Truman Customer Story Column
"Thank You for Your Hard Work"
When review sheets come back, the amount of handwriting is the first thing I notice. Some people fill every box densely, and some finish in a single line.
The person I am introducing today was the latter. In the box asking what they worried about most before surgery, they wrote only "Nothing."
Someone Whose Worry Box Is EmptyPeople who write that they have no worries do not undergo surgery without giving it any thought. In most cases they have already asked everything they wanted to ask in consultation, or they came having made up their minds after looking into it for a long time.
When I ask how long it took them to come to the consultation room with gynecomastia, it is common for people to answer in years. During that time they have already searched and compared a great deal on their own. What I do in consultation is closer to picking out, from that information, only what applies to their own condition.
Thirty Minutes While You SleepOur gynecomastia surgery is performed under sedation, and the surgery itself is finished in about thirty minutes. Because it begins after you fall asleep, almost no one remembers the surgical process. The explanation of the result is given in the recovery room after the surgery is finished.
The first 12 to 48 hours after surgery are a period with a risk of bleeding, so you spend that time with additional compression over the compression garment. When you come to the clinic the next day, we check for bleeding and then remove that additional compression.
An Answer Written Instead of Their Own StoryIn the box asking about a memorable moment during surgery, the answer this person wrote was: "Thank you for your hard work."
In the box asking about their impression on first coming to the clinic, they also wrote, "The staff were kind." Of the six boxes, two were about the medical staff.
For what they most wanted to do after surgery, they wrote "Diet."
Gynecomastia surgery is a treatment that removes glandular tissue. Glandular tissue does not shrink along with weight loss, while body fat, conversely, is in the realm of weight management. Many people come with the two mixed together, so in consultation I start by separating out which takes up how much. That is because the part addressed by surgery and the part that changes with care afterward are different.
Upper-body exercise can be stepped up gradually while watching the recovery course. While wearing the compression garment, light walking or lower-body squats are possible, and we decide together when to start each time you come in.
In the box asking what they would say to others with the same concern, this person also wrote only one line. That one line was a word of congratulations.
A review in which the person who had the surgery offers congratulations to others is not common. Having received that greeting, I too hope this year goes easily for them.
