon the board a few weeks post op as you just want to crack on with life and make up for it especially now it's summer!

My scar tissue was pretty big a few weeks post op and peaked around week 3 & 4 and has been shrinking every week since. Some bits started out bigger than 50p coins and are now about pea size and smaller, other bits were long and stringy to touch, maybe 2 inches in length and they now pretty much blend in with the other tissue and at one point you could clearly see the scar tissue  in certain areas underneath the skin, but it does go down, you just have to forget about it, know you dont have gyne and that it's not coming back and sit it out patiently and wait for healing to finish. I've still got a little swelling on my right hand side too, but its pretty minor and shrinking weekly too.

Thats all i'm doing now folks, massaging a couple of times a day and carrying on with life.  I'll save up more photos and post them all together

[fingerit]

Dude, your results look awesome, I'm day 6 into recovery and I hope to god that mine heals as well as yours has!

So did you wear the vest 24/7 for 4 weeks rather than 2? Looking forward to seeing the updated pics.

[chopper]

Folks, excuse the severe lack of photos and updates....

Healing is going smoothly, I have been pretty slack in massaging because If I'm honest I pretty much don't think about my chest like it was pre and post operation, it's no longer the centre of my focus and it just feels so normal now that it doesn't need massaging.....I know I should be massaging still so don't follow my lead 

There is still some swelling, albeit small and not really noticeable, but I know it's there. I do have scar tissue but it's nothing like it was say from weeks 3 - week 6, it's drastically smaller...literally a fraction of the amount. I have pics of my scar tissue at it's worst and once I figure out how to get everything uploaded I will. The scar tissue really wasn't a big deal for me as I always knew it was coming and a lot of it would go, I just didn't realise how much came and how much it really does go...but I think I was pretty lucky healing wise as I've seen some folks who have harsh bruising and what look like big red burns followed by heavy scar tissue...just shows we all heal so differently.

I've got no tender spots, no aches, pains, nothing. I am back playing sports and at the gym like It's never happened really. I'm now happy with my top off around others, it feels like everything has settled down. My right nipple has a pea sized lump of scar tissue that I do find myself playing with in the hope it shrinks down, but it doesn't cause the puffy nipple look compared to my other nipple. It's a little larger, but again i've noticed it's all still healing and changing as the lump is definitely smaller this week then it was 2 weeks ago when I first noticed it.

Pics taken last week - 11 weeks roughly post op.



and with the camera in the other hand




For anyone thinking about getting it done, make sure you have your expectations set - it's pretty easy having an OP done, the healing part takes time and you can't put a time limit on when you want things perfect by...relax, get the op done and know the big part is over with, but the road ahead is still long, but the end result has been so worth it. I only wish I had got it done when I was 21 not 31...