Top Surgery Recovery Updates (a place for all members to update after surgery)

[Bimmer Guy]

Sebryn, thanks for the information.  Can you tell us who your surgeon is?  Will look forward to pictures.  All of mine are taken with an iPhone 3, so no worries on that!

[NathanExplosion]

We got to shower, YAY!!! I feel so much better! My nipples are also REALLY itchy... which I guess is a really good thing!

I am really, really wanting to giving a glowing recommendation for Dr. Horowitz to everyone. Think it would be acceptable to make another thread detailing his work and how it went? More people should really know about his work, as it's absolutely amazing and a lower price than other people had quoted us. And no drains!

[FlightyBrood]

Swellings seems to have gone down a bit! I saw my nipples for the first time...NOT a pretty site! Bit they itch, my god they itch!! Its the worst good feeling out there id imagine.

The leaking, as everyone told me, isnt a big deal. the assistant to our surgeon, stephanie (who insists i maintain email contact with her throughout healing) keeps checking up on me and making sure i feel okay. She made sure that I was back to eating solid food (I am). The entire staff of this office is so sweet, and very easy to talk to. I dont feel nervous calling them at all, which is odd since I can't even talk to my mom on the phone!

If you hear about someone in california looking for a surgeon....this is the man.

Been fighting tears since yesterday...tears of pure joy. this months been AWFUL and i see it was all just leading up to this amazing moment.

[Bimmer Guy]

We got to shower, YAY!!! I feel so much better! My nipples are also REALLY itchy... which I guess is a really good thing!

I am really, really wanting to giving a glowing recommendation for Dr. Horowitz to everyone. Think it would be acceptable to make another thread detailing his work and how it went? More people should really know about his work, as it's absolutely amazing and a lower price than other people had quoted us. And no drains!

Hey, Nathan.  I think it makes sense to do a shout out for him and your experience on another thread.

For updates on recovery, including photos as you go along, it would be great if you kept doing it here.  Make sure you keep mentioning his name in your photo updates, so when people read this thread in the future they will know your chest is from his good work.

I'm glad you both are so happy!

Give us pics on the nipples when you can.

[Bimmer Guy]

Swellings seems to have gone down a bit! I saw my nipples for the first time...NOT a pretty site! Bit they itch, my god they itch!! Its the worst good feeling out there id imagine.

The leaking, as everyone told me, isnt a big deal. the assistant to our surgeon, stephanie (who insists i maintain email contact with her throughout healing) keeps checking up on me and making sure i feel okay. She made sure that I was back to eating solid food (I am). The entire staff of this office is so sweet, and very easy to talk to. I dont feel nervous calling them at all, which is odd since I can't even talk to my mom on the phone!

If you hear about someone in california looking for a surgeon....this is the man.

Been fighting tears since yesterday...tears of pure joy. this months been AWFUL and i see it was all just leading up to this amazing moment.

I hear you on the tears.  It was weird, but when I saw my chest for the first time (in Garramone's office - post op appt), I got tears in my eyes, too!  Certainly took me by surprise!

[Bimmer Guy]

Hey, Jay, I think you might be right about the massage widening my scars.  The ends of the incisions in the center of my chest I believe have widened since doing the massage.  I don't get why they would tell us massage helps scars.  Flattening and making them lighter I suppose, but I do think it may cause some of the widening.  Maybe.  Who knows, you know?

I will say that on the whole my scar has gotten wider than I was hoping it would.  I don't know the reason for this since I have been so careful.  My assumptions are:

1) Just my skin.
2) Maybe Garramone took off too much skin so it was really tight?

I don't know, I have been so anal about it all, it just doesn't make sense.  It is disappointing.  The chest itself, I LOVE, I am just surprised at the scars.  They don't look out of bounds from the pictures I have seen at this stage of healing (4 months, three weeks), but there are definitely thinner ones out there.  Also, I am reading a lot of people here saying that their scars are pretty darn thin.  Of course, everyone on here is behind me on healing, so maybe that is why.

