Truman Customer Story Column
To those putting it off out of fear of complications
In gynecomastia consultations, there is one question that holds men far longer than the surgery itself does.
"What if something goes wrong?"
It is the fear of complications. Today I want to share the story of a man who hesitated a long time over that very same worry before he came to see me.
His biggest worry was complications
The thing that kept this patient from deciding, for longer than anything else, was the fear of complications. After the surgery was over and he had finished recovering, this is what he wrote for us.
"I had been worried about complications, but fortunately I had none."
This was of course his own case, and the course of recovery varies from person to person. That is why we check the condition carefully in the pre-operative examination and continue to follow the progress afterwards. Turning a vague fear into a concrete check is the surest way I know to make that fear smaller.
A consultation where worries can be said out loud
The more anxious a man is about complications, the more the atmosphere of the consultation matters. When someone is tense, he goes home without ever asking the question he came to ask.
This patient told us that what stayed with him was how comfortable the consultation felt. In consultations I tend to wait until the patient has laid out every last worry. A worry can only be dealt with from the moment it is spoken.
"It was over in no time, and I was glad of that"
That was his answer when I asked what he remembered about the surgery.
Compared with the years he spent thinking it over, the surgery itself is short. The size of the fear and the size of the actual experience are two different things, and I see that confirmed in my consultation room again and again.
Wearing the clothes you want to wear
When I asked what he wanted to do after surgery, his answer was simple. He wanted to wear the clothes he wanted to wear.
It is not a grand ambition. But anyone who has stood hesitating in front of a wardrobe every summer will know how large a story that one line holds.
He said he would like to tell men with the same concern to go ahead and have the surgery if they have gynecomastia. That said, this was his own experience, and whether surgery is needed is something to decide after confirming your own condition through an examination. TRUEMAN Incheon will be there for that check.
- Dr. Kim Sang-kyu, TRUEMAN Incheon -
