Truman Customer Story Column
Without awkwardness, without shame
The first threshold to cross in gynecomastia care is not the surgery.
It is showing your body, and saying the concern out loud. Many men have already fought a round with embarrassment before they walk through the consultation room door. That is why, in a review, I linger longer over sentences like this one than over praise for the result. The review I want to share this time was exactly that.
What he remembered
In the box asking about his impression of the clinic, he wrote this.
"Extremely kind, and they made sure the patient never felt awkward or ashamed."
Not a word about facilities or equipment, but a memory of not feeling awkward. I consider that half of gynecomastia care. Keeping the time spent unnecessarily exposed to a minimum during consultation and examination, and treating whatever the condition is matter-of-factly. There must be no moment where the patient shrinks back, or the conversation cannot comfortably continue.
The worry called complications
Before surgery, what he was worried about was complications. Having been through it, he wrote that it was better than he had expected.
That was his own course, of course. Any surgery carries the possibility of complications, and physical condition and recovery differ from person to person. So we explain the possible scenarios in advance and keep checking the progress after surgery. Rather than making a worry disappear, I think it is right to show a patient exactly what the worry consists of.
The words passed along during surgery
He also wrote about what he remembered from during the operation: that the reassuring words offered to him, one at a time, were welcome.
On the operating table, even a short silence feels long. So I say where we are in the procedure and how much is left, at intervals. Reviews like this one remind me again that a few unremarkable words can be what carries a person through that time.
The day he wears short sleeves again
What he most wanted to do after surgery was clear.
"I want to work out and wear short sleeves again with confidence."
The word that catches my eye is "again." Clothing he once wore, then started avoiding at some point. He has even made a workout plan around the day he opens that wardrobe again, which makes me look forward to his life after recovery.
Finally, he left a note for men with the same concern, to the effect that if you have private indemnity health insurance in Korea, you should at least come in for a consultation. Whether such insurance applies depends on the policy you hold, the reimbursement conditions, and your individual diagnosis, so checking it in a consultation is the accurate route. And whether to have surgery is likewise something to decide after confirming your own condition through an examination.
The longest stretch of time is the hesitation at the threshold. Lowering that threshold is work TRUEMAN Incheon will keep doing.
- Dr. Kim Sang-kyu, TRUEMAN Incheon -
