If You've Spent All Night Searching Only Side-Effect Reviews

When you search the internet before surgery, scary reviews catch your eye before good ones. Once you see words like nipple necrosis or depression, that image isn't easily erased from your mind.

The man whose story I borrow today was like that too. He came after looking into many side-effect cases at other clinics, and his worry was correspondingly great.

The explanation I give to those who come knowing side-effect cases

To such people, I don't say to set the worry aside. Quite the opposite. I explain in order: under what circumstances such a result can occur, how we set the surgical plan and resection range to avoid it, and what signs we watch for together during recovery.

This patient too heard that process one by one, and as he went carefully through the pre-surgery confirmation steps, he said his worry eased a great deal. Of course, with any surgery the course can differ from person to person. So rather than erasing the worry, I think confirming the identity of the worry together is the right approach.

I don't give explanations in order to obtain a surgical consent form. Until you've asked everything you're curious about and fully understand the answers, I explain again however many times if needed. Because I think that's the best way to ease tension. Only once the anxious mind has somewhat eased do we bring you into the operating room.

I also picture the surgery itself in advance. The anesthesia is a local injection placed around the areola, and "This will sting, please bear with just this part" is the last guidance you hear before surgery. The actual operating time is usually about thirty minutes. Through years of accumulated surgical know-how I've shortened the time considerably, and I believe a shorter operation is safer for the patient.

The moment we confirmed the result together

For the most memorable moment after surgery, this patient named the moment he was told it went well while looking at the result together. Because instead of the scary reviews he'd searched all night, it was a moment of confirming his own chest with his own eyes.

He also left words that the nurses and the consultation manager were very kind. The more worries someone has, the more they need a hand looking after them by their side.

We talk about approaching every surgery with the heart that a member of our own family is having surgery. Kindness and an attitude of thinking from the patient's point of view don't happen on their own, so we train on them regularly, and I think that's why we get to hear such words.

"After training in seclusion, I'll take a body profile photo"

When I asked what he wanted to do after surgery, he wrote:

"After recovery, hard training and training in seclusion, then I'll take a body profile photo."

I laughed at the phrase "training in seclusion," but that a review starting from worry ended with such a sentence was, to me, the most welcome change. Of course, the timing of resuming exercise is decided together, step by step, while watching the recovery course.

To those who love exercise, I explain it this way. During recovery, upper-body exercise is prohibited, but light walking or lower-body exercise like squats is fine. Knowing you don't have to stop exercising entirely lets you get through the recovery period feeling far less confined.

The words he left to others with the same worry

"Don't hesitate—make the decision right now. You're only delaying."

This sentence came from his experience. But because whether to have surgery differs from person to person, it's best decided after confirming your own condition through an examination. What I'd recommend is not a decision, but a single consultation to come and confirm the identity of the worry.

The time spent searching scary reviews all night, versus the time spent confirming your own state directly in the consultation room. The one that reduces worry was the latter—that was this patient's conclusion.

I hope you won't search and worry alone but will come in once for a consultation. From the moment we talk, the sorting-out of the worry begins. I can't promise to solve everything, but most people leave with their questions sorted out. I sincerely want to help.