Consultation booked with Karidis, is he really the best in the UK?

[LondonGuy]

Hi guys!

I'm new to the forums and this is my first post.

I'm 23 years old, and have been dealing with gynecomastia pretty much since I was 14.
I've been waiting to get it sorted for years, and I'm happy to say I'm finally in a place where I can make the preparations, having finished my Masters degree and begun work.

I have a consultation with Dr. Karidis in May, and am thinking about paying the deposit ahead of the consultation to secure an operation date in late June (I am currently working abroad and want to be able to book my flight ahead of time)

I made contact with Karidis because internet sources (mainly this forum) seem to suggest he is (one of) the best in the UK. Obviously, if I am going to get this done, its for life and I want an artist as well as a surgeon to do it.

What I want to know is this: why is it that I cannot find much information regarding other surgeons in the UK? Is it true that Karidis is really that good? Generally on here people seem very happy with the guy, but are there any out there with questionable results? or lots of lasting pain post-op?

Any advice/info is very much appreciated!

[zm]

Hi mate,
Having had surgery with Dr. Karidis, I do not believe that he is the best.  Most certainly popular but not best.  This is in experience and opinion of course. 
One of the major drawbacks with Dr. Karidis is that if you need revision, you have to pay for hospital fee  which is £1658 and x2 you’re paying £3316 which is more than what some surgeons charge for the whole op itself.

I had my op 2 months ago and I can tell you that I’m nowhere near happy with my results as a lot of fat has been left behind round the side of my chest and I paid an extra £800 for this

The way I see is that the popularity of Dr. Karidis must have started at some point with 1 person posting here probably donkeys years ago who had good results and kinda snowballed.
I found a surgeon straight after my op who charges just under 3K and revisions are completely free as  they don’t charge hospital fee 2nd time round.
Check out this link i posted about this surgeon.... Professor Gerard John Byrne. He is also a breast reconstructive surgeon which I believe gives him that edge.
gynecomastia.org/smf/20/prefessor-gerard-john-byrne-surgery-for-3000/

If I could go back in time, i’d go with the above and have my surgery done with Professor Byrne even if it meant having revision surgery. The way my chest is looking right now, it seems i'll need revision surgery accept that i'll be out of pocket by about 4k extra which I wouldn't have had to pay

[thetodd]

I think it would be nice to have some variety in choice of surgeons, but really we need lads with surgery diarys on here. ZM dont get too disheartened yet about Karidis (unless youve already been) what i was told with revisions is that you dont pay the hospital fees as its done in their own theatre outside the jurisdiction of StJohns fees.

Its been donkeys since my follow up consultation, and yours is a different case. But i was told roughly £400 for a revision everything included.

My advice however if you anticipate that you may need revisions, look at Levick or maybe the surgeon that ZM posted. In the time ive been on here ive seen few bad reports for Karidis, im not saying hes the best but statistically ive seen less bad results with him.

[LondonGuy]

hmm, now i am a bit less sure about sending this deposit, which is slightly annoying as I really want to book this surgery slot in London for before the olympics start. (plane fairs go up)

revisions... is that really a huge concern? I heard it was like 2% of cases. Unless we are talking about revisions due to a botched surgery or stuff left behind that shouldn't have been.

zm, could you give a little more detail as to why you were unhappy? I guess you paid for extra lip on your sides and were not satified with the overall asymetry? What about the breast reduction itself? were you flat and even? and di you stay flat?

[zm]

Thetodd, revision surgery entails paying for the hospital fee which is £1658.

There was no mention of anything less than that.

Also, my follow up is this in a few days.

LondonGuy,
My initial feeling when i first saw my chest was, "ok, smaller than before" but i always felt that it was nowhere near flat as it could have been.  I chased it this up Dr. Karidis after 2 weeks through email but he said it "was done to a high standard" when I asked him if sides of my chest was done as I had paid extra.  So there was no really direct answer likes, "yes" or "no".

Gland has gone. I can't feel any scar tissue. I don't think it's swelling. My chest is still sagging because of the fat.

to be honest, i'm not even that bothered about the symmetrical aspect of my chest but just annoyed that fat is still there.

I know I'm sounding like a moaner but for majority of us, this amount of money has taken a while to save which could have been spent on the family and for the op not being succesful, it's very depressing.

