Hey, sorry you're dealing with this it sounds like a real bummer : ( That's a huge mistake regarding your name/paperwork and a total violation of your privacy and confidentiality.
(I'm about to use the word fat liberally as I see it as a positive self-identifier, so just a heads up in case that's upsetting for you!)
Regarding the surgery, revision, etc. I checked out the photos you shared. I'm a fat & large chested guy who has been researching various surgeons for the last 6 months or so. I'm not a healthcare professional, this is just what I've picked up from my own research! You and I share a similar trait, fat "rolls" that are visible from the front, the side, and (presumably) the back. This provides an additional challenge for surgeons. This is not true for all fat folks of course, we all have different bodies! But for some of us, this is a part of our body that we really have to think about when researching surgeons.
Some surgeons will include some under-arm liposuction with the procedure. How much they are willing to include within the cost of the procedure, varies from surgeon to surgeon. For example, I had a phone consultation with Dr. Garramone. He does include some under-arm liposuction with the procedure. However, he has a line at which he considers it a separate procedure (where is that line? I'm not sure, but he should certainly be clear about it with patients who cross that line!). Originally I had assumed that under-arm liposuction alone would resolve any problem with a "dog-ear" type shape. But it seems like since the "dog-ear" is essentially a remaining fat roll which continues towards your back (like mine would) he considers it a separate procedure involving more liposuction and (I believe) some skin removal. Possibly something similar to this (which I found by googling images of back liposuction):
That said, most of what I find when I google back lipo
https://www.google.com/search?q=back+lipo&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Q5pwUpGmJ8iisASKwoCgDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=634doesn't show any significant scars. So I'm not completely clear on why this additional lipo would require more scars. I don't feel like he did a particularly good job at explaining this to me, especially when there is such confusion among patients about what
exactly a dog-ear is.
(I'm also not totally clear on why they aren't able to sort of "lipo" the side of the fat roll, w/out doing the back as well? But I trust that he and other surgeons know better than I do about that.)There is a difference between what you're experiencing and what a dog-ear is. A dog-ear is more of a "puckering" at the incision site, not just a result that doesn't go straight up and down between your waist and armpit. You can learn more about what dog-ears are here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503349/. They can generally be fixed by a quick in-office procedure, often without general anesthetic.
The thing with bodies shaped like ours is that in general, if we were cisgender men, we would likely not have completely flat chests. Instead we would have some "man boobs" so to speak. If you look at pictures of fat cis men with "man boobs" many of them have the "dog-ear" type shape that you have. It's not quite as noticeable on them, because it's balanced out by their breast/chest tissue, but it's there! Here's one example of a cis guy with "man boobs" and a similar "dog-ear" shape
more of him @ this post:
http://fatnudes.tumblr.com/post/60469036330For some other fat cis guys with "man boobs" they don't seem to have the same fat roll or "dog-ear" shape. Like this guy!
http://fatnudes.tumblr.com/post/47125523211 (as a link because it's a NSFW image!)
fatnudes.tumblr.com/archive is full of images of guys shaped like you, and could be a comforting way to be reminded that what feels like a surgical mistake, is actually something that's pretty common for cis men too!
So if you are blessed (cursed?) with this fat roll (or rolls) that we have, you have to make a choice when researching surgeons. You can
- find a surgeon who will leave a little extra breast or fat tissue for a more natural look for your body (with or without underarm lipo)
- find a surgeon who will do more thorough liposuction and include it in the cost of surgery (they are out there! Dr. G is just not one of 'em)
- go with a surgeon who only does minimal under-arm lipo and make peace with the shape of your sides after surgery
I really feel that it's important for surgeons to explain and disclose this sort of stuff, especially when they know they're working with a patient who's body shape & fat rolls are likely to resemble dog ears without additional liposuction. That said, some of that responsibility still falls on the patient to carefully research, carefully read, and ask the right questions. I don't have any idea what kind of legal standing you would have with a case like this, so I won't guess at that. But hopefully this helps you understand why a surgeon might not consider this as being included in the procedure, in under-arm lipo, in dog-ear prevention, or in free revisions.
Not saying I agree with the surgeon, and I understand why you're upset about the result and feel mislead. Anyway, hope that's helpful, wishing you luck on whatever path you choose to take/not take!
