My experience with Dr Jacobs, and why I didn't choose Dr. Karidis

[trooperzet79]

Just to give you some background I've suffered from gynecomastia since about the age of 11. When I was 17 (about 1996) I went to my GP and got sent to see a specialist who said there is nothing that can be done and I should try not to worry about it. But of course I couldn't stop worrying about it! In 2001 I took the plunge to have chest reduction surgery, which was basically just lipo. Back then I was young, naive, hadn't been diagnosed properly and didn't do my research. Of course the lipo did nothing except make my chest look uneven and I fell into an even deeper depression than before. I finally made the decision to put it out of my mind, that a solution wasn't possible and I'd just have to live with it. Over the next 10 years I struggled to be honest, it was affecting my life in so many ways - the clothes I wear, the holidays I went on, the activities I did, etc. Then about 18 months ago I started researching again and found this awesome site! If only this was available back in 1996!! I was determined to get this fixed, do thorough research this time, and find the best possible surgeon - especially as I now had a more complicated case (previous surgery caused scar tissue and uneven breasts). I went back to my GP in March and had some blood tests done to check for any possible underlying causes. It all came back normal and I was told there is nothing the NHS will do and I’d have to go private.

After months of trawling the net, this site and a few consultations I got it boiled down to Dr Jacobs in NYC and Dr. Karidis in London. I had consultations with both (I live in London but sometimes visit NYC on business) and was vastly more impressed with Dr. Jacobs. He is a real specialist in this area and gyne makes up the bulk of his work (over 300 cases per year of which many are revision cases). Most important to me of course was his experience in revision cases. Dr. Karidis clearly does great work from what I've read on this site but I had two consultations with him and just didn't feel comfortable. This shouldn't be a personality contest but I found him a bit arrogant and a little dismissive. It also bothered me that he would do 6 gyne surgeries in a morning and wouldn't see you afterwards, not even a quick 5 mins to tell you how it went! It just all felt a little impersonal and I worried that if my case was a little more complicated would he really take the necessary time and care? He also had less experience in revision cases, I think he quoted approx 6 to 7 a year. One thing that Dr Jacobs said that resonated loudly for me was that he would do whatever it takes to get the best result, and regardless of how long it would take.

I had a bit of a dilemma about what to do. Living in London I really wanted Dr. Karidis to be the man for the job, but I couldn't get over my unease. That’s why I went to see him a second time (which was free of charge I should add). I really don't want to discourage anyone from using Dr. Karidis because he clearly does a great job from the reviews I’ve seen on this site. But I opted for Dr. Jacobs as I felt he was the better choice given his experience and understanding. In terms of cost they were both very similar, Karidis £5k and Jacobs £5.3k. It’s a lot of money but there was no way I was going to risk heading off to a developing country to find a bargain. I know that I’m very fortunate that I can afford it. Luckily I had a shit load of BA miles to use and was able to book both flights and hotel with them, I just had to pay flight taxes of £350. To be honest it was a daunting prospect going abroad but I was so determined to get this fixed, and by the best person possible. In addition I’ve never told or confided in anyone about this problem, such is the embarrassment, so even if I had the surgery in London I was still doing it on my own.

But anyway, it’s all over now! I flew out to NYC and had the op earlier this month, and it went far more smoothly than I could have hoped! I had the op on a Thursday morning and was up and wandering round NYC on the Friday! Amazingly I had no pain at all and didn’t need to take any pain killers, even bruising was minimal. Whether it’s my body, or the surgeons skill I don’t know. Dr Jacobs has designed his own special cannula to remove both fat and breast tissue which means in many of his ops he doesn’t need to make an incision into the nipples to do an excision. I was certain before the op that he would have to do a nipple excision so was very pleasantly surprised when I came round to be told he had managed to remove it all with the cannula (this is via a small incision underneath the armpit). Anyway Dr. Jacobs saw me after the op and said everything had gone well. I had a nice weekend in NYC doing some shopping and seeing the sights, and then went back to Dr. Jacobs on the Monday for the first check up before flying home that evening. Before the op I had been a bit worried about the flight home in case I was feeling ill or weak etc but in the end it was no issue at all. I had the rest of that week off for recovery and went back to work the following Monday. To be honest I could have gone back to work sooner but didn’t know how my body was going to cope.

