Surgery with Sue Thistlethwaite

[rawr]

Yesterday I had my surgery with Dr Sue Thistlethwaite. I had a consultation with her in February this year and finally organised the operation.

I'll make it quick because I haven't had my bandages off yet. I spent all day there which was longer than I expected, but this was fine with me as I found it more comfortable being there with care available.

Pre op I was a bit nervous, the staff there are incredibly friendly and make it very comfortable. I was waiting a good two hours before going into the theatre (I just watched the Nascar on the TV).

I then when into the theatre and laid down, they put two(?) needles in me, barely felt anything (I'm alright with needles), and that was it, I woke up from what seemed a couple minutes later in my compression garment and was taken back to my room to relax. It was so seriously quick and I felt NO pain (probably still under the drugs).

My surgery went for around 2 hours which was longer than expected, I didn't get to ask why (my GF told me I was in there for a while). I spent the rest of the day in my room watching TV and talking with my GF, I was given cheese and biscuits and sandwiches which I ate with EASE. They were very surprised of my outcome, saying most people don’t act so well afterwards (don't eat, etc), I went walking around the ward as I was very bored of sitting down!

The worst part was getting the needles removed from my chest (for the draining bottles), they felt very long and you can feel them coming out of you, kind of awkward, but cope-able. That was the only semi-uncomfortable part of the whole day.

Now I'm in my hotel room feeling great. The only uncomfortable thing is the compression garment makes you feel very restricted (but this is probably a good thing).

I will probably get photos up tomorrow when my bandages come off. Also give you my verdict (which so far is looking very optimistic).

Highly recommend her purely based on the procedure day.

I'm with HCF and paid nothing for the hospital fees (Linley Clinic), and will find out what I get back soon so I'll give a run down of ALL the costs for the procedure in time. (I know this is an important part for a lot of people)

[skinner]

HI there
    Were the results good?

I have an appmt with her next month and would like to know your outcome.

[haroldbishop]

Nice one , great write up mate. Looking forward to seeing how you go post op and off course the costs etc.
Take it easy.

[rawr]

Sorry about the late reply guys.

So far everything is looking pretty good. As far as scarring goes, it's barely visible! I'm using Bio Oil to help reduce scarring and it seems to be working well.

There was little pain post op, a bit of bruising making the area sensitive and sore, but now it's pretty good, only sensitive if it's bumped hard. The most painful parts of the whole operation include getting the draining tubes removed (slight discomfort), and... the worst part... getting the tape removed! It is horrible, but only seconds worth!

I have a few queries. My chest area is still flabby. However, fat around the nipple seems to be reduced, and I do remember her marking out an area around my nipple, would I assume this was the lypo?

I'm fairly lean, although in some places I am a bit flabby, and yes my chest is till flabby (it will wobble when I jump up and down, etc). Is this nothing to do with the gyne, and just flab that can be burned through cardio?

As far as the nipples go, they aren't puffy anymore, which is great! They have a slight puff but (in the least creepiest way possible) seeing other guys nipples they seem to be pretty much the same. (I assume slight puffiness is fine, not hard nipples 24/7)?

Here are some pictures for you all to assess, I would love some feedback to tell me if it looks good or not.. It's weird because I have no pre op shots and frankly don't remember what it looked like! Sue took some pictures, which I will try and acquire. Honestly I'm happy about the nipples, they no longer puff up in the heat and they look overall really good, but I still have flab in my chest, but I don't think I can blame this on gyne. The last picture in the gallery I try to accentuate what I see when I look down, the center of my chest going in makes it look like my breasts are sticking out, I'm not sure if this is properly explained, or if I'm just being a hypercondirac. (also disregard the right chest being flatter, I was holding the camera up)

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9403/dscn0732h.jpg

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/2430/dscn0733b.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5447/dscn0734mj.jpg

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7308/dscn0738fb.jpg

Here is my cost breakdown, I would like some feedback regarding my private health insurance.

Sues Fee - $3000
Anesthetic - $1000
Garment - $130
Hospital - HCF covered

Medicare gave me a rebate of $805.10

Total - $3324.90

Now my question is, the Medicare rebate, does that include HCF rebates? Well, do HCF give me anything back? Besides covering the hospital fees? Or is the total Medicare rebate all I'm going to get back?

All in all, I can't recommend Sue enough, she was fantastic and compared to others very affordable.

Thanks and hope this helps others!

[Liandoolb]

The post-op pics are looking really good! To me it's looking very normal and I can barely even see evidence of the scarring already. I can only see the first and last photos though - the middle 2 say "Forbidden" for some reason...

Could I ask how much the cost of the hospital fees were if you know? (The fees covered by HCF). I don't have private health insurance so these won't be covered for me, and unfortunately if I see Sue that's also going to have to include several trips to Melbourne as I live in Sydney... Wishing there was a more well-known doctor up here in Sydney for gyno...

[freefromG]

Congrats mate really looks good already, wish i had gone with sue but logistically and due to the fact that this procedure is supposedly straight forward and simple i unfortunately did not, i went for an option in the capital. Although the surgeon had previous pics that seemed great i don't believe he performed enough of them regularly and unfortunately the gamble did not pay off to my liking. Contouring problems at rest and arms above head are very evident and only a slight improvement in droop factor (gland) for the costs involved was not worth it at all, i hope it improves further (which im sure it will to some degree). It was a bit over three months ago now, if you are considering going with alternatives esp. in Can or Syd PM me who you were considering and will let you know if it was the same PS as me and therefore u should find other options for gyne (if you want implants or other PS stuff im sure he is a gun) im not one to drop names at the best of times esp. when i still may have options for some kind of revision or dermal filler (if that doesnt work a huge chest tattoo is a serious consideration as these days it would look more normal than what im looking at)

On most accounts sue seems to be the only person with a proven track record for aesthetically pleasing gynecomastia surgery particularly in milder cases. Her costing seems quite reasonable as well. any heard of her doing revisions?