KARIDIS SURGERY - NOVEMBER 2016 - PHOTOS AVAILABLE

[Chief Brody]

williamb - yeah definitely get some pictures up mate. I find it helps no end talking about it and comparing cases. I would never have gone through with the operation had I not stumbled across this forum and read many of the success stories. Hopefully I can give something back by documenting my story and inspire somebody else.  

[Chief Brody]

UPDATE - DAY 5 POST OP

The last 5 days have literally flown by, can't believe it's almost a week since I went in for surgery. The bruising has really come to the surface now and is almost black in places. My chest is still tender to touch with little or no sensation and it feels tight, especially when I lift my arms above the head. That said I'm not in any discomfort and haven't taken any pain relief since the night of the operation. I've got a significant amount of swelling on the left hand side which feels fluid like and is solid to touch. It has subsided a little today so may have peaked but I know the swelling can come and go as the body recovers. The bruising is also more prominent on this side but it had a larger proportion of fat/gland and I guess it took a lot more work to shift and cut out.

I've been taking my arnica pills as instructed and also necking pure pineapple juice like it's going out of fashion. Just started taking 500mg bromelain tablets as an additional supplement to help with the swelling. I've been wearing the compression vest 24/7 but I must say I find it restrictive and uncomfortable. Just a case of grinning and bearing it for another week or so.

On the whole I am really pleased with the progress at this stage.  

[Chief Brody]

DAY 5 - LEFT

[Chief Brody]

DAY 5 - RIGHT

[Chief Brody]

UPDATE - DAY 6 POST OP

It turns out I was given the wrong size compression vests on discharge from the hospital. The XXL ones I received felt snug but somewhat lose at the top and I woke up in the morning on a couple of occasions to find the clips undone. I did a quick check on the Macom website and their sizing guide states an XXL vest fits a 42 inch plus waist and 47 inch plus chest. I'm a 34 inch waist and 44 inch chest lol!

I made a quick call to Karidis office yesterday and explained the situation. Apparently the vests should basically follow your usual T-Shirt size so they sent out a couple of large size vests for next day delivery and they turned up in the post this morning. Jesus what a difference a proper size vest makes - so much tighter and supportive around the chest area. I will probably keep these on 24/7 a few extra days past the 2 week period to make up for the first few days wearing a wrong sized vest.

[ParkedOutside]

Did they say anything regarding the bruising? Was it due to the vest size?

How's it looking now?

Is Karidis the #1 guy in England or just popular on this forum?

[williamb]

How's it going bud?  When did you take your plasters off? I've put a new set on and was thinking of removing them completely wed night!

[Chief Brody]

UPDATE - DAY 15 POST OP

Recovery going well and very pleased with the progress so far. The bruising peaked at around day 6 but has diminished considerably now. I've had little or no swelling on the right hand side, however the left hand side did swell up significantly. I would say it was at it's worst around day 12 but has now started to subside. This area is still a little tender and bruised but it did have the most amount of gland tissue removed and as such took most of the trauma. The swelling feels like fluid under the skin and after contacting the Karidis clinic the nurse said it was most probably a small seroma which the body will naturally absorb over time. In some cases they do require draining but I'm guessing now the swelling has gone down the body's natural defences are taking care of it. I think being given the wrong sized compression vest hasn't helped and probably allowed some fluid to build up in the area where the gland was removed. That said, now that I'm wearing the correct sized vest (L as opposed to XXL) the swelling has come down somewhat and I'm going to keep it on 24/7 for another couple of weeks to be absolutely sure.

The pain has completely gone and the incisions are almost healed although it still feels tight when I stretch my arms out to the side or overhead. No real signs of scar tissue at this stage but I'm expecting it to develop over the coming weeks and will start gentle massage as and when it appears.

One thing that is driving me mad is not being able to get down the gym and train. I'm going to start cardio work again as of Monday and maybe some light weights on all body parts other than chest over the next couple of weeks. I reckon it's going to be another 2 to 3 weeks before I can really start hitting my chest but I'm not in any rush, got the whole winter to start build some muscle in time for the summer!

Day 7 and day 14 update pictures below.

[Chief Brody]

DAY 7 - LEFT

[Chief Brody]

DAY 7 - RIGHT

[Chief Brody]

DAY 7 - SIDE

[Chief Brody]

DAY 14 PROGRESS PICTURES

Note the creasing and indentations are from the compression vest that's just been removed.

[Chief Brody]

DAY 14 - LEFT

[Chief Brody]

DAY 14 - RIGHT

[Chief Brody]

DAY 14 - SIDE