My Outcome from Gynecomastia Surgery

I had two liposuction treatments for gynecomastia (first in Nov 99, then April 2000) from Dr. Howard Caplan, a plastic surgeon, in Paoli, PA. To date, I have had 325 cc fat and breast tissue removed from my left pectoral and 350 cc fat and breast tissue removed from my right. More was taken out the first time (about 200cc from each side). Also, because it was liposuction, the pathology report stated that it was mostly fat with rare deposits of breast tissue. After my second “mop up” procedure I am relatively satisfied. However, my pectoral muscles bulge out a lot to begin with… just one of those things.

I’ve shown many trusted friends my “after-surgery chest” and they all agree it is much flatter and does not look breast-like anymore. I still feel there is a bit extra crease and fullness and brought this up to Dr. Caplan. He said he’d be willing to scalpel it if I want an abnormal looking chest. His heart is in the right place but he can be a bit of a wise ass. Bottom line, he told me that my chest looks fine and looks like that of a guy who works out.

Handling Self-Perception After A Gynecomastia Procedure

I am currently seeing a woman who has no idea I had this done and she raves about my body. I guess, despite all this positive feedback, I have, to some extent, what I’d coin “phantom gynecomastia.” I still see it, at times, even though others don’t.

However, because my pectoral muscles protrude a lot to begin with, I suspect it is harder for me to appreciate the results. I have some home “before” pictures and I can see the difference, however. Also, Dr. Caplan showed me his before pictures of me (I just had a checkup and am waiting for him to send me copies of before and after) and it is amazing to see the difference. I did have breasts. Now I just have big pectorals.

So, at this point I still wish I had less of a “crease” but my pectorals muscles do bulge out a lot. And I am not a body builder but am in fairly good shape. The former pointy look is pretty much gone now. Instead of cutting, I am planning to have him give me one more liposuction treatment in the Fall to get the little bit left of loose stuff but there is really not a lot to take. He said he’d be willing to try however to help make me happy. The bit that is left is not worth excising because of potential scarring or having an abnormal-looking result given my pectoral structure.

I like Dr. Caplan’s conservative style. I had almost no bruising nor scarring to date. He went in below or to the side of the nipple each time. I do believe that he is looking out after my best interests. I also have to get a bit better of not expecting to be perfect.

I found the mailing list helpful in some ways. Prior to my procedures, the sense of camaraderie was comforting. Just knowing that others struggle with this issue helped, and for that I’m very grateful.

More stories:

• A Mother’s Surgery Success Story
• A Success Story – Start to Finish
• My Son’s Story
• My Surgery Day
• A Mother’s Story
• A New Beginning
• Living with Gynecomastia – Samuel’s Story
• Living Each Day With Gynecomastia
• A Success Story