surgery booked with Dr. Karidis 3rd March, pre-op pics

[chopper]

ZM i can't recall when i massaged if I'm totally honest, but I'm pretty sure i would have made a note of it in my journal on here. I remember it was pretty tender for a while. I used to sit on the sofa whilst the missus watched crap telly and i would get my top off and massage away and then have a shower to get all the oil away.

[zm]

Hello All,
Just thought i’d give you a quick update.  I am now 24 days post op.

I have decided to no longer wear the vest as of today.

My chest is still numb and tender to touch in some places.  At times, i do get the odd stabbing or poking feeling especially around my nipples and stretching feeling around the armpits.

I get my missus to massage my chest for 10 minutes just before going to sleep.
I went gym on Saturday. I worked on my chest and biceps. For my chest, i did 3 exercises consisting of 12 reps and 3 sets.  I did chest presses, machine pullovers and finished off with cable crosses.  Intensity was moderate.  It didn’t hurt or anything like that but i took it easy.

There is still have lot of scar tissue but obviously it’s very early days.  My only concern is the side profile of my chest isn't  looking as it should but again, when the scar tissue dissipates over time, i know it’ll be just right.

If anyone has any question, please ask away.

[dexs]

zm how long after surgery do you think i can hit the gym and go on the treadmill or excercise bike?  I was hoping to do this 2 weeks after surgery.

[zm]

Hey dexs, you can do it after 2 weeks mate. I just chose not to.

The other thing is, I noticed my chest weighing down a little as I did not wear my compression vest. I've decided to weap it for another week only taking it off for about couple of hours and day.

[zm]

just another small update..

I know previously i said that i will stop wearing the vest completely but decided to only wear it half a day.

One thing has been really bothering me.  I had paid extra for the bits round my side of my chest to be lipo'd but it feels like as if it's not been touched or not done adaquately.

I did raise this with Dr. Karidis last week but he insisted it was done to a high standard but i just can't see how he would have done without any incisons on the sides? it could be that it's swelling but it's really hard to tell.  There is no scar tissue there but just feels soft like before.

so.....i thought maybe i need something more tighter to be round my chest so i improvised...last night, i grabbed my knee wraps. they are elasticated material which you wrap round your knees when you are doing heavy squats. they are about a meter long.  I double up one of them and stitched them to a be circle.  I then put it over my head and squeezed myself in. I then slept with this on last night..it was bloody tight or what. The good thing was that it was just around the nipple areas and sides of my chest it was pressing against, exactly where it was needed. when i took it off this morning, my chest looked the best post op up to now.  And also it's so much more compfortable than wearing a compression vwar.  the only downside is that it's like a boob tube women wear..lol

i'll try and take a pic tonight of my handy work...

[ChestMan]

Zm,

Regarding the additional lipo. Did you give Karidis a call or have you had your follow up consultation?

[zm]

Hey breastman, I emailed Karidis about it...got my follow up in 2 weeks time so i'll see what he says... i mean, whatever the case, even if i need revision, i'll be out of pocket by another £1700....

I'm really NOT happy at this stage. I do understand about swelling etc but just feels like fat wasn't taken out....

I emphasised the about the lipo around the sides at every opportunity. even when i was being marked up, i made sure he outline the stubborn areas......

I'm going to give myself 9 months and see where it takes me...

[chopper]

hey ZM, for what its worth I had doubts you were going to get the same results as some of the others ones i've seen on here and thats because I thought your chest looked a little bit heavier then the average case on here. Your a big guy with a ton of muscle but also what looked like a chest that stores fat by the boat load because your arms and gut don't look too bad at all, but I thought your chest looked very heavy in all the pictures I've seen pre-op.

For what it's worth I think 9 months is a good place to aim for, but I would also get back into diet mode because i know from personal experience Karidis lipo'd X amount of fat from my chest but since the operation having shed more pounds my chest has also shed more fat and looks better. The lipo does a job, but it's not to be relied on because good cardio and dieting gets a much better and more even burn on the fat around my chest anyway.

Keep positive because it's all you can do, turn into a cardio bunny for a little while and shed some more fat whilst doing your weights, but I would cut rather then bulk whilst you are healing and in 9 months time after doing all that I reckon you will have a much better idea of what needs to be done (if anything)

I hope this hasn't put a downer on you mate, because it's not my intention too mate

[zm]

hey Chopper,
thanks for the reassuring words bro...

it's not that i'm feeling down but more annoyed that "enough lipo" wasn't done.  even before my op, i did expect my results not to be as good as others because of my size.

