My Timeline Journey

[TheProject]

Whats up guys. I had posted on here not too long ago but then took down my post because I wanted to get consent before I drop names in my post. One thing led to another and I just now got around to typing all this back up again. Due to a time limitations I will condense this down a bit and I apologize if this post sounds rushed, I will do better with future posts in this thread.

First I want to say hi and thank the members here for having such a community in which people with gyno can come and find answers. The information here is the most comprehensive I have found anywhere on the net.  For me the members who posted a timeline style thread helped with my decisions and I aim to do the same with my time here. So here we go…..
If you have gyno you have two options: 1) surgery   2)other
I decided to go with the option of surgery and this guide is geared around those looking to do the same. When going with surgery, the process can be broken down into steps:
1)   Research
2)   Find a doctor
3)   Get the surgery
4)   Recovery

Step 1: research
This forum is what I got most of my research from. Search around, almost every question you have can be answered. You want to look for people with a condition similar to yours and check and see what their end result looks like. Start from this site and then branch from there. If anyone needs more elaboration on this please post up…..and I’ll be more than happy to help guide you in the right direction.

Step 2: Find a doctor
This is the hard part. Every doctor promises the same thing….the best results and blah blah blah. Obviously no one is going to say “I’m a mediocre surgeon” so you have to really research your doctor. For me and my journey this was the hardest part. I contacted several of the doctors from this site and a handful of local offices as well. After going to a few local offices in Miami I soon realized that all plastic surgeons are not the same, I was not going to trust my body to a doctor that does 10000 surgeries a month but 9999 of them are breast implants and 1 MIGHT be gyno.
Someone posted on here how there are other doctors out there who are not sponsors on this site who are much cheaper and possibly better. Well honestly it makes sense but I was not able to find any. Additionally I think it’s worth spending an additional $1k-$2k and get results you want. It’s like buying a Benz but then cheaping out on the navi system. Long story short, yea I am sure there are other doctors out there but the ones on this forum actually specialize in what I am looking to get done.
As I said I contacted a lot of doctors, many from this forum. Some of the doctors I contacted seemed to be too busy to answer questions; others gave general answers but then required me to pay $200+ for a phone consult. I understand that this is a business and apparently a very lucrative one but I am not happy about paying $200 to talk to a doctor to see if I am comfortable with him doing my surgery – at that rate I would have spent all my surgery money in just consultation. I am in Florida and I contacted doctors all across the country. The price range for surgery that I was quoted was $4500-$7000.
My final decision was to go with Dr. Pope in Orlando Florida. Dr. Pope is definitely not the cheapest doctor I found BUT he and Lisa are amazing. I messaged Dr. Pope on the forums and his office as well.  I would message Dr. Pope and would get a response back within an hour usually (even on the weekend, even at night). No talk of any money, nothing. Sent him pictures, then sent him more pictures, then wrote some more emails. Finally setup a consultation (which did cost money) and went to his office a few days ago. I don’t know how long I was waiting for because I was extremely tired and fell asleep in the room. When Dr. Pope came in, he spoke with me unrushed, very friendly, and his confidence in the procedure made me feel confident in him. So then he left and I thought that was it but nope. Lisa took me around and had a few laughs and showed me where I would come in from, where I would go pre-op, where I would be chopped up, and where I will be sent for recovery. I was given a quote, more of my questions were answered, and I was on my way.
My thoughts: Dr. Pope runs a good business. Every time I called, it seems as if all his employees have answers for you. I never really had to be transferred to anyone for anything but I did prefer to speak to Lisa most of the time. So after having e-stalked Dr. Pope online and seeing his qualifications, email him back and forth, then going to his office – I made the jump and paid my initial deposit the other day. I am sad to see all that money go but after my experience with Dr. Pope I just feel that if I am to do this surgery it is going to be with him.


So this is where I stand. Step 1 and Step 2 are done. I am waiting for step 3 which will be in a few months. I will keep you guys up to date with my experiences with Dr. Pope, my results, and my thoughts. Sorry for the long post, the ones to follow will be much shorter. I apologize if there is grammar, spelling, or other issues. My free time is very limited but I have wanted to post up and hopefully help others for some time.

[letsfixthis]

Did you ever get your surgery with Dr. Pope?

He seems like a nice guy but the pictures looks like mixed results. It looks like he is too conservative and does not remove enough of the gynecomastia. However, I most admit that his more recent pictures look to be improving. Perhaps his skill is improving since I last looked at his website.

I am very interested in how your results turn out

Please keep me posted.

Thanks

[Paa_Paw]

Dr. Pope and I are at opposite ends of the country. Being the old man here, I remember when he first signed in. I have communicated with him several times. I am not a medical professional but I was a military medic and surgical tech. What I have seen impresses me favorably. I see an overly aggressive surgeon as a problem but a more conservative approach as an asset.

If I were a younger man considering surgery he would rate high with me.

[TheProject]

Sorry guys, school has occupied a lot of my time this semester so I have not been able to check this often.

letsfixthis,
I can see where you would get the idea that Dr. Pope is a conservative surgeon and that would generally worry myself as well BUT after speaking to him and hearing his approach to handling my surgery I felt comfortable. He seems to aim to get the most removed without hacking your body which then results in the dimpling some experience post-surgery.

Paa_Paw,
Thanks for your comment, positive feedback is always helpful to put your mind at ease before going in for a surgery. I am glad to hear that you hold Dr. Pope in high regards being in the medical field yourself.



UPDATE:
So as of a few days ago, the payment for surgery has been made in full and the surgery will be performed in a few days. I'm definitely anxious to get this done finally and I look forward to seeing the results and sharing them here.

