Doctor choice?

[Gyno2110]

Hi, I'm set to get my surgery done next week Thursday.   The area I live in doesn't have anyone that specializes in Gynecomastia.   I went to a doctor  that had a very informative video and excellent reputation and is board certified.  They claim to be experts and have been doing surgeries for 20 years but don't have any before after pictures on website.  I felt very comfortable  with him.  Should I be concerned?

[George Pope, M.D.]

Some surgeons don't show before and after photos.  I'm not sure why - I certainly believe in showing patients my results to give them an idea of what their result could possibly be.  You could ask your surgeon or his nurse if they could connect you with some of their gynecomastia patients; it would be nice to get a review from one of his/her gyne patients.  I don't give out names of patients, as that would violate HIPAA law, but I often have my patients call the potential patient personally.  That works very well.
Dr. Pope, MD

[Gyno2110]

Thanks for the feedback.  I personally didn't volunteer any photos either so I can understand somewhat. With surgery being so close I don't think Im going to make it a huge deal.  At some point you have to trust your Doctor and there is still a relative amount of faith you put into him also.  

[DrPensler]

Any surgeon who has a reasonable experience with any procedure should have multiple photos available for a patient to examine. The issue is never weather the surgeon is experienced ,the issue is does the surgeon have specific experience that is current with the procedure you are interested in. I have an extensive experience with hand surgery however I have not done a hand surgery case for 15 years.

[Gyno2110]

I'm not sure if he doesn't have any but none online. He verbally told me that he's  recently done some but it's not the volume that other doctors probably get but that seems to be the norm in the area I live.  Imy pretty positive that it hasn't been years since he's had a male gynecomastia patient.  I don't want to back out at this point.  

[Dr. Schuster]

While not an absolute requirement I do not understand why you can't see before and after photos, especially in today's typical environment. I honestly would be a little concerned. I'm not sure you would buy anything else without the opportunity to "see it, touch it or feel it". Why do anything less with your own body. 

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Absolutely agree with Dr Schuster.

Would you buy a car without test driving it?

Your body is more important than a car -- and in place of a test drive, I would say that a number of before and after photos are essential to help assess the surgeon and your decision.  There is no substitute for lots of experience -- and most plastic surgeons are proud of their work and anxious to show B/A photos. Any lack of those photos may indicate low volume.

Dr Jacobs

[Gyno2110]

I appreciate all your responses.  I'm currently 5 days post op.  I really did take a leap of faith with my surgeon.  There wasn't a lot of communication  between the pre-op and surgery about goals.  I probably didn't have the worst case of gyno clinically speaking but it was enough to seek surgery after a few years of realizing I couldn't exercise off that gland.  So he he did remove gland and some lipo.  So far I'm  fairly happy with whole overall process.  I could complain about a lot of little  stuff probably because I've seen how other doctors who specialize in gyno deal with their patients.  In six months when every settles I will decide if I made the right choice.  He's pretty nonchalant and reading other reviews if him that is his nature.  We'll  see.  Thanks again guys.

[Paa_Paw]

I was an Air Force Medic for eight years.  The last three of which were in the ER of a Base Hospital at a very large  Base.  The Doctors working in the ER were Not surgeons, The surgeons has their own rotating roster.  We got the Doctors out of the clinic and they worked in the ER  only occasionally.   I would suture a laceration 3 to 5 times in one working day,   The Doctors almost never did.  But I would not go beyond that.  I had that as a skill and I had lots of practice.  I was not a surgeon and I would not attempt it.  I was not a doctor and I would not pretend to be one. 
When you go looking for a cosmetic surgeon you want four people in one.  First, you are looking for a Medical Doctor.  Second you want a Doctor who is a surgeon.  Third you want a surgeon who is a sculptor.  and finally you want a sculptor who gets lots of practice at the kind of work you want to have performed.    If your Doctor is lacking in any of those areas, you should still be looking. 
By the way, I last sutured a wound in December of 1963, I would not even attempt it now.  I still know how, but like any other skill it takes recent practice or one becomes clumsy. 

[Gyno2110]

While reading so much online from this great source and others I think I began to envision how my experience should go which I now believe isn't fair to my surgeon.  Not that you shouldn't have expectations or shop around.  Yes, I'm sure he doesn't get the volume of gynecomastia patients but I don't fault him for that.  It did bother me that he couldn't provide me with examples or people I could contact but that's where I made my leap. There were other positives. I wouldn't encourage anyone to take the road I took but I had faith in him. Every patient puts a certain amount of faith in any doctor.  End results are what counts.  So far he did what I wanted him to do and I haven't had any setbacks or problems.  I think from here it's up to me to really make it count. Thanks again for the feedback from all the Doctors.  I know you all take pride in what you do!

[Dr. Schuster]

Congratulations on moving forward. Sounds like everything went just fine.