Worried about my surgeon

[abc1235]

Hi Guys,


Lucky for me i have also been granted surgery on the nhs.  I am 17 and have only got mild gynecomastia but i am conscious of them so i expressed my concerns with my local gp and he said for psychological reasons only he would refer me to a specialist. i had my first appointment with the specialist mid-way through august and explained that i was conscious of them and that they affected my everyday life and the specialist just said thats fine, ill refer you for surgery if thats what you want. Since then i have received my letter and have got my operation on the 28th September, so not a long wait at all. But since i received my letter from the hospital, my mum pointed out to me that the surgery would be carried out as a day case by a general surgeon. From reading many posts on this site i understand that general surgeons are terrible with gynecomstia lol, so im starting to worry  . How ether i have searched the surgeons name on Google and it says he is a general/breast surgeon but i was wondering if you guys think he will have enough experience to perform an operation like gynecomastia. His specialty is breast and endocrine but god noes what that means lol.Hope you guys could  help me put my mind to rest.

Guys i appreciate ur help sooo much
thanks

[outertrial]

Its impossible to say based on this info Im afraid. What you have described sounds very unusual. Normally you will be referred for a consultation with a plastic surgeon who will assess your case and decide whether or not they will agree to operate on you.

It is generally understood that this is the surgeon who will perform the operation, and you can, or should be able to ask them any questions you want. Namely:

1. What exactly are you going to do to and what will the scarring be like?
2. How many of these have you done before?
3. Do you have before and after pictures I can see?

This doesnt mean that someone totally different wont perform the op but you dont have much control over that if you want the NHS to do it.

On the plus side I have never heard of anyone actually being messed up  by an nhs general surgeon. More common is that  not enough is taken out. You never know, you might get lucky and as you have an op so soon may as well go for it.

However if you get there and they say theyre going to make large 6 inch incisions under your pecs or perform a complete mastectomy then run a mile. (Some guys have turned down NHS ops because of being told this kind of stuff).

[TommyA]

I went on the NHS it was a general surgeon and he did an improvement job but did not take out enough so am planning to get it done again privately.  I had one consultation who said they would make a huge incision all the way around and scoop out everything which it totally outdated way of doing things and cancelled with that one.  Just dont be afraid to ask exactly how they are going to do the op and how they are going to judge how much to take etc

[Johnny Wishbone]

Outertrial is right. Ask the surgeon what his method will be, get him to draw a diagram to explain, escpecially with regards to excision points.  I am sure by reading these forums you are aware of the recognised techniques, however, someone will no doubt be pleased to comment if you report back.

If he/she talks the talk and can detail documented prior successes then hopefully it's game on.  I haven't heard of many recent hack jobs, luckily it appears knowledge and succesful techinques are becoming much more widely known amongst surgeons.