Standing Tall at the Beach

As the summer holidays draw near, I often hear talk of the beach in the exam room.

Before surgery, what he worried about was side effects, and cost.

After surgery, he wrote that he experienced no particular side effects. That said, this was his course of recovery, and how recovery unfolds differs from person to person. As for cost, gynecomastia surgery may be covered under Korea's national health insurance depending on the diagnosis, so for patients enrolled in Korea's national health insurance the burden can be eased, as it was in his case. Whether insurance coverage or private indemnity applies depends on each person's condition and enrollment terms, so it is most accurate to confirm your own circumstances during a consultation.

As what he liked about the clinic, he pointed to the detailed explanation. He said that after hearing it, his tension eased.

Most of the tension before surgery comes from the unknown. Once you know what tissue is removed and how, and in what order recovery proceeds, a vague fear turns into concrete preparation. That is why we spend time on the consultation.

After surgery, he left a somewhat worried answer that there was less sensation around the nipple than he had expected.

I will speak about this exactly as it is. A change in sensation at the surgical area is a common part of the process after surgery. In most cases it recovers gradually over time, but the pace and degree vary from person to person, so it is difficult to state definitively "it will return by such-and-such a time." That is why we track and check these changes together at follow-up visits. If a change concerns you, please do not simply watch it on your own — be sure to mention it at your next visit.

"Standing tall at the beach with my shirt off!"

This is what he wrote when asked what he most wanted to do after surgery. I have kept the exclamation mark as it was.

The longer the years spent avoiding the beach, the more I understand the weight of this sentence. I hope his holiday this summer is different from before.

For those with the same concern, he left the advice to first get a diagnosis, along with the impression that he had regained his confidence. Of course, this was his experience, and whether to have surgery is something to decide after confirming your own condition through an examination.

To the final question about what he hoped for, he answered, "Just as it is now." Short, but for us it reads like an assignment. To hold the same standard we keep now for the next patient as well. That is the work TRUEMAN Gangnam must keep doing.