Truman Customer Story Column
"Wearing a Thin T-Shirt"
When I ask what people most want to do first after surgery, the answers are rarely grand. The answer from this person, who had surgery in mid-July, was five Korean characters as well: "Wearing a thin T-shirt."
For people who have spent several years with gynecomastia, the thickness of their clothes is no small matter. A single thin T-shirt becoming an option again means an item that had been missing from the list has come back.
Daily Life and Side EffectsAs what worried them while considering surgery, this person wrote: "Daily life, side effects."
Daily life is often a matter of schedule. If you do not know how many days you need to clear, or from when you can go back to what you used to do, you cannot set a date. So in the consultation room we explain it in stages: how long the compression garment is worn, when the swelling noticeably goes down, when light activity can be resumed, and when you can return to exercise. On side effects, we distinguish which signs fall within the normal range and when you should contact the clinic. Much of the worry comes from not knowing what is normal. There will be individual differences, but going through it knowing that range feels different from going through it without knowing.
Words That It Was Kinder Than ExpectedAs a moment from the surgery that stayed with them, they wrote that the doctor was kinder than they had expected. For their impression of the clinic on first coming in, they also wrote that it felt kind and clean.
The conversation took place in the consultation room before surgery. The surgery is performed under sedation, and the operating surgeon enters the operating room after the anesthesia is complete. The talk about the result is given separately after the surgery is finished. The voices patients remember from inside the operating room belong to the doctor in charge of anesthesia and the nursing team.
Words That They Hoped Others Would Do It Without WorryTo others with the same concern, this person wrote: "I hope you do it without worry." This is their experience; whether your condition requires surgery and whether now is the right time are things to judge after confirming your own condition through an examination.
In the box for requests, they wrote that they hoped we would just keep things as they are. We will do the next surgery by the same standard.
