Truman Customer Story Column
"I Want to Go Play in the Water"
The person who had gynecomastia surgery in mid-July wrote a very short review. One line per box. In the box for what they wanted to do after surgery, they wrote: "I want to go play in the water."
For people who have lived with gynecomastia for a long time, playing in the water is often at the top of the list of things put off. It is a place where you have to take off your shirt. After years of making excuses to skip it, it eventually looks like a matter of taste.
The Question of How Long It TakesWhat this person wrote as their worry while considering surgery was the recovery period. "I was worried about the recovery period, but I recovered faster than I expected, which was good."
Some people put off the decision because of their schedule rather than whether to have surgery. 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.
We Explain Recovery in StagesSo at consultation we explain the recovery schedule specifically. We break it down into how long the compression garment is worn, when the swelling noticeably goes down, when water can touch the wound, when light activity is resumed, and when you return to exercise.
Because there are individual differences, it is hard to fix dates. How long swelling remains differs depending on the amount of tissue removed, the condition of the skin, and your original body shape. Still, there is a big difference between going through it knowing the range and not knowing it. Some people, like this person, feel they recovered faster than expected, and some feel it was slower than expected.
Why the Time of Surgery Is Entirely BlankIn the box asking about a moment from the surgery that stayed with them, they wrote only that there was none.
This is the most common answer. The surgery is performed under sedation, so for the patient that time is entirely blank. The operating surgeon enters the operating room after the anesthesia is complete, so the explanation before surgery is given in the consultation room and the talk about the result is given in the recovery room. An answer that there is nothing to remember also means the day went as planned.
The Time Left Until the WaterAbout their first visit, they wrote that everyone was kind and the explanations were good. The words they left for others with the same concern were two sentences: "Definitely do it. You won't regret it." This is their experience; whether your condition requires surgery is something to judge after confirming your own condition through an examination.
Playing in the water comes after the wound has fully healed. The timing is decided by looking at the condition of the wound at follow-up, so do not move it up on your own; just ask us once before you go. When that time comes, I hope they do just as that one short line says.