I don't expect to ever have huge pecs or chest hair to cover the scars, so I am not pleased.  Not that I plan on going without a shirt anyway, I suppose, I was just not expecting them to get this wide.   

/whining

[aleon515]

Brett, I don't know re: the scar thing, but it does make a certain amt. of sense that you are stretching skin when you massage it. I just noticed a change very fast when I did it. But you hear from everyone to massage it. The only place it makes sense is there is a certain place where the scar is kind of lumpy-- it's kind of in the center and I think it is actually from internal stitches as I am guessing they take longer to absorb. Anyway it's my thoughts for whatever the heck they are worth.

I think they will eventually lighten. You see the guys who have had their surgery a year or two (or more) ago, and you see that the scars are lighter. So maybe you will have to wait til the then.

i would say, well I am less than thrilled with the scar but it does look a lot better to me than what used to be there, if you get my drift.

--Jay

[NathanExplosion]

Alright! Will definitely post updates here. I'll be sure to snap a picture of my nipples next time I shower.

Think I'll make a shout out thread for Dr. Horowitz when we're more healed up and can show more of what others can expect to look like.

[Bimmer Guy]

i would say, well I am less than thrilled with the scar but it does look a lot better to me than what used to be there, if you get my drift.

--Jay

Yes, Jay, that is the way that I really should look at it. 

In terms of lightening, I know that it will in time.  I have a scar vertical on my stomach from another surgery and it is very light.  The issue is that the one on my stomach is quite wide and is certainly something you can see.  Therefore, even though I know my chest scars will get light like the other, I am conscious of the fact that it will still be noticeable (more noticeable than I previously thought).

Thanks for your support, Jay.  I appreciate it.  This is the first time I have been down about the scars...today I just noticed a significant change. 

/whine (I swear)!

[SX0877]

Don't worry too much,Brett. Everybody heals differently.
I had my surgery last summer and it was not until this months that I noticed my scars were getting lighter.
I form keloid easily--small scratches or cuts could leave me a scar, so I had never thought that my chest scars would get better at all, but they did.
Keeping a healthy diet and active lifestyle can help your skin regenerate better and faster.

[Bimmer Guy]

Don't worry too much,Brett. Everybody heals differently.
I had my surgery last summer and it was not until this months that I noticed my scars were getting lighter.
I form keloid easily--small scratches or cuts could leave me a scar, so I had never thought that my chest scars would get better at all, but they did.
Keeping a healthy diet and active lifestyle can help your skin regenerate better and faster.

Thanks, SX.

[NathanExplosion]

Eleven days post op

Nipple pic incoming! Mine and FB's both look remarkably better just since yesterday. I'm amazed at how fast we're visibly healing.



Swelling is down on both of us too. Yay!

[Bimmer Guy]

Looking great, Nathan!

[FlightyBrood]

Ten Days Post Op
Dr.Horowitz in Huntington Beach, California.

Not too sure why my nipples are still black and gross...hope its nothing to worry about....



also it looks like one is over too far...its not!!!! that side is still a little swollen. its going down steadily though!

[Alexthecat]

I wish I was that skinny.

[Kreuzfidel]

4 1/2 week update:

Surgeon: Dr. Megan Hassall
Surgery date: 23 January 2014
Surgery type:  Bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy with right nipple grafted, left nipple pedicle retained



As you can see, my chest is looking almost healed at just over 4 weeks.  The right nipple is looking much better now - continue debriding the dead tissue as directed by the surgeon.  So, slowly but surely the graft is healing.  It will take a few more weeks before it starts looking completely healed.  I still have a little swelling just under that right nipple, but I think it's slowly going down.

I'm not happy about the creases on my incision lines.  They used a clear, cellophane-like waterproof dressing on my skin initially after my surgery and advised me to continue to use it for the first 3 weeks on top of the micropore tape.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that this dressing wrinkled like crazy being so thin, it actually looks to have caused permanent "wrinkles" in my incision lines which I am honestly not pleased about.  I don't know if the creases have caused the skin to adhere in those places, but I can stretch it out and it just goes back again. 

