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Florida Gynecomastia - Flying to Richmond, VA for Gynecomastia surgery. 10 Days After Surgery
I am a 38 year old male in good shape. I am 5’ 11” and weigh 167 pounds. I work out regularly and have always had a problem with the contour of my chest. As my working out advanced and I lost weight over the last 3 to 4 years, I noticed I was unable to improve this contour and decided to look around for a solution. After about a year from discovering Dr Bermant’s wonderful, informative, and detailed web site, I decided to pluck up the courage to call. I can’t say whether it was the sense of commitment I would get from speaking to a ‘live’ person or the embarrassment of the whole thing that kept me ‘thinking about it’ for so long.
I had seen the before and after pictures, seen the movies, read the testimonials and was ready to take action. But that was six months ago. This is just one of those things that got easier and easier to ‘put-off’.
I remember initially (and nervously) speaking the Thomas, Dr Bermant’s surgical assistant. After a short description about the reason for my call, Thomas took charge and explained my options (remote consultation or in-office visit)
I live in Florida, and a ‘remote’ consultation’ would have been preferred, but I decided to fly out to Richmond to meet with the Doctor in person. I had a business trip in Frederick, MD anyway, and because I am a pilot, I flew my plane easily to Chester county airport, just minutes away from their office.
Coming into the office, I was impressed with all the plaques on the wall, reassuring me I was dealing with a true professional. Upon my arrival I was warmly greeted by Jane. I think this is a good time to let everyone know that Dr Bermant has surrounded himself with a phenomenal team. They are professional, caring and just plain GOOD! I never felt rushed, I always felt they were sensitive to my problem and ready willing and able to answer any questions I had for them.
I went into the examination room and waited for the doctor. I felt I knew him already through the extensive study of his website. The doctor came in and proceeded to discuss why I was there, and after some pleasantries started his exam.
You can tell the doctor is a true professional when he gives you an exam. It is very thorough, and he uses instruments that looked like something out of Star Trek to take all kinds of measurement around and on my chest area. I was a little overweight back then (183 lbs and 5’ 11”) and the doctor recommended I loose some weight before the surgery.
I left his office convinced I needed the surgery, but wanted to challenge myself to have the lower body to match my ‘new’ upper body. I decided to go on a diet and loose 15 lbs. It’s funny, the desire to fix the Gynecomastia was the motivation I needed to take off 15 lbs and totally change my eating habits’ in the process. I no longer eat fried foods, drink sodas or ‘pig’ out like I used to. I am very engaged in thinking about what I put in my body, and have managed to stay at 167 lbs for a couple of months now.
After losing the weight, I called the office and scheduled my surgery for early May. This was in mid April. Wouldn’t you know it, 10 days before my scheduled surgery; I got a bacterial infection coupled with a cold and cough. I was obviously not going to be well in time and called the office to ask whether or not I should reschedule.
I remember the doctor getting on the phone and extinguishing any doubts I had by saying “this is elective surgery, lets choose a time when you know you won’t be sick rather than try to accommodate my schedule. We rescheduled for May 18th.
We got to Richmond Wednesday May 17th at 12:30 pm. We easily had time to rent a car and get a quick bite to eat before proceeding to the doctors for a ‘pre-op’ visit at 3:00 pm. I remember starting to get a little nervous about the whole thing. What if the testimonials on the site about how ‘pain free’ this really is are made up or from people with cases not as ‘severe’ as mine? I had never had surgery and just did not know what to expect. Once again, the staffs, including the doctor, were very receptive towards answering any and all questions I had. They fitted me for my ‘vest’ (which turned out to be a godsend). I went into an exam room with the doctor to get my contours marked up on my chest. This was obviously the place that all those pictures and videos were filmed I saw on the web site. There was a blue screen on one end and a couple of gurneys. The doctor came in and performed another thorough final examination and proceeded to draw some contour maps on my chest with a sharpie marker. He told me that when they pump in the fluids the natural contours change and he uses the drawn contours as a guide. He then proceeded to take several ‘before’ pictures from every conceivable angle.
I went back to the hotel with my wife and had a great dinner. My surgery was scheduled for 11:15am the next day.
With rigid instructions not to eat or drink anything (yes, which included water!) after midnight I enjoyed a satisfying meal and went to bed on my side and stomach, knowing I would not be able to do that for several weeks.
I slept fine that night, and before you know it the day of reckoning was here! This is where those testimonials that seemed so easy to give me comfort would really help me face what was to come. I got to the office at 11:15 sharp after a brief stop at Wal-Mart to purchase a zipper front sweatshirt for post op ease of use.
