Surgeon needed + how to get endo system checked

[OnlyMe]

Hello

I have recently visted my GP and he told me I have gynemastia, ive had it since i was 12 and am now 20.

Can anyone recommend any surgeon in the North East of England area (Newcastle upon Tyne) and also tell me how i get my endo system checked.

As i have heard i need this done before I consider surgery.

Thanks

[man-chest-r]

OK, your gp should be able to refer you on the NHS for endo tests, and if he/she has said that you have gyne then he/she should know it is important to have it done, to see if there is not an underlying cause.

Check the normal  cosmetic surgery providers around you to start with. I set up a seperate gmail account, and emailed bupa and the other plastic surgery offerers where I live.

They came back with ballpark prices - you need to check what is included what isn't, in terms of possible revision treatment etc. They also named surgeons who you can check out in various ways, not least here. I had to pay for a meet with a BUPA surgeon, £100, but it was worth it because over all it was cheaper than most (£2.5K, not £2K as I posted somewhere else). I also saw a BUPA endo, that cost me £150, but the tests would have been a few grand, so he transferred me to his NHS list, so I cancelled my appointment with another NHS surgery.

Dealing with it is the main thing. You can check out the guys who went to Polonad here too.

[Bob1981]

Er, I'm sure that should read Poland.  See various threads.

[Time_to_fix_it]

Hi Onlyme,

I'm no doctor so here are my thoughts as a layman on this.

First the hormones.

I see from this post that you have had Gyne since the age of 12.  As you may know pubescent hormonal imbalances are very common at that age and Gyne can often be a result.  Most pubescent Gyne disappears on its own within a year or two.  Some don’t, as seems to be your case.

If:
•   Your general health is good.
•   You aren’t taking any medication (some can cause Gyne as a side effect).
•   You have developed in all other ways normally as a male (body hair, voice broken, testicles dropped etc).
•   There is no pain or tenderness in your boobs.
•   Your Gyne hasn’t gotten any larger since puberty.

Then it is most likely that your hormones have settled themselves back into balance naturally.  You might want to talk this over with your GP and ask him or her to run a hormone profile on you just to check, but the chances are he/she won’t want to waste the NHS money on the blood tests.  However I personally would still ask.  If he is up for it then it wouldn’t do any harm knowing that Testosterone, Oestradiol, FSH, SHBG and LH are within the normal ranges.  Given the above points I personally wouldn’t spend any of my own money on endocrine testing.  As I said before there is the very strong likelihood that your Gyne was caused by a temporary pubescent hormonal imbalance that has corrected itself.

Onto the surgery itself.

I think I said in my reply to your post on the Gynecomastia Talk section, to check out several Plastic Surgeons if you opt for surgery.  Most of them will charge you a consultation fee, but don’t be put off by that.  The kind of info I wanted from them when I was looking around was:
•   How often did they do this procedure?
•   How exactly did they perform the surgery (liposuction and or glandular excision) and where were the cuts made.
•   Did they have before and after photos as examples?
•   How much would the TOTAL cost be?
•   What kind of guarantees did they give and for how long.  If revision surgery was required would it cost more or be included in the original price?
•   Are there patients who would recommend him/her?

A lot of information on surgeons like Karidis (London), Levick (Birmingham) and the Polish clinics can be found by reading the posts on here from people who have used them.  I did my research and used Levick.  You will find quite a lot of posts from people on here who are very happy with his results, but there is one patient who isn’t happy.  The same could be said of the Polish Clinics and I expect of Karidis as well.  There will be other surgeons of course but I personally wouldn’t use any surgeon who isn’t very experienced in this procedure.  Gyne correction surgery is not like a female mastectomy.

I can offer some information on Levick because he is who I used.  I’m sure others who have used the Polish Clinics and Karidis etc can do the same for those surgeons they used.

My info on Paul Levick:
•   I believe he does around 200 of these procedures a year.
•   He had the condition himself once and can emphasise with how we feel about it.
•   He does liposuction and glandular excision through a small incision under each armpit.
•   He works from The Priory Hospital in Birmingham.
•   You normally have the surgery on the first day and spend the first night in hospital.
•   He has lots of before and after photos.
•   The total cost is around £4000 which includes all fees and all fees required should a revision be necessary.  Some surgeons will do the revision for free but you still have to pay anaesthetists and hospitals fees.
•   You will find quite a lot of posts about patients who have used him on here.

As I say others will hopefully fill in the same details for who they used.  However I think it is still worthwhile having consultations with several surgeons.  In my opinion there is nothing quite like meeting the surgeon and seeing how you feel about him or her.

[man-chest-r]

yes, Poland, not Polonad....

Sounds like a nice place though.