I don't know if anyone else has experience with these kinds of creases?  I'm not sure if I need to try and massage them out or what.  Either way, I can live with creases - it's not as bad as having moobs, after all.  I'm hoping that once I'm able to work on bulking up, they may stretch out with muscle growth.  Who knows.  But overall I'm quite happy with the result. 

[Sebryn]

My surgeon was Dr. Gary Lawton.

Also have you thought about using micropore tape as a scar reducing treatment Brett? It can help reduce scar stretching and is often used to treat and prevent hypertrophic scarring. The tape allows the skin to breath but holds the surrounding stronger tissue in place which prevents the weakened (fresh scar tissue and in some cases even older scar tissue) from being able to stretch and pull apart. You apply it by firmly rubbing the tape down along the scar line, using small pieces if needed to conform to the scar shape, keeping the tape pieces as long as possible with a 1/4 inch of tape hang over on either side and the ends of the scar.

Honestly I've used micropore tape to treat scars before, namely one I got from barbed wire on my leg (mending fence on a cattle ranch sucks btw). I've also used just silicone recently to treat scars from my hysterectomy and kidney surgeries. The newest scars from Sept (some double scars, ie same incision site used twice) are pale and flat but did widen and the ones from almost a year ago are barely visible. I used kelo cote gel on those scars and not too horribly consistently either. The scar on my leg is not visible at all anymore and never gained that raised or stretched appearance at all. It did take around a year to fade in color though. The scars on my hands and wrist from cats, a rabbit bite and chemical burn are another matter, all are clearly visible and raised slightly though they are pale now...and are older than the scar on my leg that was treated using only micropore tape. The only difference being nothing was applied to the scars on my hands besides vitamin E oil.

This time around I am using both kelo cote silicone gel and micropore tape compression. The kelo cote gel dries well and is water proof supposedly and doesn't smell. The tape goes on over the scars once the gel is dry.

Also your chest is looking good Kreuzfidel. For the wrinkling I'd suggest contacting the surgeon if you're concerned but I'm fairly certain once your skin regains the elasticity once advanced healing is ending (6months - 1 year in this type of surgery I think) the wrinkles should go away. Building muscle might help stretch the skin more taut also.

[FlightyBrood]

lookin good kreuz! what is it with right nipples man?? they seem to like to swell and puff. its great that youre mostly healed up, i was wondering when id be good to not worry about cracking an incision!

longing for the day when i can lay the way i want...

[Sebryn]

lookin good kreuz! what is it with right nipples man?? they seem to like to swell and puff. its great that youre mostly healed up, i was wondering when id be good to not worry about cracking an incision!

longing for the day when i can lay the way i want...

I have a theory for the right nipples.... Most of us are right handed I bet hah. We use our dominate hand the most...so that side gets the most movement.

As for laying on your sides and whatnot I was told I had to wait the full six weeks period otherwise the swelling would get worse on whichever side was lower than the other.

I think it was right around three weeks for me when the incisions quit being as...touchy/fragile feeling. Just remember that fresh scars are decently fragile and keep the movement reasonable. Again on average six weeks is generally when the deeper incision lines (the ones inside) are knitted strongly enough to not separate/pull apart. Don't forget you actually have several layers of stitching and incision lines that are healing. The outside might look sealed but the inside might not be yet.

[FlightyBrood]

I have a theory for the right nipples.... Most of us are right handed I bet hah. We use our dominate hand the most...so that side gets the most movement.

As for laying on your sides and whatnot I was told I had to wait the full six weeks period otherwise the swelling would get worse on whichever side was lower than the other.

I think it was right around three weeks for me when the incisions quit being as...touchy/fragile feeling. Just remember that fresh scars are decently fragile and keep the movement reasonable. Again on average six weeks is generally when the deeper incision lines (the ones inside) are knitted strongly enough to not separate/pull apart. Don't forget you actually have several layers of stitching and incision lines that are healing. The outside might look sealed but the inside might not be yet.

good to know! ive been laying on my back and such, im not even going to risk lying on my side or anything. my nipple is swollen because i had to jerk my arm to stop the cat from jumping on me one night. its going down, according to the boyfriend....