Londonguy, if i were you, i'd go with the dr i recommended. even if you needed revision surgery, you know all you wont be paying extra later.

I just called up Dr Byrne's secretary on 0161 232 2577 while typing this and bl00dy hell, price has gone up by £850 to £3850.  Even then, i asked about any revision surgery and there is no extra charge for hospital fees.

[LondonGuy]

Thetodd, revision surgery entails paying for the hospital fee which is £1658.

There was no mention of anything less than that.

Also, my follow up is this in a few days.

LondonGuy,
My initial feeling when i first saw my chest was, "ok, smaller than before" but i always felt that it was nowhere near flat as it could have been.  I chased it this up Dr. Karidis after 2 weeks through email but he said it "was done to a high standard" when I asked him if sides of my chest was done as I had paid extra.  So there was no really direct answer likes, "yes" or "no".

Gland has gone. I can't feel any scar tissue. I don't think it's swelling. My chest is still sagging because of the fat.

to be honest, i'm not even that bothered about the symmetrical aspect of my chest but just annoyed that fat is still there.

I know I'm sounding like a moaner but for majority of us, this amount of money has taken a while to save which could have been spent on the family and for the op not being succesful, it's very depressing.

Londonguy, if i were you, i'd go with the dr i recommended. even if you needed revision surgery, you know all you wont be paying extra later.

I just called up Dr Byrne's secretary on 0161 232 2577 while typing this and bl00dy hell, price has gone up by £850 to £3850.  Even then, i asked about any revision surgery and there is no extra charge for hospital fees.

The thing is man,  I cannot find much info on this other guy, and from what you said on another post, he specializes in body builders? I am no body builder, and I don't have a body like a body builder, nor do I want one. I have seen so many before and after pics of karidis and he seems like he may be worth the money with respect to sculpting a normal human body.

I would really be interested to see the current state of your chest, is there anyway you could post some picture or message me some? Or do you already have some up?

where is this Dr Byrne based? The main concern with revisions is not the cost (though that would be terrible) its also the hassle of another operation, scars, etc.

[zm]

check my signature bro.

this surgeon specialises in breast reconstruction.  give them a call and check dude.

also, i do understand what you are saying about revision, but with me, gland is out so there will be no more cutting round the nipple but just lipo needs to be done which will only be a tiny cut and can be relocated.

For me, it truely come down to cost. if revision needs to be done,i'm looking at 7k in total.  not a small amount of money so please do bear this in mind.

whatever, you decide, i hope it goes well for you bro

[thetodd]

ZM you didnt read what i put

If its a small revision, then they have their own theatre room (not where you originally went) where you can get put under and the fee i was told was £400ish. This is outside the jurisdiction of StJohn's fees as its run by the "Loretto Clinic" which is basically Karidis's crew.

I dont want to get your hopes up if this turns out not to be suitable for your case, but hopefully you'l be suitable for this.

[rasputin]

For me it's never about the money with something like this. Obviously if everyone was the same price then I'd go with the most recommended. In this situation Karidis is the most highly recommended with results to justify that. For those reasons, I would happily pay £x,xxx more to go under his knife.

It's just my opinion, but I would never go for a surgeon who had fewer testimonials and positive results even if it was a lot cheaper. This is a change for life, and over your lifetime a £2,000 saving will mean nothing.

[chopper]

Is he this best? That question will always be open to debate.

I didn't want to pay his fees, i'll be honest, I wanted to pay the fees the guys going to Poland were paying. Spend some time on that forum and look at the results and I bet you will find yourself searching the UK forum for Karidis & Levick results as some of the bodge jobs done in Poland are eye watering!!!! Some work is equally good, but you will find the horror stories and photos without much hard work.

Karidis & Levick have without doubt the easiest quantifiable & traceable track record with real life users and photos supporting their work & claims in the UK.I wanted photos and stories and I got them with those 2. You can throw as many other names into the hat but unless I have seen proof / photos of their work I'm just not entertaining it personally and I'm definitely not entertaining it when I'm paying thousands for something with no proof or little proof.

You will go where you feel comfortable ultimately. Take your time, do your research and make a call. You have to live with it, so don't rush, but as a starting point Karidis & Levick aren't a bad place. They both a track record you can satisfy yourself with both online here and when you see them in their offices with other photos they have.