The N.H.S's take on gyno

[D24]

Hi everyone,

for those of you who have read my posts you'll know the story, for those of you who have not:

To cut a long story short.......diagnosed with true gyneacomastia i.e glandular tissue present, N.H.S performed lipo only which didn't work as there was a lot of glandular tissue. Had to litterally argue with surgeon to help me as he felt loosing weight would resolve everything (from a plastic surgeon who's specialist interest is male breast reduction). Had to go private and have glandular tissue removed, 16 grams left side and 38 grams right side.

Today i came across a print out that my GP gave me when i approached him about my gyno about 18 months ago. This is from th N.H.S's intranet that is available to all in the medical profession i was told, some interesting quotes as follows. 'surgical removal of breast tissue is the only effective therapy. Surgery involves subcutaneous mastectomy'. 'Gyneacomastia can be physically embarrassing and psychologically distressing for patients and this should not be underestimated'

Baring those quotations in mind i find myself very pis**d off why i had to argue with the surgeon, why lipo only was performed, why they tried to push tamoxifen onto me and sayting it would take the gyno away. The part that really gets me is why most of us on this site who've approached the N.H.S for help with gyno get fobbed off about it's bothing worth bothering about and when they do operate it's not the correct procedure.
 The purpose of this post is to highlight what is available to the N.H.S and seems to me that a lot of it comes down to the doctor's/surgeon's individual take on the matter.

[thetodd]

The NHS service is poor, you get good/bad clinics

There have been good results so i wont demonize the whole organisation but they do give a lot of  lads false hopes! Dont get me wrong i dont think gynecomastia is a life threatning condition that they must fund every case thats presented to them. But when a young lad walks in there with B+ Cup breasts then in my eyes its serious enough to be funded! Thats if they are prepare to try diet/excercise regimes on offer.

[shiftend]

I had a simular experience with the NHS. I first went to them when I was 18 when I first developed gyno. My GP described it as 'aesthetically challenging' and said that a surgeon would cut all the tissue away, through open surgery ( I dont know what this procedure is called). I got to the point of being on the hospital ward, having all my blood samples etc etc etc being in a gown and sat on a hospital trolley all day. The surgeon then came around and said he did not think it was the best option for me because of the scaring it would leave. He told me to pack up and go home! Another NHS doctor said it would be fine and not to worry. Thanks! It was not fine atall and has blighted my life for about 8 years now.

I've told the rest of my story on another post, but basically I then had lyposuction privatally which did little as I have little fat on me, 2nd fail! Then I had a mammotome procedure 4 months ago which removed allot of the fibrous breast tissue and I would say has been quite successful. Im seeing the surgeon again tomorrow to talk about the possibility of removing the last small bit of fibrous tissue which got left behind last time. Luckily for me I love working out, so once all the fibrous tissue has (hopefully been removed) I shall be hitting the weights hard to try and burn off any left over fat and build up the muscle.

[thedomino]

hey,

Just thought I'd give the NHS a big up as they're getting a lot of bad press on here.

I had my operation 3 days ago on the NHS. At Russells Hall hospital in the West Midlands by the surgeon 'Mr Mohan'. He agreed that lipo would be ineffective and instead removed the glandular tissue. Its been a huge success so far. I would seriously recommend him. I believe he does both NHS and private work. My chest is flat as a pancake and ive lost the puffy nipples. Had a really comfortable stay in hospital too. nurses were all brilliant and kept me at ease. Mr Mohan visited me twice a day afterwards in the ward, with various other people on the plastics team checking on me. I just cant wait to get all the dressings off properly! and to get this damn compression vest off lol.

TD