Consultation with NHS surgeon today...

[grotesk_uk]

I am really not looking forward to it. I don't want to sit in "Breast Outpatients" with everyone looking at me, wondering where my wife/gf is.

But I have come this far and so I feel I must push on through.

Has anyone else had surgery done on the NHS? Judging by most posts on this forum, private is the only way to go, and even then the results can vary significantly.

Is there anything specific I should be asking regarding the procedure?

I reluctantly told my girlfriend I was going to the consultation today - I just don't like talking about this with anyone - and she said to bring information back so we can discuss. Well, I don't want to discuss anything and to be completely honest if the surgeon gives me a date then I will take it.

I cannot afford to go private and I am starting the third year of my degree at the end of September and want this sorted once and for all.

[enom]

Hi Buddy,

If you're going to try the NHS route, make sure the surgeon does liposuction with gland removal. Either on their own wont surface.

Hope this helps.

[grotesk_uk]

Well, sitting in the waiting room sure was humiliating. There were two old women sat near me, both breast cancer survivors in for their yearly check-ups. Just before I was called, one was saying to the other:

"I've seen men in here before - one in his seventies and one just a young man!". As my name was called and I was standing up, I heard her say "See?" to her friend. Great start.

Anyway, the surgeon seemed like a decent sort. There was also a medical student present which bothered me a bit but not enough to send him out. The surgeon went through the options, of which there is really only one - liposuction plus gland excision if he finds any gland after the lipo. He said there was no obvious gland there and said my condition may be "pseudo-gynecomastia".

He graded my gyne as moderate to severe, in that there is evidence of a skin folder under the breast, like a proper woman's breast. He said that he would write to my doctor and then I should make an appointment with the doctor to talk about applying for funding for the surgery. He said that if I got the funding, I would have to wait 6-12 months for my local hospital to get the required kit - they have applied for funding apparently - or I could look to get it done elsewhere.

So this long horrible process of humiliation looks set to continue for a while, if not indefinitely.

Oh, and he mentioned possible negative outcomes of surgery:

• If blood supply to a nipple fails it will die and fall off, leaving just scar tissue
• Nipples may end up asymmetrical but not by too much
• If too much tissue is taken the nipples can go a bit concave

I think that's what he said anyway...

[rasputin]

Sounds like a pretty rubbish experience. I'm surprised he said you had pseudo-gyno and then graded it as severe? It would be good to see pictures anyway mate, people on here would be able to say if it was pseudo or not!

From what I have read, and this might be bull - NHS surgeons are often keen to put people off as they have budgets to stick to. Also, nipple necrosis is extremely rare, and surgeons should always leave a very small bit of gland to avoid any concave shaping; asymmetry is just poor surgery.

By the way I'm amazed those women were being so openly rude, you could also have been there for the same reason as them. Private consultation was a lot more pleasant than what you've described.

[grotesk_uk]

I think he said it was pseudo because he couldn't feel a hard rubbery disc behind the nipple. He certainly wasn't suggesting that I could get rid of my moobs by dieting/exercise and he was fully aware of the massive psychological harm this is causing me.

I may post some pics at some point. Perhaps in another couple of years I will pluck up the courage.

[rasputin]

Fair enough to your doc, I'm a habitual cynic so please excuse me

And you'll be sorted within a couple of years so I don't know what you're talking about!

[grotesk_uk]

I just got a letter saying that my application for funding has been unsuccessful.

Well that was a whole lot of pain and embarrassment for nothing. As a student in my final year, I don't know how I will ever afford to go private.

FML

[Poland2012]

I just got a letter saying that my application for funding has been unsuccessful.

Well that was a whole lot of pain and embarrassment for nothing. As a student in my final year, I don't know how I will ever afford to go private.

FML

Is Poland out of the question?

[zack42]

I've just had surgery in Poland and have started a thread in the 'Europe' section.

Cost about £2,000 including travel, hotels, spending money etc etc.

I'm only at the start of the recovery process but so far I have only positive things to say.  There are a number of other reports in the Europe section too if you're interested.

[wantridofgyno17]

I had it done on NHS, and I would say, STAY AWAY. WELL away. NHS ISN'T focused on aesthetic surgery.. I didn't even get a good contour from the NHS, but apart from that they left me sh*t scars too, which I still have now (had it done with Karidis the year after, great contour, NHS scars still kind of ruin result though when exposed.)

Trust me.. I wish I'd never done it, HUGE mistake - despite the doctor sounding full of confidence and looking great on paper. Get a loan like I did and go with Karidis first time. Okay it's expensive, but it's worth it.. Hoping Karidis might offer me a revision and actually try and somehow fix the NHS scars i.e. reduce the areola, removing them in the process or something.

I'd actually consider suing the NHS if I didn't feel so morally wrong about it, they should definitely not be letting these "surgeons" carry out his procedure if they're not up to scratch, causes more problems than good..

[Pez2]

I had it done on NHS, and I would say, STAY AWAY. WELL away. NHS ISN'T focused on aesthetic surgery.. I didn't even get a good contour from the NHS, but apart from that they left me sh*t scars too, which I still have now (had it done with Karidis the year after, great contour, NHS scars still kind of ruin result though when exposed.)

Trust me.. I wish I'd never done it, HUGE mistake - despite the doctor sounding full of confidence and looking great on paper. Get a loan like I did and go with Karidis first time. Okay it's expensive, but it's worth it.. Hoping Karidis might offer me a revision and actually try and somehow fix the NHS scars i.e. reduce the areola, removing them in the process or something.

I'd actually consider suing the NHS if I didn't feel so morally wrong about it, they should definitely not be letting these "surgeons" carry out his procedure if they're not up to scratch, causes more problems than good..

Unfortunately stories like this are all of I've heard concerning this procedure completed on the NHS. Thats not to say there aren't happy post op patients though.. I saw a NHS consultant a few months ago, the only good thing about it was that it was free and I managed to learn of the size of the gland because of a scan he completed during the consultation. However the post op pictures he showed me and what he could guarantee and not guarantee based on past procedures put me off completely. He would have removed the gland but simply wasn't concerned with getting it completely  flat and ultimately ensuring the chest shape was the way it should be. Ive decided to go private, it's a lot of money but the testimonials and results  speak for themselves.

[Nipper]

I agree mate, you only have one life and one chest.  Save up for this, beg steal or borrow that 4.5k  Heck, you've been to an NHS surgeon about this and your GP etc..you're a braver man than me.  Raising these funds will be easy by comparison.  I know it's a lot of money as a unit of currency, but it's a piss in the ocean compared to what you get out of it, it really is.