no joy with 2nd NHS surgeon...still no surgery offered

[rockstar6181]

Saw another Surgeon today on the NHS, he said my case wasnt bad enough to be worth the risk of an op. He was very friendly guy but really put across that he couldnt do the op very well, made it sound like I was going to be butchered with big scars, nipples sunken in etc

Anyhow he is putting me on tamoxfien for 6 months to which said ok

Due to an NHS blunder in the booking system I have another appointment with him in 1 month unless I cancel, am thinking about just going back and saying I want Surgery and not allow myself to be talked out of it/ no for an answer.

I am so dissapointed with this, my gyno is like to big lumps hanging off my chest, he said they are 1cm deep when he did his scan device, I pay my taxes and get awful service, i am so unhappy with all this.

Is there anywhere I can complain and get this reversed?

[Time_to_fix_it]

I know how you feel.  I approached my local NHS breast surgeon who basically told me he didn’t have the funding or time to do gyne work on men.  He said his job was to fight cancer.

I think his comment was unfair and it made me feel pretty humble at the time, but he actually did me a favour.  Looking back he didn’t have the experience for this kind of surgery.  He was used to carrying out mastectomies on women and gynecomastia reduction is NOT a mastectomy.  I eventually went privately to see Mr Levick in Birmingham who is probably the most experienced surgeon for gynecomastia correction in the UK.  I did resent the fact that the NHS weren’t interested in my problem, but I was fortunate enough to be able to save up over several months and pay for it myself.

You don’t give a lot of information as to how old you are and how long you have had gyne.  The fact that your doctor has put you on Tamoxifen suggests to me that he or she is hoping that the gyne will resolve itself with the medication.  It is generally understood that Tamoxifen can sometimes reverse gyne but only if it is used in the early stages of growth, i.e. the first year or so.  After a year or 18 months the breast tissue becomes fibrous and unreceptive to the reversal effects of Tamoxifen.

As for complaining, I think you have 2 options.

1.   You can of course go back to your GP and ask for a referral to another surgeon, but I think you will have to do all the work and find one who is experienced in this work.
2.   You could of course complain to your Primary Care Trust that you feel you are not being properly treated by your local surgeon.  If (and it’s a very big if) they agreed with you and told the surgeon to operate on you.  Do you really want to be operated on by someone who may not have the knowledge or experience and who has been told to do so against his own wishes?

There are people on here who have had excellent results with NHS surgeons.  If the NHS is your only option maybe you should trawl the posts in the UK section and find out who they are and ask them for their surgeon’s name.  Armed with this go back to your GP and ask for a referral to that surgeon.  You may have to be a little pushy with the GP as they are sometimes reluctant to referring outside of their own area, but they will do it when pushed.

Good luck and keep us posted as to how you get on.

[outertrial]

I wouldnt bother complaining to be honest. Ive had multiple trips back and forth to the hospital being given the good old run around from the nhs and in the end ive come to the conclusion that the nhs are about as much use as a chocolate fire guard for this condition. Im seeing  a ps in spain now that ill pay for, its less than the uk but the consult i had with him was a dozen times better than the nhs surgeoni saw even if i could ever get the nhs to fund it which seems next to impossible when it actually comes down to it.

I know its annoying but what would you rather do, pay someone who knows what theyre doing or have it done for freewith someone who doesnt, go through all the humiliation that the nhs put you through, wait months or years and still not get it sorted out? Not to be confrontational with the above poster but I would like to see the links to the people who have had excellent results with nhs surgeons as my experience on this board has been the the nhs provides a very hit and miss service at best with gyne.  I havent heard of anyopne getting their chest screwed up by the nhs but i have read of plenty of people who went thrpugh the wholeop , 6 months of compression vests etc and it just wasnt any better.

[Hypo-is-here]

Some NHS trusts try and avoid paying for surgeries at all cost.

Very often you need to get a new referral, NOT just to another doctor, but in fact another hospital trust.

[GynO_DuDe]

Well im 19 and simply cant afford a private surgeon so I went to my GP. He referred me to a Surgeon which I saw within 4 weeks after visiting my GP ... after the consultation with my surgeons assistant he said the next time i'll see you is on the surgery day so we'll get you on the waiting list ... it's now the end of January and I went in October so Im personally expecting the surgery to be sometime in June/July as he did mention if I had any examinations all I had to do is ask to have the date changed so usually examinations fall during June/July hence im assuming this is when I should be getting it done.

I also asked if they had done many gyno sugerys on men before he said yes its been done numerous times he also explained the procedure saying that they'd make a small incision on the nipple and remove the glands and then i'd be on drains and should be let out the following day and would have to come back for checkups etc etc ....

So in general FOR ME everything sounds OK so far.

Not everyones had poor service on the NHS. I mean you got to think of it this way ... its free. Your not exactly paying them £4,000 for priority service...

[Hypo-is-here]

Not everyones had poor service on the NHS.

True- you haven't for one.

I mean you got to think of it this way ... its free. Your not exactly paying them £4,000 for priority service...

Haha  Very easy for you to say because as you admit your situation is working out well.  That type of philosphical argument stems from a man, his concerns and mind well treated.  For many people your experience is nothing like what they go through.  If you had gone through their experiences your comment above would not be so off hand or glib, in fact you would sound very much how they do.

You cannot count the miles until you feel them 

[SOAD]

Not everyones had poor service on the NHS.

True- you haven't for one.

I mean you got to think of it this way ... its free. Your not exactly paying them £4,000 for priority service...