As of now I’m just over 3 weeks post op. It’s taken a while to get used to sleeping on my back but other than that it’s been pretty easy going. The stitches on each side have now fallen out and I’m still wearing the binder 24/7. I can stop wearing it after 4 weeks but Dr. Jacobs advised to try and keep using it for 6 weeks, so that’s what I’ll do. In terms of the result it’s looking pretty good already. The right side appears to be a bit more swollen than the left, and generally the chest has hardened up a bit, but this is all normal healing events I guess. I’ll make sure I post some pictures soon, I’d be interested to know what people think.

By the way the anesthesia and antibiotics caused some chronic constipation about a week after the op so I would recommend having some laxatives to hand and eat plenty of good fiber!

Finally (for this post at least) I just want to say a huge thanks to this site and all those who have contributed with their experiences and advice. It’s been truly invaluable! If only I had found this 15 years ago! I’ll try my best to give updates on my recovery and results and I’ll put some before and after pics up. My ultimate dream is to be strutting down the beach with my shirt off and can’t wait to be posting that picture! Fingers crossed!

[hatingdaboobs]

Congratulations on your surgery and keep us posted. I plan to visit Dr. Jacobs as soon as possible.

[puffynipplesdrivemecrazy]

Glad to hear all is well.

Im sure us brits would love to see a price breakdown as well as pictures.

Just to give you some background I've suffered from gynecomastia since about the age of 11. When I was 17 (about 1996) I went to my GP and got sent to see a specialist who said there is nothing that can be done and I should try not to worry about it. But of course I couldn't stop worrying about it! In 2001 I took the plunge to have chest reduction surgery, which was basically just lipo. Back then I was young, naive, hadn't been diagnosed properly and didn't do my research. Of course the lipo did nothing except make my chest look uneven and I fell into an even deeper depression than before. I finally made the decision to put it out of my mind, that a solution wasn't possible and I'd just have to live with it. Over the next 10 years I struggled to be honest, it was affecting my life in so many ways - the clothes I wear, the holidays I went on, the activities I did, etc. Then about 18 months ago I started researching again and found this awesome site! If only this was available back in 1996!! I was determined to get this fixed, do thorough research this time, and find the best possible surgeon - especially as I now had a more complicated case (previous surgery caused scar tissue and uneven breasts). I went back to my GP in March and had some blood tests done to check for any possible underlying causes. It all came back normal and I was told there is nothing the NHS will do and I’d have to go private.

After months of trawling the net, this site and a few consultations I got it boiled down to Dr Jacobs in NYC and Dr. Karidis in London. I had consultations with both (I live in London but sometimes visit NYC on business) and was vastly more impressed with Dr. Jacobs. He is a real specialist in this area and gyne makes up the bulk of his work (over 300 cases per year of which many are revision cases). Most important to me of course was his experience in revision cases. Dr. Karidis clearly does great work from what I've read on this site but I had two consultations with him and just didn't feel comfortable. This shouldn't be a personality contest but I found him a bit arrogant and a little dismissive. It also bothered me that he would do 6 gyne surgeries in a morning and wouldn't see you afterwards, not even a quick 5 mins to tell you how it went! It just all felt a little impersonal and I worried that if my case was a little more complicated would he really take the necessary time and care? He also had less experience in revision cases, I think he quoted approx 6 to 7 a year. One thing that Dr Jacobs said that resonated loudly for me was that he would do whatever it takes to get the best result, and regardless of how long it would take.