As soon as I arrived I was met by Jane who told me everything was on schedule and asked how I felt. I was whisked away into a consulting room with my wife and we met Jim the nurse anesthesiologist. Having never had any type of surgery that required sedation, I must admit I was a little nervous. Any nervousness I had was soon dissolved with the caring attitude with which Jim explained exactly what he was going to do. I was immediately comforted. The next series of events went by fairly rapidly…
My wife left and I was escorted to the larger room with a couple of gurneys and some privacy curtains with a large blue background curtain on one end where Dr Bermant had taken my pictures the day before.
I was asked to disrobe and get into a surgical gown. As soon as I accomplished that, Jim came over and once again walked me through everything he was going to do. The first step was to get an IV needle in my vein on my right hand. I preferred not to look and then “ouch” a pin prick that ended up being the most painful part of the entire procedure. So far so good. Next they hooked me up to a package of liquid I was told had electrolytes and the such in it. As soon as the liquid was turned on, just as Jim warned me, I actually felt the cooler room temperature liquid go through my veins. It kind of felt like a cool rush going up my arm. Next he added the anti-biotic to the mix. At this point I was ready to walk into the actual operating room (which I had never seen before).
I remember walking in and seeing 8 to 10 ‘8X10 size’ color pictures of my chest at various angles that Dr Bermant had taken the prior day hanging in plain sight on top of a cabinet at the foot of the surgical ‘bed’. The room was prepared with a total of around 3-4 people in it. I got on the bed, and they began to strap my arms to the armrests and the nurse told me that my legs (from the knees down) would be continuously massaged and sure enough, as soon as I lay down, the automatic message unit cam on. I remember there was relaxing music and the temperature was perfect.
As soon as I was in position, Dr Bermant approached me with his surgical mask and eyewear. He began to ask me about my favorite vacation and began shaving the hair on my chest with an electric razor. Next thing I knew, I was looking at the lights above me and rapidly went to ‘sleep’. I remember asking Jim how he determines how deep my sleep is and is there a chance I can wake up. He told me they vary the medication according to weight and have multiple instruments monitoring my vitals and in addition to that have tests like snapping his fingers in front of my eyelids to test any involuntary reflexes. If there are none, they know the medicine is doing its job.
The next thing I remember is getting up and being informed everything was fine. I remember feeling a little groggy, but soon was in good enough shape to walk back to the recovery room next door. They asked me how I felt and I told them I was feeling surprising good. I drank some water and then I was asked to see if I would like to see what they had ‘pulled out’. I accepted the offer and to my surprise, the glandular matter was relatively small. I was expecting it to be bigger after seeing all the pictures on the web. I soon felt good enough to go back to my hotel room with my wife. The pain was amazingly little coming out of the surgery. I took a couple of Tylenol and was instructed by the doctor not to be a hero and take the stronger stuff if I needed it. The other piece of valuable advice I was given was to take the Tylenol as I felt the pain coming on to stay ahead of the ‘pain curve’, as it turned out, this was great advice and I ended up taking a total of 26 or so Tylenols over the next week as needed.
When we got back to the hotel, I found myself in remarkably good shape, maybe it was a combination to the drugs wearing off and the validation I had discovered that this procedure is exactly like the descriptions in the other testimonials. Either way, I felt good enough to go for a 30 minute walk around Richmond and out to dinner!
Upon our return to the hotel I received a call from Dr Bermant. He called to ask how I was feeling and asked that I call him at ANY time if I had any reason to. I am a side sleeper and was not looking forward to sleeping on my back, but Jane had told me to ask the hotel for some extra pillows and told me exactly how to lay them out for optimum comfort. I went to sleep fine that night, waking up a couple of times for about 20 minutes or so and just in case took 2 Tylenol. I was expecting to wake up in pain the next day, tired and groggy! To my surprise, the pain I felt was not much more different that the prior day. Nothing a few Tylenol could not handle. I got up and went back to the doctor’s office for my follow-up appointment.
Dr Bermant took his time to go over the post op care instructions. We mainly focused on the importance of the pressure garment. I removed the garment for the first time and “WOW” what a difference! There was absolutely no bruising, little swelling and the profile had completely changed for the better! I remember having the doctor take several pictures and video and interview me on my comments about the procedure. He then showed me before and after pictures from various angles and asked if I had any questions. He stressed that I should call him if I could not think of any at this point and I left the office.
