It dawned on me later that Dr. Adams filmed me and one of my teen patients back in October of 2007.

I mention it because it’s one of the few filmed pieces I’ve seen that actually shows the breast, or glandular, tissue seen in gynecomastia.

The video follows a 15-year-old who loves sports but at 12 or 13 developed a serious case of gynecomastia, with very pronounced, female-like breasts that were hard to hide, even under heavy T-shirts.

Most days, he wore a compression garment as a T-shirt to conceal his pubescent-like breasts.

The problem? Sports were out of the question. As was taking off his shirt in public.

One of the charms of Plastic Surgery: Before and After was that, unlike most television shows about plastic surgery, Dr. Adams intended his programs  for adults and showed unfiltered, close-up segments of actual plastic surgery.

But most other programs blur or blank out surgical scenes as if they were X-rated sexual content.

The concept was not to make viewers lose their lunch by filming endless gore, but to show just enough to put across a teaching moment.

When Dr. Adams and crew filmed me operating on the teen, they showed how much work it was to liposuction out the fatty tissue from his breasts.

When it came to removing the actual glandular breast tissue, they zoomed in close and captured the look of the bone-white breast tissue as it was excised from the lad’s chest.

Glandular tissue is far too thick for liposuction.

The rest of the operation went well, the youngster healed and returned home where he could once again indulge in all the sports he wanted while taking no care at all about hiding his chest.

In fact, I think Dr. Adams’ film crew gave other gynecomastia sufferers a moment of supreme elation for the many youngsters who live in that world.

They filmed my patient gladly and willingly doffing his shirt to play basketball.

Why is that noteworthy, you ask?

For gynecomastia-stricken teens, hearing the command “Shirt and skins!” from a phys ed teacher is a moment of sheer terror!

“Skins” must peel off their shirts and then jump up and down, playing basketball. And that puts all eyes on their jiggling breasts.

Here’s the video:

Searching

Some time ago, I promised to pass on some insider tips on finding an excellent plastic surgeon, one who is most likely to give you a good outcome.

At least, given what I now know – after 25 years on Park Avenue – it’s what I would do if I wanted plastic surgery!

Many good surgeons are found online.

Just type into a search engine the kind of surgery you want and your location like this: “Breast Augmentation L.A.” or “Face lift San Diego.”

Check for training and background. To be called a plastic surgeon, a physician must have anywhere from five to eight or more years training after getting the M.D. degree.

That doctor should also be board certified in plastic surgery or otolaryngology – the only two specialties fully qualified to perform plastic surgery.

Check by going to The American Board of Medical Specialties, registering and typing in your surgeon’s name. Certification, if any, will show up.

Next, check for the surgeon’s hospital privileges. Hospitals take no chances and have fully investigated surgeons’ backgrounds and training.

If the website gives you an email address, ask the surgeon:

• How many times monthly he performs the rejuvenation you want
• If you can speak to former patients about their outcomes
• If the surgery center is certified

Look for a surgeon who performs the procedure you want at least weekly.

Look at the surgeon’s before and after plastic surgery pictures. There should be pages and pages – literally — of patients.

Look at the quality as well as the outcomes. All the before and afters should be standard with the same background, lighting, distance from the camera and other features.

When you go to the initial consultation, ask: what was your last procedure that went wrong and what did you do about it?

Even in the very best of hands things occasionally go wrong – an infection crops up or a patient is not satisfied with the outcome.

If the surgeon told me nothing ever went wrong, I would leave. I would be looking for the extra steps a fully trained and certified surgeon can take.

In the final analysis, patients are walking advertisements — he wants you to look good.

In fact, one happy patient will bring in five more through word of mouth alone.