23 yr old male having surgery with Dr Katarzyna Owstrowska- Clark in November.

[Sjd1993]

Hi guys,


I started lurking on this forum around 2 years ago now having always had puffy nipples and extra fat deposits in my chest which seemed to go nowhere regardless of any exercise. Had lots of little jokes throughout teenage life nothing heavy but enough to make me pretty conscious about it. Taking off my top in public has always been a big no no!


I decided to speak to my GP and was referred and then told it was gyno which unfortunately is not available on the NHS without evidence of significant or severe psychological impact.
Having read all the forums I decided to get in contact with this surgeon given their exceptional reviews and fantastic price in comparison to having the surgery done in the UK. I was quoted from £3750 upwards to have it in the UK. However, with this dr the cost will be £1500 for lipo and gland removal. The deposit for surgery is £490 I believe but I sent alot more purely because I preferred having less to pay at the time of the surgery.

 
I will be having surgery on the 7th of November (8weeks away now CAN'T WAIT!!!). Closer to the time I will include pre-op pics and then include post op-pics and the lot. Hopefully this will be helpful for anyone on their journey. Not at all nervous just keen to have this gone!!! Especially as it makes sex annoying when you have a top on lol. For anyone overweight I was advised to lose weight for surgery. Started at 211lbs in April 2016 and I am now 173lbs...still losing loads of weight in time for surgery hopefully it will be helpful. Any questions and the rest of it give me a shout
S

[Sjd1993]

Hi guys just an update it's the night before surgery now VERY NERVOUS and pretty tired but can't sleep!!!
My flights with Norwegian who are usually great (and have free WiFi and live TV which is a bonus!) were significantly delayed which was a nightmare. However, the shuttle bus was prepared as promised by Jeremy. 
Hotel Atrium is significantly more comfortablexpensive than it looks in pictures. Seems nice and the room has pretty much everything you need. Having read other people's reviews I decided to bring my PS4 with FIFA and COD to pass time (can't go wrong) and I also have FM17 so time should go super quickly.
I was able to get my weight down to 161 lbs for surgery. it's nice to vaguely enjoy looking in the mirror having been so significantly overweight. I think after surgery and recovery I will really be able to have fun in the gym (Hopefully similar to the Jakey fellas story). 
Going to attach some preop pics in the next post 🙂

[Sjd1993]

Struggling to upload from my phone atm will try and do this tomorrow!

[giggsy]

good luck bro

[Sjd1993]

good luck bro

Thanks man! 

[Sjd1993]

Hi guys, 

So I think I have a way to share photos. I have put the images in a OneDrive folder and put the link below. I will put pre-op/post-op and some pictures of the hotel/clinic in here. Hope it helps!

LINK: https://1drv.ms/a/s!AgdOKlhtHSaSzkYEWPoftuTIu8HB 

[Sjd1993]

Operation Day
So today was operation day!!!!😊. I couldn't sleep the night before at all and got no more than 3 or 4 hours of sustained sleep. similarly tonight I am struggling but for different reasons. Yesterday I was a bag of well hidden nerves whilst today I'm feeling relaxed not sure if it's any of the drugs keeping me up anyways. 

Tomek (the greatest cab driver outside the UK! proper hilarious guy) called around 8am and said he would be at the hotel for 9am and sure enough to he was dead on time. we headed to get some blood tests done and they took 5!! test capsules for blood. I felt abit light after and had a glass of water before we headed back to the hotel. one thing I observed was that they spray some form of cleaning or anaesthetic spray on venepuncture sites before injecting which was very reassuring and if anything good practice. 

I was told I could not eat after 11am so I literally packed in as many fruits as possible before it got to the cut off time. Tomek came for me at 2.30pm to get the ultrasound done however, due to the surgery before me he said my time slot had been moved to 5pm so I had a little extra pocket of time after the ultrasound which was abit tedious. the ultrasound was the most weird experience  of my life lol. she didn't mark anything and said I had slightly smaller glands than expected. 

4.15pm came and we set off for the clinic everything was becoming far more surreal now. At the clinic there were further delays but I was just happy to know it would still take place the same day. She ran me through a range of potential complications from indentation to haematoma to necrosis of the nipple. Remember every single surgery carries a risk so you have to do a personal weighing of the pros and cons. Got into the operating room and they put the IV in I was joking that I could resist the anaesthetic next thing I knew I woke up as if I was high. I remember telling a load of jokes and laughing when they were wrapping me up. 

