Operation 28th of sept and havent spoke to surgeon.

[abc1235]

Hi people

I have quite mild gynecomastia but am getting my surgery done on the nhs on the 28th september, just excision, but i still have not and will not meet my surgeon until the day of the operation. On my first visit to the hospital i was told the surgeon was not about that month and i had to speak to a different lady who said they would grant me surgery. I thought this was bad as i wanted to speak to the surgeon, but didn't worry too much as i knew i would get another chance at the pre-assessment 2 weeks before the operation. I was wrong. Basically I had the pre-assessment yesterday, so i went to he hospital and a nurse walked in and took my blood pressure and went through some question, what am i allergic to for example, and said that the surgeon was really busy and could not speak to me but that i maybe able to grab 2 minutes with him on the DAY of the operation if i had any important question i needed to ask him but that i would not be able to speak wit him before hand. The nurse i was speaking to said to me, "you probably know more about the condition than me so its no good asking me too many question". My operation is being done as a day case by a general/breast surgeon. I did a google search on him, MR H BRADPIECE , and this is what came up:

http://www.hollyhouse-hospital.co.uk/content/static/consultants_forth.asp?ConsID=93&sub=Breast+and+Endocrine

I was juts wondering weather you guys think i should go through with the operation having never met this guy or if i should try and save the pennies to try and go private

i really appreciate all your help btw.... n THX

[Johnny Wishbone]

Answers in your other thread still stand.  Personally I would be uneasy and want answers to those questions BUT what other kind of procedures do you actually meet the surgeon before hand?  Honestly I don't know as I've never had anything else done.  Surely if you're you can get an email address/telephone number to run the basics past him?

[Baabaa]

You still have options you can take. What I'd do in your situation is to keep phoning and try and get him on the phone or make an appointment to see him. It's your body, it's your money (NHS or not) and you have a right to speak to your surgeon before the procedure.

Otherwise, if you can't see him before the day of the surgery, you can write down your questions and make sure they don't plug you into the anaesthetic until you can speak to the surgeon.

Then, when you see him (you HAVE to see him before surgery, even if it's in the operating room). Ask him your questions. Make sure you have enough time to digest the information and then decide if you want to go ahead with the operation or not.

Just because you are in hospital, waiting for the operation, doesn't mean you have to have it if it's not right for you. At any point you can say "this is not the way I want the operation done, I need to see someone else".

It's your body, and any decisions you make will have consequences that will last a lifetime. Take your time, they cannot rush you.

[abc1235]

johnny mate, i think i have been unlucky as most people meet their surgeons on the first appointment and it is them who decide weather the candidate is allowed to have the surgery or not....so im just really worried he is gonna be in-experianced and use a dodgy technique... and yea what i am problebly gonna do, which i didn't think of before    lol is try and get through to him by calling as i know he works for BUPA aswell and hopefully ill speak to him before hand.

thanks

[TommyA]

I would be very cautious and dont feel at all under pressure to go ahead on the day if you are not 100% sure this surgeon knows his stuff on this particular procedure, has done the op successfully before on a decent number of occassions and that the technique he uses is up to date and has a good idea on how much to take out/leave in as that is the the key to getting a great job done I think and really depends on the surgeons ability to judge that accurately - they dont take enough then you are not happy and think about the hassle of having a second op or too much and can be concave

[outertrial]

johnny mate, i think i have been unlucky as most people meet their surgeons on the first appointment and it is them who decide weather the candidate is allowed to have the surgery or not....so im just really worried he is gonna be in-experianced and use a dodgy technique... and yea what i am problebly gonna do, which i didn't think of before    lol is try and get through to him by calling as i know he works for BUPA aswell and hopefully ill speak to him before hand.

thanks

Excellent idea.

[abc1235]

Hi all ,

Thanks for the responses <3. I did what you said and called up and finally got to speak to one of his receptionists at his private clinic and she said he was busy but i could give her the questions and she would put the questions to him and get back to me the following day with his answers.
The questions i asked her was:

1) because his mainly a general surgeon, will he be experienced enough to do a operation with good results.
2) what technique will he use when doing the operation.
3) will there be a big scar.

She called me back today to let me know what he said and  what he said was that he is actually mainly a breast surgeon and if anyone was to do the operation...it should be a breast surgeon.... the scar will be as big as it needs to be to remove the gland.... and the technique he will use is to cut around the bottom side of the aureola  to help disguise the star.

Does this sound right... as i am not the most educated on this situation lool?

thank you all loads

[outertrial]

If youd been a private patient he'd have dropped everything to speak to you. This is why the NHS funding model sucks, they use private surgeons at private prices, or more sometimes; and then pay some administrator 40 grand a year to oversee it all, but you get nothing like a private service.

She called me back today to let me know what he said and  what he said was that he is actually mainly a breast surgeon and if anyone was to do the operation...it should be a breast surgeon...

This is simply not the case. You are having gynecomasty not breast surgery. A breast surgeon with no experience may be a better bet than another general surgeon. Who knows. You definitely dont want a mastectomy. Presumably he would have no intention of doing this anyway.

the scar will be as big as it needs to be to remove the gland...

Which he has no idea about because hes never examined you. Usually surgeons publicise the rough size of the incision they make. I dont like this.

and the technique he will use is to cut around the bottom side of the aureola  to help disguise the star.

This is more encouraging. This is a standard procedure at any rate, though many surgeons now will not touch the areola and go in through the armpit, hiding the scars further.

Does this sound right... as i am not the most educated on this situation lool?

Not to me. I think its terrible that youre having to have a medical discussion about some guys competence to operate on you with his receptionist.

I can understand the nhs has its own limitations, and if you need an appendix out or somesuch, then you cant really expect to have a nice chat with the surgeon before hand about it all while you decide whether he/she is good enough. However this is a complicated cosmetic procedure, which has not been explained to you AT ALL,  and you should have the opportunity to meet with someone and determine what will happen on op day.

Personally Id be having a chat with the mister credit card and looking at private options. (and not with him either).

[Bigdom]

I agree with Outertrial, i've had a couple of ops on the NHS and met with my surgeon as part of the course of things on both occasions.  You need to be confident they know what they're doing, and that they explain what they will be doing.

[abc1235]

Thx for the replys

On both occasions when i went to the hospital he has been "busy" so i have had to speak to different people. I was told on the phone how ether that he has performed this operation before so hopefully..... HOPEFULLY he is a bit experienced. I f i was to go ahead with the op on the NHS, if it turned out bad, could a private surgeon fix it?

[outertrial]

If its a case of not enough removed then yes. If you have scarring, concavity or crater deformity then not really.

[Paddy]

Its not excat;y how you want to be looking at an peration either- if someone doesn't do it right, can I then pay to have it fixed??? he sounds like a right arrogant piece of work, to be honest. you could ask for pictures of results of this type of surgery he has done before...

[outertrial]

Or you could ask his receptionist for them. Id have nothing to do with this surgeon to be honest, or this shabby NHS treatment. If I were you Id write a strong complaint letter to your Primary Care Trust and cc your GP and MP into it as well.