Hi,
If the referral doesn't take too long I would wait for the NHS appointment with the NHS. What harm would it do to talk to him? It will be his decision whether to operate and not your GPs.
If you take the NHS refferal and he offers surgery, I would be asking him:
1. How many of these procedures has the surgeon done before? I would want to be sure the surgeon is well experienced in this procedure otherwise I would find another.
2. How often does he do them (different to how many, as he could have done 30 but over the last 30years)? I would want to know if he does them regularly.
3. Is he going to do the operation himself or is he going to supervise someone else? I wouldn’t let anyone practise on me.
4. Does he have “before” and “after” photos for you to see the results of previous patients? This would give me an idea of how good he was.
5. Is he going to remove the gland and perform liposuction to remove the fat as well? It is pretty much the experience of patients on here that liposuction to remove only fat doesn’t give a good result. The gland needs to be removed as well.
6. What method does he use? Some make small cuts around the underside of the areola to remove the gland and lipo out the fat. Some make small incisions under the armpit to remove both gland and fat through a long canula. Some (and I would avoid these surgeons) make large cuts across or under the boob to basically perform a full mastectomy. Note gynecomastia reduction is NOT a mastectomy.
7. Does the surgeon recommend the wearing of compression vests for weeks or months afterwards? Most do, and I would want to know why a surgeon doesn’t (I’d keep an open mind).
However if you take the private route an extra question I would be asking is:
If you need a revision, do you have to pay again? Some surgeons will include all or part of any revision surgery free (but many don't).
I would also add that how you feel about the surgeon when you first meet him is important. If you take the private route I would suggest you have initial consultations with at least 2.
Good luck.