I think the op has much much better results on thin guys as they turn completely flat.

i have already started my clean diet and cardio so will see how it goes.

thanks once again bro..

[zm]

Hey Guys,
Just thought I’d give you an update.

It has now been exactly 46 days since my op.   Hard to describe what I’m feeling but very disappointed to say to least at this stage.  I feel like how I did before my op.  My chest is still numb in some areas but this doesn’t bother me one bit.  What does bother me is that I feel my chest looks like how it did before my op, especially the side view.  I don’t know if it’s just swelling or if Dr. Karidis just hasn’t taken out enough fat which I had always suspected from day one of my op.

My right chest is looking a lot more swollen than my left.  If I pinch my right nipple, it feels like there is a rubbery small round lump.  I don’t know if this is scar tissue or just small bit of gland left over as my left nipple doesn’t feel like that.

My chest isn’t looking unilateral at all. 

I have started to train but not hitting the chest hard but just medium intensity.
I am really hoping that what i’m going through is normal but sure doesn’t feel like it at all but i’m hoping someone can prove me wrong.

I know that majority of guys in the 6th week have had excellent results.  I do understand that because of the size of my chest, getting it completely flat is not as straight forward but I just cannot help but feel that my op just wasn’t adequate.

Am I happy at this stage? Nope, not even close.

Any feedback would be much appreciated bros.

Anyway, here are some pics I took in the morning before I came into work.

[chopper]

I would get booked back in for a check up with Karidis and ask him for his opinion.
The only thing I can suggest that might put your mind at rest is; from memory Karidis can only take out 1 litre of fat, or something like that, they can't just keep sucking and take out 5 litres of fat for example. I might be wrong on the 1 litre, but I think its something like that. My guess is your chest could have quite a bit more fat still in there and that will go flat once you start shedding some weight. The gland is the nasty thing that always ruins the contour even if you are shredded...your gland is gone, long gone, so the only thing that can stop you having a flat chest is your diet and shedding weight, because the fat WILL go!

I don't know how your chest will look afterwards with excess skin etc, but I'm pretty sure you will be able to get it a lot flatter as the pounds keep falling off. I can already see one side looks a lot flatter then the other, probably a mixture of swelling, fat, scar tissue.

Get back in to see Karidis and just keep pounding the cardio - it's all you can really do at the moment.

[ChestMan]

Hey Zm, sorry to hear that you're not pleased with your results. I think there is a definite improvement form your pre-op pics (especially the one where you are marked up just before surgery). I thought that in your earlier posts you were happy with results - if your chest has now taken a turn for the worse this suggests that perhaps it is just swelling? You know your body better than anyone else...I think I agree  with Chopper on this one and probably best to speak with Karidis. It is a big commitment (not just money wise) to go under the knife, so I understand your disappointment.

I'm less than a week away now from my op and I was pretty chilled out about it all (which is very unusual for me) until I read that you were disappointed. I'm thinking of buying some bodyfat calipers and take some skinfolds pre and post so if swelling does occur I can measure it.

[zm]

Thanks for the reply chopper and breastman.

chopper, you are right in saying that if it's just fat then it should definitely go away.  i have already started my cardio. may be not seem like a lot at the moment but i've been doing 10 minutes before each workout on the cross trainer keeping speed at 80-90 rpm.  will also start jogging every saturday mornings. Diet is pretty clean too.

breastman, don't let my experience put you off.  it is early days for me. i'm just frustrated when I compare results to other guys but do bear in mind that everyone is different. 

before we all embarked on this journey, we knew we will be in for a bumpy ride so this is my ride i guess.

I have made a follow up appoint for next Friday.

For anyone else who is thinking of making an appoint with Dr. Karidis, only one is left for next friday then the earliest will be end of May.

[zm]

Hey guys,
Had my follow up appointment today which last probably 3 minutes...

My Karidis had a look and feel and said there seems to be 25% scar tissue around the sides of my chest but i personally can't feel anything but he would obviously know.

When i asked if i'll be needing any revision, he said it's too early to tell and doesn't know but went onto say that he won't be charging for his time but I think we both kinda know revision would most likely be needed but let's see what happens. 

he did say that we should touch base again towards the end of this year.

i would like to say that my chest is look better than before the op so i'm hopefull that after my rigorous cutting down of fat and gym workout, that things will pan out for the best....

[ChestMan]

Hey zm,

You sound a little more optimistic than in your earlier posts. Hopefully the training/dieting pays off and you can avoid the need for revision.

All the best , try to stay positive.