New here, NHS story so far

[somedude999]

Hi guys, i'm from south coast and have had gyne probs for approx 3 years.

Been to GP's lots and been for scans and bloodtests etc, finally got a good GP and he referred me to a plastic surgeon team in a relatively close large hospital.

Went to the appointment yesterday and was seen by the registrar within 10 mins !!
Registrar was a really friendly positive guy who quickly diagnosed me and said that usually they will try a bit of lipo first and then if that doesn't completely get rid of them they cut around the nipple and remove the gland in a second operation. So I was thinking great, they are really efficient here.


Then I'm told to wait for the female surgeon to see me, after 40 mins or so she comes in and staight away says you will have horrendous scars from this we can't do this to you. I told her that I didn't care too much about the scars as I just wanted these lumps removed as they're painful and affecting my day to day life. Told her I couldn't even cuddle my daughter properly etc due to the pain.  She said I should take evening primrose like women have to when in pain !!

[somedude999]

I pleaded some more and she said she wanted a 2nd opinion of a male surgeon.
Male surgeon came in, few questions, said to me he would try lipo and would be prepared at same time to perform excision if lipo didn't remove hard lumps.

Female surgeon came back in, told me she didn't want to perform surgery as wasn't sure it would get rid of pain i was suffering. she wants to look into if she can perform the surgery endoscopicly (sp) as is worried about scarring me for nothing. she is going to consult with a breast specialist on the pain thing to see if he thinks an op would help. got to go back in 2 months time.

Not sure what to make of it all really. felt a bit like i was being fobbed off by her but she did seem genuinely concerned about scarring.

[DrBermant]

Hi guys, i'm from south coast and have had gyne probs for approx 3 years.

Been to GP's lots and been for scans and bloodtests etc, finally got a good GP and he referred me to a plastic surgeon team in a relatively close large hospital.

Went to the appointment yesterday and was seen by the registrar within 10 mins !!
Registrar was a really friendly positive guy who quickly diagnosed me and said that usually they will try a bit of lipo first and then if that doesn't completely get rid of them they cut around the nipple and remove the gland in a second operation. So I was thinking great, they are really efficient here.

Then I'm told to wait for the female surgeon to see me, after 40 mins or so she comes in and staight away says you will have horrendous scars from this we can't do this to you. I told her that I didn't care too much about the scars as I just wanted these lumps removed as they're painful and affecting my day to day life. Told her I couldn't even cuddle my daughter properly etc due to the pain.  She said I should take evening primrose like women have to when in pain !!

I pleaded some more and she said she wanted a 2nd opinion of a male surgeon.
Male surgeon came in, few questions, said to me he would try lipo and would be prepared at same time to perform excision if lipo didn't remove hard lumps.

Female surgeon came back in, told me she didn't want to perform surgery as wasn't sure it would get rid of pain i was suffering. she wants to look into if she can perform the surgery endoscopicly (sp) as is worried about scarring me for nothing. she is going to consult with a breast specialist on the pain thing to see if he thinks an op would help. got to go back in 2 months time.

Not sure what to make of it all really. felt a bit like i was being fobbed off by her but she did seem genuinely concerned about scarring.

Picking the wrong surgeon can result in horrible scars as seen in these Crater Deformities after Bad Gynecomastia Surgery. That is why you need to carefully examine before and after pictures showing the craftsmanship and sculpture skills of any particular doctor before permitting them working for a cosmetic problem.

Pain is a Symptom of Gynecomastia gland stimulation. Surgery is not a cure for an underlying process stimulating gland growth. Shreds of gland remain after any surgery to continue being stimulating with continued pain / discomfort. There are some patients, such as those with fibromyalgia, that the surgery can possibly increase pain and make it worse. If there is a process stimulating gland growth, surgery will not stop new gland from growing back.

Having the process causing the pain stabilized first is the best method of decreasing the pain or the risk of recurrence after surgery.  For my patients with such discomfort, I refer them to an experienced Endocrinologist to discover what is wrong and stabilize the problem before considering surgery.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[tomo25mcr]

I had a problem with the NHS, i was going to my doctor complaining for a few years. I got reffered to wythenshaw hospital and they basically fobbed me off saying all different excuses like the op is too risky, they dont have funds for it etc after making me try some horrible tablets which they said would shrink the gyne (bo****ks). I went back to my GP and he wrote them a letter and got me refferedd to stepping hill hospital pretty quickly. I have bigger scarres than peoples pics i have seen on here, they go arround the nipple and out each side of the nipples and they are pretty numb still and puffy, only had my op done in december though and hope the puffyness goes. Definatly go to your GP again and see if he/she would reffer you to another hospital, it costs the NHS  a lot so you will have to be persistent and tell your doc how miserable and depressed its making you!