[letsfixthis]

letsfixthis,
I can see where you would get the idea that Dr. Pope is a conservative surgeon and that would generally worry myself as well BUT after speaking to him and hearing his approach to handling my surgery I felt comfortable. He seems to aim to get the most removed without hacking your body which then results in the dimpling some experience post-surgery.

When you speak of " dimpling some experience"  Do you mean the creator deformity? Whereas the nipple and/or surrounding area collapse into the chest ?

I believe there are ways to have aggressive flat chested results without the creator deformity either by utilizing fat flaps( Dr. Bermant) or by leaving a small amount of gland attached to the underside of the areola( Dr. Jacobs)

[George Pope, M.D.]

I'm sending this post of behalf of TheProject, originator of this thread.

He's asked me to let you all know that I performed surgery on him last week, and he's doing great.  He will post as soon as he has access to a computer, probably by Tuesday.  He just didn't want to leave you guys hanging - wanted you to know his surgery is over and all is good.

(Just consider my practice a full-service operation - we'll even post for you- haha)

Dr. Pope, MD

[letsfixthis]

[quote author=Dr. Pope link=topic=26225.msg175922#msg175922 date=1355611245]
I'm sending this post of behalf of TheProject, originator of this thread.

He's asked me to let you all know that I performed surgery on him last week, and he's doing great.  He will post as soon as he has access to a computer, probably by Tuesday.  He just didn't want to leave you guys hanging - wanted you to know his surgery is over and all is good.

(Just consider my practice a full-service operation - we'll even post for you- haha)

Dr. Pope, MD
[/quote]

What, no minute-to-minute update during the surgery via twitter ? 

[George Pope, M.D.]

Hey, not a bad idea.  Maybe I need to make that happen.

[TheProject]

Thanks Dr. Pope for posting up for me. Sorry guys I haven't really had much access to the internet. The surgery was done on the 11th and I'm very happy thus far. I will post up a few pics and more once I can get onto a computer (currently typing from my phone). I will also respond to everyone's messages shortly too.

In short, the surgery went by smoothly and I am very happy with the level of care I had. Pain has been very mild and I was walking around my hotel the same night after surgery like nothing happened. I stand by what I said.....Dr. Pope was worth the money and extra effort. I have a follow up in a few days and I will include that in my official post once I am in front of my laptop. If u guys have any questions just post them on here.

Cheers

[TheProject]

So I finally got my computer back!

Its been about a month since the surgery and I'm feeling a lot better now. I had my post op visit with Dr. Pope as well which went good. I know its still early to make any conclusions but as of right now although both sides look great, one side seems to be bigger than the other. I am hoping it is just fat and not tissue but I am confident that Dr. Pope will take care of it when I go back in 3 months for another follow up. I will put up some before and after pics in a few for you guys to check out

Cheers

[letsfixthis]

So I finally got my computer back!

Its been about a month since the surgery and I'm feeling a lot better now. I had my post op visit with Dr. Pope as well which went good. I know its still early to make any conclusions but as of right now although both sides look great, one side seems to be bigger than the other. I am hoping it is just fat and not tissue but I am confident that Dr. Pope will take care of it when I go back in 3 months for another follow up. I will put up some before and after pics in a few for you guys to check out

Cheers

When can we see the before & after pictures? Did you get any type of post surgical report as to how much fat was removed from both sides,etc..?

What do you think accounts for one side being larger than the other? Did you ever find out why one side was larger than the other? Was it swelling, fat, gland,etc..?

Any information would be helpful.

Thank you.

[TheProject]

Hey LetsFixThis, I have sent you a private message as well.

As far as pics. I am going to put a few up right now. I apologize, school really takes a lot of my time right now but I will continue to do my best to answer all the messages.

For the sake of time and to make sure I answer all your questions I am going to reply to each one:

When can we see the before & after pictures?
See below =)

Did you get any type of post surgical report as to how much fat was removed from both sides,etc..?
I did not but I will message Dr. Pope about it.

What do you think accounts for one side being larger than the other?
I think my muscle is larger on the left side maybe. But also it could be just swelling or fat. At this point I do not feel it is actual tissue. I am going to give it some time and then see what happens at my post op.



Did you ever find out why one side was larger than the other? Was it swelling, fat, gland,etc..?
Its only been about a month since surgery and I have seen people suggesting to give it several months before thinking of any revision. I am going to give it time and then go from there.


A lot of people have asked me why I chose to go with Dr. Pope. Rather than message everyone individually I figure I will just post here. I went with Dr. Pope because I felt him to be a very humble and helpful person while a lot of other docs will not even talk to you unless you pay the consultation fee. I researched Dr. Pope online and spoke to past patients.

Now being post-op I can honestly say that it was money well spent. The fact that I can email or even text message my doctor pictures or questions and get a response is awesome! I strongly feel that if for any reason I have a problem he will be there and that is very important when picking a doctor. Look on this forum alone.....several people have paid money to get a procedure done that left them hacked up. I have had many doctors (friends and family) look at Dr. Pope's work and they all had positive comments thus far as well.

Let me know if I can be of any more help. I hope to be much more active on here in the weeks to come with more posts and pics.

-Cheers

[TheProject]

pre-op

[TheProject]

post-op (7 days)

[puffy_leb]

Hey man,
I had EXACTLY same nipples as yours. Yesterday I had them done. It is still covered with bandages and stuff, so I can't tell how will it look like post-op. I hope I will see same results as yours.
My surgery was just to fix the puffy nipple. I had a little extra fat on chest that was removed via liposuction 4 years ago. What about you? u had any gland/fat removed? or just like me a simply puffy nipple correction?
Thank you for sharing the pics, really motivational