I Regret Not Doing It Sooner

At the very end of the feedback sheet there is a box asking what we could do better. Most men leave it blank or write "nothing." This patient pointed to something precise: a pre-surgery text message that should have reached him never arrived because of a system error. Apart from that, he wrote, there was nothing — he only hoped the instructions would be delivered without errors.

We had the sending process checked immediately. Pre-surgery instructions such as fasting times and arrival times have to arrive on schedule, and we will make sure the same thing doesn't happen again. Feedback that pins down a specific problem like this is the most useful kind we receive.

What he had actually worried about before surgery were side effects. He wrote that he appreciated having the aftercare explained to him point by point during the consultation, and that the attentive service and the detail of that consultation earned his trust. A great deal about side effects comes down to post-operative care, so simply knowing in advance what to be careful about — and what you don't need to worry about — takes away half the anxiety.

On the result, he wrote: "My condition turned out to be more severe than I'd thought, so I was worried about how it would look afterward, but it seems to have gone well and I'm satisfied." He said this was how he felt the first time he took off the compression garment. In practice, glandular tissue is sometimes more widely distributed than it feels from the outside. We check the extent as we go and address it during surgery, but the patient can't know any of that, so the worry followed him right up to the day the garment came off. I'm relieved that standing in front of the mirror for the first time put his mind at ease.

To men facing the same concern he wrote: "I agonized over it too, and now I regret not doing it sooner." He said satisfaction is higher when you have a consultation first and then decide, and added, "They take care of the paperwork properly, so there's no need to worry too much." I can't shorten anyone's deliberation for him, but that a single consultation shortens it considerably is exactly as he described.

He said that once the tightness in his chest eases he wants to start training again, with the goal of "getting in shape and wearing short sleeves comfortably." I hope he pulls out his short-sleeved shirts this summer without a second thought. And thank you again for the note about the text message.

This was this patient's outcome; results and recovery vary from person to person.

- Dr. Jeon Jin-woo, TRUEMAN Gangnam -