Truman Customer Story Column
"I Want to Exercise, Intensely"
This is the answer written by someone who had gynecomastia surgery in July, in the box for what they wanted to do after surgery: "I want to exercise, intensely."
The one word tacked on at the end sets this person's answer apart from the others. Among people who have lived with gynecomastia for a long time, some have cut down the kinds of exercise they do because they were self-conscious about their chest bouncing when they ran. Once you take out running, jumping, and upper-body exercise, there is not much left.
The Worry Called Side EffectsAs what worried them most while considering surgery, they wrote side effects. "I worried a lot about side effects, but after having the surgery there were no side effects, which was good."
This was their course. The recovery process differs from person to person, and there is no surgery for which the same result can be promised. So at consultation, instead of saying there are no side effects, we help you distinguish what is part of the expected course.
Swelling and bruising, the process of sensation dulling and then returning, and the period when the area around the wound feels firm to the touch mostly belong to stages that pass. On the other hand, if only one side suddenly swells up a lot, you develop a fever, or pain that had been easing becomes severe again, it needs to be checked at the clinic. Knowing it divided this way greatly reduces how much you worry during the recovery period.
The Answer That They Don't RememberWhen I ask about a moment from the surgery that stayed with them, this is the most common answer. This person wrote it too: "I don't remember the surgery."
The surgery is performed under sedation. The anesthesiology team checks the patient's condition, and after the anesthesia is administered, I enter the operating room. So the places where I talk with patients are the consultation room before surgery and the recovery room after they wake up. This is also why we do not cram the explanation of the surgery into the morning of the surgery day. What you hear that day usually does not stay in your memory.
About their first visit, they wrote that the staff were kind and that it was good they also helped with procedures beyond the surgery, such as the national health insurance claim.
The Time Left Until Intense ExerciseExercise that uses the chest and shoulders heavily starts after the wound has healed and the tissue has settled. The order is from light walking to cardio, then up to weights, and the timing is decided at follow-up by looking at the condition of the wound and swelling.
This return point is a slot built into the recovery schedule from the beginning. However, skipping steps can make the swelling rise again or strain the wound, so rather than moving it up on your own, it is better to ask once before going ahead.
To others with the same concern, this person wrote not to agonize and just do it. This is their experience; with gynecomastia, whether surgery is needed differs depending on the condition and grade of the glandular tissue, so it is something to judge after confirming your own condition through an examination. The intense part comes after all the steps have been taken.
