Truman Customer Story Column
What If It Doesn't Look the Way I Want
The question people hold onto the longest before deciding on gynecomastia surgery is about shape. Rather than the surgery itself, what weighs on them more is how the chest will look after it. The worry the person I am introducing today wrote was that question too.
We Talk About Shape First"After gynecomastia surgery, I worried about things like what if my chest shape turned out strange, or what if it didn't give the look I wanted."
Gynecomastia surgery removes glandular tissue and fat, so the visible form changes depending on how much is removed and how much is left. If too little is removed, the remaining tissue can be felt, and if too much is removed, the area under the areola can look sunken. So at the consultation, we first discuss how far to remove, looking together at the current amount and distribution of tissue, how stretched the skin is, and the body type.
Left-right difference is also something we explain in advance. Many people do not have the same amount of tissue on both sides to begin with, and during recovery the swelling may go down at different speeds on the left and right. At this point we also explain that the shape right after surgery is not the final shape. Because it takes a few months for the swelling to go down and for the skin to contract to fit the reduced tissue, we schedule follow-up visits to match that period.
It Was Their First Time with Sedation"It was my first time with sedation, and my memory vanished as if I had suddenly fallen asleep, so I was quite surprised when I woke up."
Gynecomastia surgery is performed under sedation. All that remains for the patient is the moment of closing your eyes in the operating room and the moment of opening them in the recovery room. The reason those experiencing it for the first time are surprised on waking is this blank stretch.
As their impression when they first came to the clinic, they wrote about the atmosphere, the consultation, and how the staff treated them. The surgery itself is one day, but most of the time before and after is spent in consultations and in the consultation room.
Chest Out, With Confidence"I want to walk around with my chest out, with confidence."
There is a habit often seen in people who have lived with gynecomastia for a long time. Being conscious of the chest area causes the shoulders to curl inward and the upper body to hunch. In the consultation room, I sometimes see posture straighten as that self-consciousness lessens. However, for someone whose hunched posture has set in over a long time, posture may need separate correction, so I discuss this while watching your progress.
On the Words "Definitely Do It"To others with the same concern, they left the words that it is not a surgery you will regret, so if you are considering it, you should definitely do it. This is the experience this person went through, and whether surgery is needed differs from person to person depending on the amount and degree of tissue. What to do first is not to decide, but to confirm your condition through an examination.
The part where they wrote that the worries they had noted before surgery disappeared afterward is also because they brought those worries out fully at the consultation. If shape is on your mind, the fastest way is to bring those very words with you.
