Truman Customer Story Column
"I Want to Work Out with My Shirt Off"
Some people dislike clinics altogether. They tend to put up with it wherever it hurts, and even after booking a checkup, they put it off.
The answer the person I am introducing today wrote as their biggest worry before surgery was about that: "The cost, and I have never liked clinics, so I hesitated a lot."
Time Spent Avoiding ClinicsGynecomastia is not a condition people come in for because it hurts. With no pain, there is no shortage of reasons to put it off, and all the more so for someone who dislikes clinics.
So when such a person is sitting in the consultation room, it means they have already been through a considerable amount of time. I try not to rush such a person into a decision. I confirm their condition and tell them only what is among the options right now.
The Box Asking About CostGynecomastia surgery is eligible for national health insurance coverage. After the condition is confirmed through an examination, we judge whether it meets the criteria, and if it does, we proceed under insurance coverage.
I do not find it strange when people ask about the amount first. In many cases, cost really is among the reasons they put it off for so long.
After the Anesthesia InjectionWhen I asked about a memorable moment during surgery, this person wrote: "I got the anesthesia injection, and after that I have no memory."
Our gynecomastia surgery is performed under sedation. The surgery begins after you fall asleep, and the surgery itself is finished in about thirty minutes. 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, and the next day at the clinic we check for bleeding and then remove that additional compression.
For what they most wanted to do after surgery, they wrote: "I want to work out with my shirt off."
Taking off your shirt at the gym is really not a big deal. But with gynecomastia, there are many cases where that one thing makes people give up exercise altogether. When to restart upper-body exercise is decided while watching the recovery course, and until then, light walking or lower-body squats are possible.
To Someone Who Wrote That It Was LateThe first part of the words this person left for others with the same concern was this: "Don't agonize; I really hope you do it soon."
They went on to write that they regret having done it at a later age. This is their experience, and whether your condition needs surgery is something to judge after confirming it through an examination. In the last box, they wrote that there was nothing they wanted from us.
