Truman Customer Story Column
The Fact That I Can Square My Shoulders with Confidence
These are the words left for others with the same concern by someone who had gynecomastia surgery in early July: "A surgery I'm very satisfied with. As someone for whom squaring my shoulders with confidence was never a given, there's been some boost in self-esteem as well."
This is their experience. With gynecomastia, whether surgery is needed and its extent differ depending on the grade and the condition of the glandular tissue, so whether to have surgery is something to judge after confirming your own condition through an examination.
Will I Be Able to Handle the Recovery WellWhat this person worried about most before surgery was not the surgery itself. "I worried, 'Will I be able to handle the rehab after surgery well?' I diligently did what the clinic asked me to, and recovery went well."
Many people worry more about what comes after than about setting the surgery date. If you cannot picture what you need to do, you end up putting off the decision.
What We Ask You to FollowThe things we ask of you during the recovery period come down to a few items: wearing the compression garment for the set period, keeping to the timing for when water can touch the wound, putting off movements that use the arms a lot until the set time, and not missing follow-up appointments.
This is not about giving many instructions, but about not leaving the judgment to the patient alone. Swelling and bruising are part of the expected course and are within the normal range up to a certain point. When we explain separately what is normal and when you should contact the clinic, unnecessary worry decreases.
The Order for Returning to Upper-Body ExerciseAs what they wanted to do after surgery, they wrote upper-body exercise.
Exercise that uses the chest and shoulders starts after the wound and tissue have settled. You begin with light cardio and step it up gradually, and the timing for returning to weights is decided at follow-up by looking at the condition of the wound and the swelling. Because there are individual differences in recovery speed, it is hard to fix a date. Getting back to weights is a step that is built into the recovery schedule from the start. You just need to work up in order.
Something That Was Never a GivenAbout their first visit, they wrote this: "Every single staff member was kind, which was impressive. They treated me kindly so I could have the consultation comfortably."
People who come in with gynecomastia have to lift their shirt to be examined, and they end up saying out loud for the first time something they have not been able to bring up for a long time. If that setting was comfortable, half of the consultation is already done.
The sentence that squaring their shoulders was never a given shows how gynecomastia stays in daily life. For this person, I hope that movement now becomes something they no longer have to be conscious of.
