Can't live with gyne... surgery is too expensive

[tartan_tiger]

I have a moderate case of pubertal gynecomastia and I've had it since the age of 12. I'm now almost 22. I just can't live with it. I can't. It really has ruined my life. I was endlessly tormented about it in school, I've never had a girlfriend, I don't swim which is my favorite sport, it has pretty singlehandedly ruined my life. With that said, surgery for me is not going to be cheap. I have hemophilia. That means I have to pay many tens of thousands of dollars in additional medical costs to get my breasts removed pushing it way out of the realm of affordability.

I can't live with it though. I just can't. It's totally ruined my life and I'm so tired of being a grotesque looking freak. I'd rather get the surgery without factor and a hematologist even if it means I have an 80% chance of bleeding to death. I'd rather die trying to get rid of it than live with it that's how much it has ruined my life.

I am at the end of my rope and I don't know what to do.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Wow!  What a story!

May I suggest you visit a major medical center/teaching hospital which has a plastic surgery residency program.  You should be able to find a plastic surgery clinic.  It will be staffed by resident doctors who are learning to be plastic surgeons and supervised by attending, fully trained plastic surgeons.

They may be willing to take on your case, coordinated with the appropriate hematology doctors to oversee your hemophilia.  In many instances, there is a fee, but it would be minimal.

You must understand, however, that it will be the resident doctor's hands performing your surgery under a more experienced surgeon's supervision.

Best of luck -- hope it works out well for you.

Dr Jacobs

[tartan_tiger]

Wow!  What a story!

May I suggest you visit a major medical center/teaching hospital which has a plastic surgery residency program.  You should be able to find a plastic surgery clinic.  It will be staffed by resident doctors who are learning to be plastic surgeons and supervised by attending, fully trained plastic surgeons.

They may be willing to take on your case, coordinated with the appropriate hematology doctors to oversee your hemophilia.  In many instances, there is a fee, but it would be minimal.

You must understand, however, that it will be the resident doctor's hands performing your surgery under a more experienced surgeon's supervision.

Best of luck -- hope it works out well for you.

Dr Jacobs

Yeah, I don't know if that would get approval. I just realized after getting a call this morning from one of your assistants that You are in NYC and are one of the doctors that sent an e-mail to last week.

There are a few problems with the residency thing. First, I have spent a life surrounded by doctors and most don't have any clue what they're doing. Residents are even worse. Chances are I probably have to sign some waiver so that I can't sue them when they inevitably maul me beyond recognition and I'll almost certainly still have to pay for the hematologist and the factor which is the bulk of the cost.

[waves]

That's a pretty strong statement to make about doctors in general.  There's always the occasional bad apple in any profession, but in my experience most doctors (here in Canada) are pretty good and generally have a high level of care for their patients.  It's why they went into medicine in the first place.

Not sure where you live, but if it's not Canada, maybe you could consider moving here?  Surgery is generally cheaper here, but there are a few surgeons (e.g., Dr. J. Craig Fielding, Toronto) who perform their surgeries in hospitals.  You only have to pay his surgeon fee (~$1,500 to $3,000) and the hospital covers all of the rest of the charges (operating room, anesthesiologist, nurses, overnight stay, meals, vest, etc.).  It's possible they would also include your specialist doctors.  Especially since Dr. Fielding is also part of the plastic surgery training program at the University of Toronto medical school.  He may even consider this to be a challenging case to take on.

Good luck!

[George Pope, M.D.]

I can't live with it though. I just can't. It's totally ruined my life and I'm so tired of being a grotesque looking freak. I'd rather get the surgery without factor and a hematologist even if it means I have an 80% chance of bleeding to death. I'd rather die trying to get rid of it than live with it that's how much it has ruined my life.

I am at the end of my rope and I don't know what to do.

If you're truly this desperate, I would think you would take Dr. Jacobs' excellent suggestion to get plugged into a medical center's plastic surgery program in order to have the surgery performed at an affordable rate.  If you truly "can't live with it" and are at the end of your rope, having the surgery performed by a resident in plastic surgery beats the hell out of the alternative.

If you would really rather complain than take his advice, fine;  but try to tone down all the drama.

Dr. Pope, MD

[tartan_tiger]

[quote author=Dr. Pope link=topic=21894.msg152620#msg152620 date=1302460473]

I can't live with it though. I just can't. It's totally ruined my life and I'm so tired of being a grotesque looking freak. I'd rather get the surgery without factor and a hematologist even if it means I have an 80% chance of bleeding to death. I'd rather die trying to get rid of it than live with it that's how much it has ruined my life.

I am at the end of my rope and I don't know what to do.

If you're truly this desperate, I would think you would take Dr. Jacobs' excellent suggestion to get plugged into a medical center's plastic surgery program in order to have the surgery performed at an affordable rate.  If you truly "can't live with it" and are at the end of your rope, having the surgery performed by a resident in plastic surgery beats the hell out of the alternative.

If you would really rather complain than take his advice, fine;  but try to tone down all the drama.

Dr. Pope, MD
[/quote]

Excuse me? I think being concerned about it being made worse is a legitimate concern, especially if we're talking about some resident where it is his first time on the procedure. Add in some liability waiver and you're looking at a very VERY unfortunate scenario if things don't work out well, which has a much greater likelihood of happening.

[TacoTuesday]

Yo tartan tiger you're the one who said you'd rather bleed to death than have your gyne...so how about some thanks for a great suggestion instead of getting sassy with two great contributing surgeons.

It is safer to risk a substandard result than risk death or further suicidal thoughts, right?

[thetodd]

Yeah but in your original post you said youd rather die getting rid of it than living with it, and hes giving you an option where you wont

Surgeons have to start somewhere its not as if you will be the first time they will have peformed surgery in the field, gynecomastia maybe but under a qualified instruction it sounds like a viable option. At the end of the day bar getting the extra cash i cant see what you can do.

[jojo82]

Wow!  What a story!

May I suggest you visit a major medical center/teaching hospital which has a plastic surgery residency program.  You should be able to find a plastic surgery clinic.  It will be staffed by resident doctors who are learning to be plastic surgeons and supervised by attending, fully trained plastic surgeons.

They may be willing to take on your case, coordinated with the appropriate hematology doctors to oversee your hemophilia.  In many instances, there is a fee, but it would be minimal.

You must understand, however, that it will be the resident doctor's hands performing your surgery under a more experienced surgeon's supervision.

Best of luck -- hope it works out well for you.

Dr Jacobs

Unless you live in a major city, these programs are hard to find. I know because I'm in the process of compiling a list of programs around the country that have resident plastic surgery programs that will perform surgery on gyne sufferers. I have a few programs already on the list with contact information. If you live in the southeast, message me. I can put you in contact with a university that may be near you.