We flew home to Florida the next morning and the only restriction I had was moving my arms above my shoulders. Therefore I was unable to use the overhead storage rack in the plane. I remember being afraid that the metal hooks in the vest would set off the airport security checking machine alarm, but having gone through one now 4 times, I am happy to report that it doesn’t.
For the next 5 days, the only painful sensation was periods of an itchy feeling coming from behind and around my areola area. I was told this is the sensation I feel when my nerves are re-generating themselves.
Showering was a breeze, and I followed their instructions not to take long soaking showers. I had no problem using a hair dryer, shaving or any other thing I needed to do as part of my normal routine. Obviously I am not throwing baseballs or lifting heavy weights but it is now 10 days post op and I feel great. I am even used to the pressure garment and won’t have any problems wearing it for the recommended 2 weeks 24 hrs and 2 additional weeks while awake. In fact I think I will wear it for a total of 4 weeks 24 hrs to help in the scar healing.
My follow up appointment was a week after my surgery. This appointment was to take off the bandages and see my chest for the first time. Pretty routine. As the doctor took off the bandages for the first time, he noticed some drainage on my left side. Once I stood up in the mirror and looked at my chest for the first time, I had a sensation of amazement at first and then I felt like I was about to faint! Yes faint! I asked the doctor if I could lay down for a few minutes. He told me that the sensation I just encountered was tied to the emotional aspect of carrying this ‘baggage’ around for so long and seeing myself for the first time without it! If it didn’t happen to me I would never believe it! It was the first time my body physically manifested the pain and embarrassment associated with the Gynecomastia in a physical manner. I liken it to the weight falling off my chest literally!
In the days after the surgery I feel completely liberated of the problem that prevented me from enjoying activities without my shirt, buying certain clothes for fear they would give away my secret. I wish I had access to this wonderful procedure years ago. The technique has evolved so much, that if you are like me with all these self imposed ‘restrictions’ on your actions than I would recommend traveling to Richmond VA and taking care of the problem. The solution offered by Dr Bermant is much less painful than the baggage I was or you may be carrying!
Flying in from Florida for surgery with Dr. Bermant - 3 weeks after surgery
On - - I had gynecomastia surgery with Dr. Bermant. It is now about 3 weeks post-op. ... And it's about time I shared my experience.
Let me start off by telling all of you a little bit about myself. I'm a 5'10" 170lbs lean, muscular 22 year-old, a 1st year medical student, and I had a bad case of puffy nipples. I used to be chubby as a teen, but by 18 I had slimmed down to a slender 140lbs. During my 2nd year of college I decided I was getting chubby again and started hitting the weights and became very athletic and body conscious. I became very lean and developed a lot of muscle. Unfortunately, by the end of the year I noticed I had a bad case of puffy nipples. I don't know how I got it; I think it was a combination of being chubby as a child, bad genes, smoking weed, and gaining muscle while losing weight pushing the gland out. From then on, my chest has been the source of much anguish and embarrassment. While I know I didn't have a bad case of gyno (small gland, not breasts), I was always frustrated by my chest. I would wear baggy t-shirts, button down shirts, developed bad posture, tried fat loss gels, tug at my shirts, refuse to go the pool, wear layers . . . anything to hide my gyno (also hiding my abs, back, and whole body in the process). After years of putting up with this I finally decided to get the surgery after the 1st semester of my 1st year at medical school. I had done a lot of research on the internet about my condition, and I decided to fly to Virginia have Dr. Bermant operate on me.
After completing the remote package and placing a deposit months before, I flew to Virginia 2 days before surgery and stayed in a local hotel with my dad. On the the day before surgery I saw Dr. Bermant. The office is a clean, friendly, and inviting place. The doctor's staff is lovely and very nice. I liked Dr. Bermant very much, he is quite a character, and you can tell that he is very serious about what he does. I had seen 3 local plastic surgeons (in Miami) before Dr. Bermant, and all of them claimed that could not help me or preferred not to perform the surgery. I now realize they probably did not have the skill to perform the surgery. [One PS did not want to remove any gland; instead he wanted to remove skin around the circumference of the nipple! I would have been horribly scared. Another surgeon would only do lipo, not excision; which would have been an utter failure as well due to my lack of fat] Dr. Bermant explained to me what I already knew, I had a "finesse" case due to my leanness and musculature, but he would be able to help. The doctor gave me the most thorough "breast" exam out out of any of the doctors I had seen before. His eye for detail and symmetry is impeccable. He spent A LOT of time telling me about the surgery and letting me ask plenty of questions so that I felt confident and comfortable. Many doctors have a patriarchal viewpoint; a "let me take care of it, you don't have to know what going on, and everything will be alright" attitude. But Dr. Bermant was consistently keeping me informed, reinforcing ideas, letting me ask questions, and being 100% honest with me. After discussing the surgery with me, I signed some consent forms and he took me to another room to get fitted for a compression vest and to take pictures/video (He took a lot of pictures with really getting good angles that best captured my condition). Lastly he marked me up with a pen and sent me back to the hotel to rest.