I have had no pain whatsoever and had very little fluid in my drains. In fact nothing in the LHS and only very small amounts in RHS. But we will see how it develops but for now it’s good. The vest is locked in tight and I have to lay on my back. Not uncomfortable per say but I always sleep on my front so that’s probably stopping me getting sleep. Going to order a steak the size of my head tomorrow lol and I am hoping for good early signs when they change the dressing tomorrow. Although, I do recognise that the recovery process is a long one with scar tissue and what not. P.S the clinic is astoundingly clean and modern. SUPER impressed 👏

All pics are in the OneDrive link

[giggsy]

Great read, congrats bro. Do you know how much gland/fat was taken out?

[Sjd1993]

Great read, congrats bro. Do you know how much gland/fat was taken out?

Thanks man! I asked her after and she said around 100-120ml of fat on each side. The glands themselves were on the small side. They showed me a picture of them and the right gland was pretty long, she said that it was tailed off up towards my armpit which sounds super weird! One thing they do is remove ALL of the glandular tissue which is good from the perspective of knowing you definitely don't have any of it anymore! Just hope there's no issues around depression of the nipple and so on....will update the OneDrive shortly.

[Sjd1993]

Update (days 2-7)
For anyone who is keeping an eye out on this post here is an update. I will also update photos in the OneDrive link later. I am now back in the UK its so weird to have waited so long to have surgery to now look back at it in a slight haze. 

So I had a lot of discomfort in the following nights at the hotel and my range of motion was significantly reduced. It was frustrating but it comes with it. Not sure how some people manage to get on with things after a few days lol there is no way I could have been at work. I have seen the swelling reduce every single day since the surgery and my chest is looking better and better. I am really hoping the scar tissue formation is as minimal as possible. 

The day after surgery Katarzyna decided that it would be okay to remove the drains as nothing more had collected in the drains. To be honest, it was one of the strangest feelings I've ever felt lol but not necessarily painful just weird. Some fluid came out on the LHS which felt weird lol but I'd rather it was out than in. She then inspected my nipples and she was happy that they were still alive! In fact, I had good sensation in the nipples and still do...they are able to get erect etc so I have no worries there. 

I had another check up on the day before returning and Katarzyna was again very happy with how things were progressing. She showed me how to massage and said that in a weeks time it would be good to start but very gently. How that plays out I am not sure as the area is still tender but we will see. She also pulled at the nipples to make sure they didn't depress onto the tissues below and whenever I shower or change the dressings I give them a gentle pull to help with this. 

I was very happy with the aftercare at the time and I did feel well looked after. One thing I will say however, is that Tomek's fares did seem off and I challenged these...you may be better getting individual taxis to and from the clinic. Also Katarzyna is a super super down to earth character and actually very funny lol. Had quite a few good political discussions with her. I was very worried about travelling back to the UK and being searched at the airport. It would have been so awks having to potentially show the vest etc etc and experiencing my own version of 'nothing to declare'. The band is VERY visible underneath clothing. Before leaving I order a Macom vest to wear to work and I will sleep in the band supplied. My discharge letter said 3 weeks 24/7 and then 3 weeks just nights. Swelling is going well so unless it gets worse I will follow this. 

Since being back in the UK I just want to be able to go to the gym or go swimming. I feel up to the gym but I'll fight the urge to go another week or so before lifting light weights probably just biceps and legs (BORING). 

Any questions just ask! Apologies if this post is a bit muddled just running on memory for this one. Let me know if I have missed anything. 

[giggsy]

Nice man. Keep updating and i wish you a speedy recovery.

[Sjd1993]

Hi guys so I have uploaded some new photos into the drive. 

This is the link https://1drv.ms/a/s!AgdOKlhtHSaSzkYEWPoftuTIu8HB
I have tried to label them so you get context for each image. I have also got a picture of the glands in there so if you are squeemish then proceed with caution. 

Katarzyna did say there was lots of stubborn fat during liposuction and thats definitely clear when you see the RHS gland which is covered in the stuff😷.

Also popping some images of the clinic in there

[bryanandco]

Thanks a lot for this, I am having my surgery tomorrow and having a near panic attack at some negative comments I am reading... Most seem to be postive though. Hope you are recovering well.

