Truman Customer Story Column
They Said They Would Shoot a Body Profile
Sometimes, reading a review, the plans that come after the surgery are written at greater length than the surgery itself. That was the case here. In the box for what they most wanted to do first after surgery, this person wrote: "Work out and shoot a body profile."
Pain Was the Biggest WorryMany people worry about pain before this surgery.
Asked how it actually turned out, they answered: "Pain was my biggest worry, but it only hurt a little on the day of surgery, and after that it didn't."
That was their case. Pain differs widely with the amount of tissue removed, body type, and sensitivity. Some describe a pulling sensation or swelling for several days. So before surgery we do not say there is no pain; we explain at what point and to what degree pain may appear and how it is managed then. Compression-garment wear and activity range are included in that guidance.
Conversation in the Operating RoomAsked about a moment that stayed with them from the surgery, they wrote: "I'm fairly sure I was in the middle of talking with the doctor, and then the surgery was over."
This is worth clarifying. The conversation a patient remembers in the operating room is with the doctor handling anesthesia. As the operating surgeon, I enter after anesthesia has been given. So the place where I speak with patients is not the operating room but the consulting and counseling rooms beforehand, and I give the results after the surgery is finished.
The sense of falling asleep mid-conversation I read as meaning the anesthesia went smoothly. That is also why we work in cooperation with the anesthesiologist.
An Assessment of "Cheerful"For their memory of the first visit, they wrote that everyone explained things kindly and that the doctor was cheerful.
We do not deliberately try to keep the mood light in the consulting room. But people who come in for gynecomastia are often raising the subject for the first time, and if the setting is too heavy, they leave without asking what they actually wanted to know. A setting where you can ask comfortably serves the care better.
On the Time Spent DeliberatingAsked for a word to others with the same concern, this person said the time spent wondering whether or not to do it feels wasted.
That is what they said looking back on their own experience after surgery. Whether surgery is needed, and whether now is the right time, is something to decide after confirming your condition through an examination. Gynecomastia varies in degree and form, and surgery is appropriate in some cases and not in others.
A body profile looks like a photograph of a body, but it is closer to something done by a person who has concluded, on their own, that they are fine being seen. I will be waiting for the day they book that shoot.
