18 days after surgery! before and after pictures

[Mark8]

Hey Everyone - Check out my before and after pictures.  The bruising is finally going down...

[Mark8]

The surgery went great! Ever since I was 12 years old I've been self conscious about my chest and finally now at 25, it's been fixed.  This was the first surgery I've ever had and I was alittle apprehensive.  I've been saving up for this surgery for a few years and finally this summer I decided to go through with it. 

The operation was performed by Dr. Ewart in Augusta, Georgia.  He is board certified and was very optimistic about the surgery at my consultation and pre-op appointments.  He used liposuction and ultrasound liposuction to remove 500cc of glandular tissue and fat on each side.  The office and operating rooms are inside the Augusta plastic surgery associates suite inside University Hospital.  I felt more comfortable having the surgery in a hospital setting because if something bad happened I wanted to be near a hospital and it gave me extra reassurance that the docs. knew what they were doing since they had offices in the hospital. 

I arrived at 6:30am on Monday, Aug. 13th.  A nurse took my vital signs and had me change into a gown.  They inserted the IV and within a hour I was laying down in the ice cold (58 degrees) operating room.  The doctor gave me the medicine to put me asleep and the rest is history.  If you're thinking of having the surgery done.  Do Not worry about the surgery itself.  You won't remember anything except peacefully waking up. 

Afterwards at home....  My family says that I passed out when they emptied the drains for the first time.  I was so drugged up that all I remember is asking them to wait until I woke up before emptying the darn things.  Anyway, I'm glad they were there because without my family's support I couldn't have gone through with the surgery. 

I slept most of the first week after surgery.  At my post-op visit three days later Dr. Ewart took out the drains.  I was pretty bruised and swollen as you can see in the pictures.  My skin is kinda wrinkled from where the tissue was taken out.  I'm wearing a compression garment which is keeping everything nice and tight though. 

All in all, it was a good experience.  I read some of the postings on this site before having the surgery.  It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only person dealing with gyne.  I remember being so worried about my chest when I was a teenager.  As I've grown up I started to accept/ appreciate myself for the way I looked, but it was good to be able to get it fixed.  The operation was $3750.00.  My pre-op info said to shave within two inches of the incision sight, but the morning of the operation they told me not to worry about it. 

How long does it take for the wrinkled skin to tighten up?

Mark