[Sjd1993]

Thanks a lot for this, I am having my surgery tomorrow and having a near panic attack at some negative comments I am reading... Most seem to be postive though. Hope you are recovering well.

Yo bro, tried to message back not sure if it reached....I did find I had lots of anxiety just before the surgery which is normal but I think I have read positive and negatives about most surgeons tbh....one thing I'll say is Katarzyna does seem like a perfectionist. I'd definitely be blunt and honest with her about any concerns as she will happily address these. All the best for tomorrow tho man! In a few weeks you'll be looking back wondering whether it was all real. Pop in an update on how you do

[Sjd1993]

3 weeks post-op (23days)




For anyone keeping tabs from a distance and for you guys that commented I think an update is definitely overdue. So firstly I am about to update the OneDrive album with some up to date photos of my recovery and what I have been using post op. 


Stitches, bruising etc




I had my stitches removed on day 11 although the guidance is 12 days, due to the 12th day falling on a weekend and the stitches used at the lipo incision on my RHS was causing significant discomfort which was immediately relieved once they were taken out. My GP (also a dermatologist) was extremely pleased with the quality of the stitching and overall appearance now the puffy nipples were gone which was great to hear. On my LHS I had/have developed some bruising which isn't painful but is evident and you can probably see it in the pictures but it is fading and I believe the Heparin cream is helping with this. I have been applying it twice daily. 


I have also had a tiny tiny bit of fluid build behind the left nipple (not noticeable in pictures I don't think). My GP believes it is negligible and said it may just be best leaving it to reabsorb although I have read that it may cause additional scar tissue so if it hasn't gone by this weekend I will get an appointment to have it drained as its slightly annoying. 


SCAR TISSUE. So regarding the dreaded scar tissue! I had scar tissue build up within a few days of the sutures being removed. There is scar tissue around both peri-areola incisions and the lipo incisions (very small here). There is a good amount of scar tissue there however, it is not causing the nipple to look like gyno again so I am happy about this. I have found that massaging is helpful in terms of softening it all up. To massage, I have used two fingers and then rubbed firmly around the nipple scarring. This has then been followed by use of a handheld shiatsu massager which also helps. I know the scar tissue may take several months to break down naturally so I will keep massaging and then let nature take its course. 


Incision scars. So as many will be aware black skin is roughly 7times more likely to keloid. I have never had a keloid or bad scarring and I have always recovered well from cuts and abrasions , however, Katarzyna did scare me when she mentioned keloid scarring so I done some research. I have purchased some silicone sheets by CircaCare and some Kelocote silicone gel. Found out that these can be super helpful in scar healing and in preventing hypertrophic or keloid scars. I am using these just to be on the safe side btw! I started with the silicone sheets around day 15 or 16. I am currently using the sheets over the main incision day and night (sheet needs to be washed twice a day before being reapplied). I am using the kelocote on the lipo incisions. After the 5th/6th week I will use the sheets overnight and apply kelocote in the daytime and probably only use kelocote after say week 10 although this is subject to change. I am VERY pleased with how the incisions are healing up. If anything scar tissue on the RHS is causing the RHS to look slightly elavated around the incision but I am very early in healing so I am not worried. 


Gym. So going to the gym hasn't yet happened and I think its best to wait until next week (the 4th week). I have no muscle tightness when lifting my arms or anything like that but I think from 4 weeks I should be good to go very lightly. Katarzyna did say that after 4 weeks providing there are no complications she thinks I should be able to start swimming again which pretty much sets me up for everything. Swimming really does work the chest (of course I won't go too crazy with it) so I should be good to go  . I think that their recommendations are quite broad and it really will depend on how you are recovering and also you're pre-surgery activity level. 


Also, I'd say don't underestimate the power of walking! I was super worried I would put on CRAZY weight not being able to excercise but I have made sure I walk pretty much everwhere which has kept my weight stable for anyone concerned about that side of things. I am forever jealous of you guys that can eat whatever you want and put on absolutely zilch. 


Compression. The compression vests are annoying lol. I am wearing the wrap given at night but I have decided to continue using a under armour compression vest during the day to maintain some pressure on the chest. Although I could have taken it off I think one more week with some form of daytime compression can only help. Especially as the 3 weeks of 24/7 was a minimum guideline. 

Hope this is helpful