Dr. Mordcai Blau – Gynecomastia Surgery Blog

Gynecomastia Surgery: Describing the experience by Dr. Mordcai Blau

To prepare for the surgery, it is important to bear a few things in mind. When consulting with your surgeon, it is essential to disclose all medications, vitamins and herbal supplements taken on a regular basis in order to ensure that there are no harmful interactions with any medications prescribed for the surgery.Additionally, to avoid complications, the patient should discontinue using Aspirin, Ibuprofen, nutritional supplements, steroids.Some of these act as blood thinners and could cause problems with blood clotting. Please ask your surgeon for a full list of medications which could cause complications with blood clotting. Furthermore,the patient should stop smoking and drinking in excess two weeks prior to surgery as smoking and drinking in excess can lead to complications.

As most cases of gynecomastia are a mixture of true gynecomastia and psuedogynecomastia, most surgeries will include excision of the gland, which is associated with true gynecomastia, and liposuction, which is used to remove the fat which characterizes psuedogynecomastia. During the surgery, the patient will be placed under anesthesia, either intravenuously or with the use of local anesthesia. Once under anesthesia, a small incision is made under the areola and 90-95% of the enlarged gland is removed. To perform the liposuction a special instrument, called the cannula, sucks out the fat with negative pressure.

After surgery, you should expect some bruising and swelling after your procedure and any discomfort can typically be controlled with pain medication. If you experience, severe pain which is not normal, you should contact your surgeon immediately. It is also possible you may feel like you’ve lost sensation in your chest, however, this is not cause for alarm. This loss of sensastion is due to your nerves beginning to regenerate after surgery. Feeling and sensation should return to normal.
Bruising may last a week or more and swelling may take more than a month to fully subside and though each patient recovers at his own pace, most patients are up and walking around within a day of the surgery and return to work three-seven days following surgery.However, any physically strenuous activity such as jogging or heavy lifting, should be avoid for at least four to five weeks following surgery.
Five to seven days after surgery, you will need to return to your plastic surgeon’s office in order to have the stitches removed. Also, the patient will have to wear a dressing in order to compress the chest and ensure the best possible contour of the pectoral muscles.
While there will be scars, they are usually well hidden and become very inconspicuous as they fade and mature. Avoid exposing any scars to the sun for a minimum of six weeks as sunlight can cause scars to darken permanently. If you can’t avoid sun exposure, use a strong sun block. Swelling may take three months or more to fully subside and allow you to observe the improved contour of your chest, but you should attain a result you can love for a long time.