Surgeons in the Bristol area.

[timo]

Hi Guys,

Having had puffy nipples for the past few years, I have decided to opt for surgery.

I am thinking of arranging a consultation with a surgeon called Timothy Burge from Clifton Plastic Surgery in Bristol, and was wondering if anyone had heard anything regarding them. I've done a search both on Google and on this site, but have found very little. The web address for the surgery is;

www.clifton-plastic-surgery.co.uk

Also, an article regarding Timothy Burge is here;

http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/privatespecialists/find-a-doctor/obesity-surgeons/timothy-burge/

Many thanks
Tim

....and before you ask, no I'm not Timothy Burge lol

[kingboob]

Looks alright.....  he is listed on the GMC specialist register too, so all legit there.

The only way to tell is to go and have a consult and see if you are comfortable with the surgeon face to face.

[timo]

Thanks KingBoob

I've booked a consultation for June 10th. Looking forward to getting the ball rolling 

T

[timo]

I've just got back from the consultation with Dr Burge, and have to say that any apprehension I was feeling has now been swiftly removed. He was really down to earth and a pleasure to talk to. He classified my case as minor/mild and is confident in the operation going smoothly. He has performed this operation numerous times before, so that also eased any concerns I may of had.

I spoke to his practice manager regarding timescales and when I could have the operation, and to my surprise they could arrange it for July 1st, which is only 3 weeks away  She is going to call me tomorrow to go through the finer points including cost (dependant on Dr Burge's/practice manager's meeting this evening) and making the arrangements. In regards to cost, she did mention that for very small cases it would be around £2000 but would rise to £3800 for more severe cases - from my perspective, somewhere in the middle I think would be just fine 

So overall it went well, and I'm now looking ahead to the op!

T

[kingboob]

This sounds interesting for the guys in the south that don't want to travel to London.

What kind of technique does this guy use to get the gland out?  Does he do Lipo as well?

[timo]

I recieved an email from the practice manager this morning with further details;

--------

Thanks for your email.  Yes, Mr Burge says that you'll need to have the GA excision and lipo - 2 hours. Total cost is £3978.  This includes, general anaesthetic, hospital fees, an overnight stay, surgical fees, all follow ups and two pressure garments (they look like sleeveless vests - one has a zip up the middle and is first stage the second stage one has no zip).
 
Yes I have the slot still holding open for you if you still want it on Wed 1 July.  If you want to go ahead let me know what colour you would like your pressure garment, it comes in black, beige or white.  Can you tell me asap as these have to be ordered from USA and sometimes they can be a bit slow as we do not have a lot of time from now till 1 July. 1st and second choice of colour would be useful incase of stock issues.

----------

Everything sounds good so far. I think the cost is pretty much inline with the majority of surgeons in the UK so no worries there.

I'm not entirely sure what method Dr. Burge uses to extract the gland, however I will aim to find out closer to the time. He probably mentioned it during the consult but to be honest it's now a bit of a blur 

One thing I'm really pleased with is the turn around time - 3 weeks, to me, is really excellent 

T

[timo]

Hi all,

Well I'm counting down the days till the operation - currently stands at T minus 4 days

It transpired that I won't be needing a "proper" compression vest post-op, but rather the doctor thinks that because of my physique and severity of the problem I can just wear a sports compression vest - which is kind of good, as I already have a large supply of Nike Pro undergarments in my wardrobe  

Being a bit of a gym freak, the time off will certainly be a struggle, but I'm confident it will be worth it in the end!

Is the general consensus concerning returning to the gym around 3 weeks before you can attempt light workouts, and then a couple of weeks later when you can start cranking up the intensity?

T

[thetodd]

Hi all,

Well I'm counting down the days till the operation - currently stands at T minus 4 days

It transpired that I won't be needing a "proper" compression vest post-op, but rather the doctor thinks that because of my physique and severity of the problem I can just wear a sports compression vest - which is kind of good, as I already have a large supply of Nike Pro undergarments in my wardrobe  

Being a bit of a gym freak, the time off will certainly be a struggle, but I'm confident it will be worth it in the end!

Is the general consensus concerning returning to the gym around 3 weeks before you can attempt light workouts, and then a couple of weeks later when you can start cranking up the intensity?

T

alarm bells would be ringing for me, i thought they said to you £2000 for a small case and £3800 for severe (you can bet that they get 0% small cases). Now your getting quoted £3980 and not only that there not even going to supply you with a compression vest i would have replied with

"oh my condition isnt severe, great i must be a minor  case give me my 2k back"

In my opinion, theyve either ran out of vests or they are just trying to save money! A sports compression vest just isnt enough after a gyne operation ask ANY doctor on here and they will tell you that! Dont fall into the private surgery honeytrap of having "Nice doctors" and "friendly staff" because its all bullshit to get your money. Dont take any excuses off them and get what youve paid for!

best of luck with your surgery, insist that you have a vest!


EDIT: Regarding the gym id say 3 weeks for extremely large workouts, i had a large amount of fat removed and every case is different so you will have to judge at the time. But at 6 weeks today post op i can lift weights but i cant do fly's because of the scar tissue i have under my skin. Its to painfull. Expect it to take a few months to be fully weight lifting fit

[timo]

Hey Todd,

To be fair they did reduce the overall amount to co-incide with not having the compression vest, although I did think it was a bit wierd at first. My operation is on Wednesday, so I've still got time to order one today for arrival by then.

Cheers for the advice

T

[timo]

15 hours and counting

My compression garment turned up today which co-incided nicely with the surgery tomorrow. Had a trial fitting earlier which went fine - perhaps a bit on the tight side, but I'd rather have it too tight than not tight enough!!

Other than that just been relaxing today - looking forward to getting this over and done with, although to be honest it has only been 3 weeks since my consultation so the whole process thus far has gone by very quickly indeed! I've got until July 13th booked off from work, so hoping that should be sufficient time before I can get back to my job of banging my fingers against a keyboard for 8 hours a day (the joys of a software developer).

Anyways, I'll try and post up tomorrow with how the surgery went

T

[timo]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update with whats been happening the last week or so;

So basically I'm 8 days post op and everything so far has gone fine. The surgery was a complete breeze, with both the surgeon and hospital staff being very approachable and happy to help in any way that they could. The hospital itself was Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, (at the St Mary's Hospital site) and is situated about a mile from Bristol city centre. The room was certainly sufficient from a private perspective, with an en-suite, Sky TV and electric bed After the op which lasted about an hour or so, I was carted back to my room and spent most of the day watching the tennis I decided to stay their overnight, as this gave my surgeon the opportunity to have a final look the following day before sending me on my way!

So, 8 days on and I'm feeling good - the pain has completely subsided, although I haven't really felt anything too severe. I had my followup appointment yesterday with Dr Burge and he's pleased with how I'm progressing only one week after surgery.

Overall I've been pleased with the results thus far, but understand that it is still very early in the recovery process. My left side is almost what I would describe as "perfect", with very little signs of swelling since day one. The right is very good (although not on par with the left) as I've developed some hard tissue to the right and left of the nipple, which I understand to be possible scar tissue. Dr Burge also mentioned that not all the gland was removed as to reduce the chance of a "crater" effect from taking place, which I can understand.

The difference between both before and after is definitely a 100% improvement with my nipples looking perfectly normal, as opposed to to the puffiness which I was experiencing prior to surgery.

I hope this gives those in the South West who do not fancy travelling to London for surgery a possible new option in tackling this issue.

T