Communicating about surgery options

Chirps, I watched your "Not Putting on a Shirt" video on YouTube. I'm sorry the plastic surgeon didn't listen to you and didn't give you the result you'd asked for and agreed upon. Surgeons should be honest and clear about what they'll do!

I saw my surgeon 5 1/2 months before my surgery and then I wasn't allowed to have another appointment with her, so I only got to see her right before I went under and she didn't tell me clearly what to expect. She said she wanted to leave fat ridges but they would be small on me but they're not as small as I expected. It's not too bad for me but I don't understand why it isn't basic practice to be clear about the end result.

Chirps, thanks for the clarification. I'm glad you had a better experience. Thank you, I agree with everything you said. One of the problems with breast surgery or any surgery is that a patient doesn't necessarily know what to ask, if they're not given all the clear information they should be given beforehand.

BC treatment is all still so very barbaric and although great strides have been made in our treatment there is still major room for improvement. Really all BC doctors should be reading these forums and trying to find ways to reduce some of the suffering they cause. This is hard enough.

It's so true that we are told all these decisions are up to us as we are being rushed into our first treatments but really don't know all the questions we need to be asking.

I had a double mastectomy with prepectoral TEs. I wish I had known there were different size and shape TEs. I've ended up with misshapen, way over sized TEs both in width and ccs. Also my right one has shifted under my armpit so I'm wearing an ace bandage to keep it in place until my exchange. There's going to have to be a pocket revision necessary too.

My PS is a jerk. He only talks to my husband if he's in the room and behaves like he finds my questions irritating. I think he's almost ready to retire like a tenured teacher who is just itching to be finished. I think he's also old school from a time when patients passively just trusted that he knew best. I'm getting a second opinion for my exchange and am going to be more informed about my implant selection. I'm in the middle of chemotherapy so I have the time to go into this next surgery more informed and hopefully with more trust in my surgeon.

The weird thing is I actually think my old PS is a good surgeon but his cavalier attitude makes me not trust that I'll end up with what I want. Although he initially upset me I let him do the first surgery because he was part of my team and my onco surgeon was incredible and liked working with him. I cared more about skill than 'bedside manner' for the cancer treatment part. Now it's about aesthetics and being heard.

I just watched the video on you tube. What a brave beautiful woman. Like I said before this is hard enough. We shouldn't have to deal with fighting for respect. There is honestly a comment under her video from a doctor asking if she has psychological issues.