On the - I came in for my surgery. Besides his small staff the day before, there were 2 nurses, and an anesthetist. When they wheeled me into the Operating Room, I noticed the pictures of me Dr. Bermant had taken the day before where taped on the walls of the OR. The anesthetist put me out, and when I awoke the staff helped my groggily put on my vest. The Doctor informed that he had made two small incisions under the areola, completely excised the glands under each nipple, and sculpted "fat flaps" to contour my chest (he only lipo-suctioned a minuscule amount of fat since I has lean and my problem was glandular). He showed me the glands he removed before sending them to pathology. He told me if I had any discomfort, I should to take Tylenol, and if that didn't help he gave me a prescription painkiller. A few hours after the surgery I felt good enough to eat some Chinese food and then get some rest, I only needed to take Tylenol that night.
On the day after surgery I saw Dr. Bermant and he went over details of my surgery and scar care. Since my right nipple skin was so distended by the gland, he wanted me to wear my vest for 24hrs/day for the 1st 2 weeks, not even taking it off to shower unless very briefly (this was to help the nipple skin adhere to the fascia underneath). After that, I should continue to wear the vest 24hrs/day for another 2 weeks, but did not have to be so diligent about keeping it on. After this 4 week period how long I was to wear the vest is up to me; the more hours I put in, the softer my scar would heal (I plan on wearing it at night and on days when I'm wearing thicker clothes for the next few months). He told me after 4 weeks I should lightly massage the skin with cocoa butter, and after 6 weeks, I should deeply massage the area. I can resume athletic activity after 4 weeks as long as my chest feels up to it, the Doctor told me I have to "listen to my body." I flew home after the appointment.
For the 1st 4 days I only need to take Tylenol for some very minor discomfort, and I did not even dose is regularly (I did not touch the prescription painkiller). After that I have not needed any pain medication. Wearing the vest was not as bad as I thought it would be, and actually the support feels good after the surgery. 13 days after the surgery I had a consult with Dr. Bermant on the phone to remove my bandages . . . I am SOO thrilled with my result. I had a little blood on the nipple itself which peeled off after a shower, besides that the results are astonishing. My chest is PERFECTLY FLAT and the skin looks very natural. Now 17 days post-op I can't stop staring in the mirror when my vest is off. I can't wait until I'm no longer required to wear the vest. Under the steri-strips (which I can remove 21 days post-op) I see a very small, careful incision that I am sure will heal marvelously.
I am SO happy that I chose to have the surgery, and I could not have made that decision without reading other's experiences on this board. Even with the vest on I feel myself walking taller, standing straighter, sticking my chest out, and I am much happier, no longer dwelling on my d**n nipples all the time. Wearing the vest in school is not a big deal. I bought 2 vest and had one altered to remove the Velcro on the shoulder straps (that is the only part that kind of sticks out). To hide it I just where polo shirts or button down shirts with a t-shirt underneath, NO BIG DEAL and worth it, plus I only have a little over a week to go). I feel that my life is really going to be different. Even though I did not have a bad case of gyno (just a small gland under nipple), and no one really said anything to me about my chest, it was something that psychologically really bothered my and was starting to effect all aspects of my daily life. I do not regret my decision in any way!
Thank you Dr. Bermant, and thanks to the people who have posted on this webboard. I hope my experience helps others just as your experiences have helped me.
R
Flying in from Florida for surgery with Dr. Bermant - 4 weeks after surgery
Just came back from the gym today. It felt so good to go in a tight "wife-beater" instead of a baggy t-shirt. My chest looks great. Its perfectly flat, and the scarring appears minimal. I know that they will fade soon and be undetectable. I can feel a little hard scar tissue under my nipple, but that should soften up soon after I begin my deep massage care in 2 weeks (doing superficial massaging now).
Dr. Bermant responds:
Thank you for your kind words and permitting us to share them here.
More Florida Gynecomastia Patient Experiences
More about travel to Richmond for Dr. Bermant's Gynecomastia Surgery
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