Going for consultation in a few weeks....

[Heron]

Greetings,

I'm a 20 year old student.  I'm going to a consultation visit for my gynecomastia just before school starts and hope to have the surgery a few weeks into the term (if all seems right, that is).  This will be the first consultation for my condition.  I'm nervous about the doc's experience with this surgery, since there is only one before and after set in his online photo gallery and also because the practice is located in my small college town.  (I realize neither is NECESSARILY representative of the actual number, but still they concern me.)  Although, the list provided on his website of awards, memberships, and background certainly seems impressive.

What can I do, what questions can I ask, to evaluate the skill level of this surgeon?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

Best,

Alan

[Litlriki]

Other than asking how many gynecomastia procedures the surgeon does and asking to see photos, it's difficult to get an actual number of procedures performed.  In my experience, surgeons tend to overestimate the number they do--we want to be busy, and we feel busy, so we think we are doing a lot of surgery.  For the surgeons addressing this forum, gynecomastia is a procedure that we focus on in particular in many cases, and even at that, we may not be in a market where we see hundreds of patients a year (outside of NYC, that is).  A plastic surgeon in a small college community is even less likely to perform a large number of these procedures, considering that most college students don't have the resources to have such a procedure without parental support.  Nonetheless, your surgeon could be quite skilled and get you a great result.  If you're feeling good about your consultation, if you see some good pre- and post-op photos with good results, and better yet, if you are able to speak to one or two of his patients, you may decide that he is the surgeon for you.  If not...keep looking.

Good luck with your search--and with the beginning of the semester!

Rick Silverman

[Heron]

Thanks for your reply, Dr. Silverman.  Informative and helpful.

Best,

Alan