How Long Would I Be Out of Commission?

[Jack17]

Question for people who've had the surgery:

How long of a recovery are we talking about for:

going to the gym for a jog?

push ups (that seems like it would be a while)?

sleeping on my stomach?

sex?

going for a swim?

any other benchmarks you can think of?

thanks!

[nick24]

I think im almost 3 weeks post op. I feel fine, but my doc says no strenuous activities so im not even going to try. I was able to sleep on my stomach after 2 weeks, i probably could of earlier but didnt try. For sex, my girlfriend was tired of waiting so i got some after a week and felt fine, just had to keep my arms down on my sides. For swimming, i definetly could now if I wanted, for a 2 week period I didnt even want to try lift my arms over my head. I would think a lot of it depends on when you feel good but im still waiting for my doc to clear me. Hopefully thats next week. I cant wait to get back to playing tennis.

[PSC0002]

I was told at 2 weeks I could jog/walk again, just no crazy arm pumping

Push-ups I won't try for at least 2-3 months.  That's not a MD's statement, but mine.  I was told I should be well into the clear at the 6 week mark, but I don't wanna chance it.

Sex- I waited a week and half, and made her do all the work

I'm semi-uncomfortable on the stomach, but it's improving daily (I am in my 4th week now)

Pull ups and benchpressing I'm gonna put off as long as I feel anything resembling discomfort doing any of the above.

And the SWIM!  ( I was reading this post, getting ready to reply and realized that I have long avoided my appartement's swimming pool, as well as the olympic pool at my gym.   I'm actually super stoked to go.  I'll probably e-mail my PS to find out if it's ok. 

[Jack17]

Cool, thanks guys.

I know it's going to be different for every case, but say I took a friday off and got it done then, what do you think the chances of me being back in school monday (no gym) are?

[nick24]

My case was minor puffy nipples so I felt I could of been back in school the next day, but you should just lay down for a couple days after. In my case I could of definitely gone back to school Monday.

[DrBermant]

Question for people who've had the surgery:

How long of a recovery are we talking about for:

going to the gym for a jog?

push ups (that seems like it would be a while)?

sleeping on my stomach?

sex?

going for a swim?

any other benchmarks you can think of?

thanks!

Recovery after Gynecomastia Surgery depends on the problem to be treated, surgical techniques, skill of your surgeon, bruising, swelling, comfort, and many other factors. 

I prefer techniques with minimal bruising and swelling for male breast surgery.  Yes, these are typical pictures for my patients.  Check out early results on other doctor's web sites (typically you will not find any), or here in the forums posted by patients. 

My patients are typically up and about the day of surgery.  Activities creating bouncing or needing the chest muscles need to await tissue healing.  I have had patients return to school or light duty the next day after surgery.  Check out my patients' pain / comfort after gynecomastia surgery.  Although we give each patient a prescription for strong pain medication, most find plain Tylenol more than enough to manage their minimal discomfort.  Patients describe their comfort level as if they had a really heavy workout.  Being able to function at school, work, or other activities is best when comfortable and not needing strong pain medications.  Being flexible is important.  Each patient is different and some variation happens.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia