As a word to others with the same concern, they wrote: "Don't agonize, start by having a consultation." Not advice to have surgery, but advice to have a consultation.
Gynecomastia is often difficult to judge by sight alone. Excess fat and overgrown glandular tissue are distinguished by palpation, and by ultrasound when needed. The two call for different approaches. We also look at when it began, whether you are taking any medication, and whether your weight has changed substantially. Depending on the cause, sometimes something other than surgery has to be addressed first, and there are people who never go on to surgery after their consultation.
What this person worried about before surgery was the recovery period and the pain. Afterward they wrote, "It was less difficult than I expected." Pain and recovery speed change with the amount of tissue removed and individual variation, so not everyone follows the same course. To those who ask about the recovery period, I prefer to break it down by days: same-day discharge, return to daily life a few days later, then the period of wearing the compression garment, and then the days of coming in for follow-ups. Written out like that, "recovery period" no longer sounds so vague.
About their first day at the clinic, they said: "Everyone was kind, and even though it may be a sensitive matter, they gave a detailed, careful consultation." Because it is the place where the subject of one's chest is first spoken aloud, if the consultation turns businesslike, the next question never comes. Leaving having asked everything you wanted is better for the recovery process as well.
As something that stayed with them about the surgery, they wrote that they were reassured by the doctor saying he would take good care of it. That was not a conversation in the operating room. Since I enter after anesthesia is complete, it appears to refer to what was explained in the consulting room beforehand.
They said what they wanted to do after surgery was to build up their body. Once the period in which the wound stabilizes has passed, we advise starting with light cardio and moving on to weights. Movements that load the chest come last. Keep to the order and most people return to the training they used to do. I will ask at the next visit whether they have made a plan.