Haha  Very easy for you to say because as you admit your situation is working out well.  That type of philosphical argument stems from a man, his concerns and mind well treated.  For many people your experience is nothing like what they go through.  If you had gone through their experiences your comment above would not be so off hand or glib, in fact you would sound very much how they do.

You cannot count the miles until you feel them 

Exactly. I was sent back and forth to my NHS surgeon/assistant. There were so many inconsitencies (sp) in what they said to be it gave me very little confidence they knew exactly what they were doing themself. When it came to the final decision about whether or not I should have a surgery, the actual surgeon looked at me for the _first_ time he ever had and contradicted everyone else, saying that I would need skin removal etc..... I very much doubt this is necessary since my gyne is no worse than a lot of people on here who have not needed skin correction, but he insisted that without it I would looked just as bad. With the skin correction, I would have very bad visible scars.

It made me give up on the NHS route.

[Hypo-is-here]

Again, trouble with NHS is you might as well go to India or Africa for treatment since all the consultnats and surgeons working within the NHS seem to hail from these continents! if you go to Poland you will get a Polish Surgeon with Polish standards and Polish mentality.  NHS = Indian or African surgeon (eg) = African or Indian mentality.

you decide if that is good or bad!!!

I think a lot of people will find your implication offensive, I know I do. 

What you have implied is ignorant at best and racist at worst. 

We all have or have had our issues with this problem and often with the institutions or individuals that we have come across along the way.  Perhaps some of us have not been treated properly or as we should have and that has made life tougher for us. 

BUT!

We cannot tar everyone with the same brush and end up with bitter prejudicial views.   Such bitterness and feelings have never ever helped anyone ever in any context, they only reduce our humanity and lesson who we are.  Treat everyone as you find them irrespective of race/ethnicity and origin and don’t use generalistations of this nature unless you want to end up suffering from problems that you have brought upon yourself.

Sorry for the moral lecture but……

[Hypo-is-here]

elderkid your last post is pure hyperbole and semantics and childish/mentally questionable hyperbole and semantics at that.

I shall ignore much of your post as it doesn’t warrant any response.

What I will say is this;

If you are going to make incredibly poor and racist or deeply ignorant remarks then don’t be surprised when someone pulls you up about them.

You say that you were not being racist, that I am being PC or even that I am racist.

I remind you again of your comments;

if you go to Poland you will get a Polish Surgeon with Polish standards and Polish mentality.  NHS = Indian or African surgeon (eg) = African or Indian mentality.

Polish mentality, African or Indian mentality?

I see, so such sweeping generalizations are not racist?  Mmmm interesting.

Also you think that ALL surgeons on the NHS are African or Indian with “that mentality”.  Dear me.

Not only do you need to stop making such racist or deeply ignorant comments, you also need to learn how to post in a normal adult manner.  You are either of such an age that you need someone to tell you what is acceptable and what is not and give you a clip around the ear or you are a deeply flawed individual that needs to see a mental health care practitioner to sort out some of your issues.

I am not interested in furthering any conversation with you as nothing I say will have any impact or be able to help you.

[elderkid]

Anyone who decides to undergo surgery should obviously consider peoples attitudes/mentality - read culture !

Re. seeing mental health proffesional - are you promoting yourself, or are you just a sudo expert on finestaride?

[Time_to_fix_it]

Again, trouble with NHS is you might as well go to India or Africa for treatment since all the consultnats and surgeons working within the NHS seem to hail from these continents! if you go to Poland you will get a Polish Surgeon with Polish standards and Polish mentality.  NHS = Indian or African surgeon (eg) = African or Indian mentality.

you decide if that is good or bad!!!

You have asked us to decide ... and what I have decided is that your comments are racist AND arrogant, a very dangerous mix.

The racism in your words leapt at me when I first read them.  You won’t like my opinion and I dare say will try to shout it down, but that won’t change it.  I have travelled the UK widely for over 30 years and I’ve occasionally come across people with such views as yours, but I’m pleased to say they are rare and I hope will remain so.

I have nothing more to add to this thread as I feel it has been hijacked from Rockstars initial post and is now simply encouraging the posting of racist opinions.

[elderkid]

Try traveling further afield than throughout the UK - you may be in for a big shock if you think my comments are overtly racist.  I would suggest you stay away from some Asian countrys where governments openly and deliberatly promote 2 tier systems i.e  foriegners and nationals.  I think Britain is the most tolerant country on the planet, however that is in great danger when those brainwashed by popular media attempt to stifle any comment or opinion which hasnt been fed to them.  Obvioulsy we must accept everyone as an individual, but to denie that peoples opinions and attitudes are influenced by their nationality and culture is pretty naive. 

[man-chest-r]

When I went to see my GP for my first consultation, she was a young muslim woman of asian descent, with a headscarf on. I was thinking, oh dear, how is she going to be, maybe I shouldn't have asked for an open appointment. But, I thought, what the hell, I have got this far in facing up to it.

She was absolutely brilliant.  Kind, listened, took me seriously. Got me to where I am now. My prejudice, my problem. Say no to racism.

[TommyA]

Be careful with the NHS the first consultant said they would make a huge incision from under my arm all the way around the breast area so they could lift the skin up and cut out the tissue and that the scar would be huge. I think they tried to say this to put me off having it done, I backed out with that surgeon and had it done later on the NHS with a different one who did a great job with no visible scarring only they did not take out as much as I would like and now thinking about revision.

[GynO_DuDe]

Well its now March, I might actually visit my GP some time this month to make sure everythings still OK and im still on the list to have my Surgery sometime before Summer ... Been reading too many bad stories about the NHS now, last thing I want is mine to go bad as well