I had a bit of a dilemma about what to do. Living in London I really wanted Dr. Karidis to be the man for the job, but I couldn't get over my unease. That’s why I went to see him a second time (which was free of charge I should add). I really don't want to discourage anyone from using Dr. Karidis because he clearly does a great job from the reviews I’ve seen on this site. But I opted for Dr. Jacobs as I felt he was the better choice given his experience and understanding. In terms of cost they were both very similar, Karidis £5k and Jacobs £5.3k. It’s a lot of money but there was no way I was going to risk heading off to a developing country to find a bargain. I know that I’m very fortunate that I can afford it. Luckily I had a shit load of BA miles to use and was able to book both flights and hotel with them, I just had to pay flight taxes of £350. To be honest it was a daunting prospect going abroad but I was so determined to get this fixed, and by the best person possible. In addition I’ve never told or confided in anyone about this problem, such is the embarrassment, so even if I had the surgery in London I was still doing it on my own.

But anyway, it’s all over now! I flew out to NYC and had the op earlier this month, and it went far more smoothly than I could have hoped! I had the op on a Thursday morning and was up and wandering round NYC on the Friday! Amazingly I had no pain at all and didn’t need to take any pain killers, even bruising was minimal. Whether it’s my body, or the surgeons skill I don’t know. Dr Jacobs has designed his own special cannula to remove both fat and breast tissue which means in many of his ops he doesn’t need to make an incision into the nipples to do an excision. I was certain before the op that he would have to do a nipple excision so was very pleasantly surprised when I came round to be told he had managed to remove it all with the cannula (this is via a small incision underneath the armpit). Anyway Dr. Jacobs saw me after the op and said everything had gone well. I had a nice weekend in NYC doing some shopping and seeing the sights, and then went back to Dr. Jacobs on the Monday for the first check up before flying home that evening. Before the op I had been a bit worried about the flight home in case I was feeling ill or weak etc but in the end it was no issue at all. I had the rest of that week off for recovery and went back to work the following Monday. To be honest I could have gone back to work sooner but didn’t know how my body was going to cope.

As of now I’m just over 3 weeks post op. It’s taken a while to get used to sleeping on my back but other than that it’s been pretty easy going. The stitches on each side have now fallen out and I’m still wearing the binder 24/7. I can stop wearing it after 4 weeks but Dr. Jacobs advised to try and keep using it for 6 weeks, so that’s what I’ll do. In terms of the result it’s looking pretty good already. The right side appears to be a bit more swollen than the left, and generally the chest has hardened up a bit, but this is all normal healing events I guess. I’ll make sure I post some pictures soon, I’d be interested to know what people think.

By the way the anesthesia and antibiotics caused some chronic constipation about a week after the op so I would recommend having some laxatives to hand and eat plenty of good fiber!

Finally (for this post at least) I just want to say a huge thanks to this site and all those who have contributed with their experiences and advice. It’s been truly invaluable! If only I had found this 15 years ago! I’ll try my best to give updates on my recovery and results and I’ll put some before and after pics up. My ultimate dream is to be strutting down the beach with my shirt off and can’t wait to be posting that picture! Fingers crossed!

[dan716]

A very long and good post - well done on sorting out thisd condition for yourself and getting the surgery.

I wouldn't recommend a UK citizen flying out to NYC to undergo gyne surgery - this sounds unnecessary because there is an expert UK surgeon in Dr Levick who operated on me successfully, he knows his craft.

[ahnuld]

Good post.

I saw 3 Dr's for my revision surgery - The surgery first with Dr Katarzyna Ostrowska Clark. (Whom I might add takes phenomenal care of you. You are usually the ONLY person under her care. Very professional)

Then unfortunately got a haematoma which needed Kenalog treatment - whom I first consulted with Dr. Karidis in London and I totally agree with you. I would avoid this Dr personally. I had emailed him about my problem and he told me to come in, yet when I got there my money was taken and I was in and out within 5 minutes. He's extremely dismissive and instead of telling me via email that he didn't use Kenalog because of the side effects, (of which I was already aware of) he made me come in to tell me. A loss of consultation fee and a loss of a days work as I had to take an unpaid day off. Thoroughly unimpressed and I would avoid.

Thirdly, I went to see Dr Jacobs for Kenalog. I am going to start my own post because I do have slight issues with each Dr i saw - I think my experiences might help anybody getting surgery and/or Kenalog.

Thanks for this post.

[Gammy]

You should have considered Mr Levick - Awesome results, a real gent, in the UK!