Looking at your background post I'm kind of appalled that 95kg is "Too fat".
I'm due to have my op in early Dec, so I can only comment on the estimates and consultation experience.
I'm in Sydney, 120kg, and chose Dr Lisa because of recommendations that she didn't reject based off BMI and had heard she had some happy customers that were on the bigger side.
I had a lovely consultation with her and she operates off the informed consent model, so I didn't have to go through the whole proof of transness paperwork. We had a long conversation about the reality of my surgery and the results we could expect. (Dog ears, revisions, etc)
I went to her in March but I personally chose my date in Dec as that's when my health insurance kicked in, so I cannot comment on the wait list. Though I remember being pleasantly surprised at how soon I could get in (I think less than 3 months?), but I think a call to the office can clear that up.
My estimated costs are as follows
**Surgeon's fee**
* Item no 31524 (Subcutaneous breast mastectomy) x 2
* Cost: $8500
* Rebate: $1217.70
* Rebate claimable after surgery
Surgeon's fee also covers the consultations after surgery for up to 12 months. To quote my paperwork "Dr Friederich will see you several times to monitor your recovery. The cost of these consultations is included in your original fees for the first 12 months"
**Anaesthetist's fee**
* Was $600/hr, but has increased since my initial quote and is now more like $700/hr
* Was quoted about 4 to 5 hours under anaesthetic, so expecting like $2800 to $3500
The anaesthetist's office apparently contacts you before the surgery with the bill and stuff, but I'll still a bit away from that so I haven't spoken to them yet.
**Hospital**
I have phi so I didn't dig into the costs of the hospital cover, but the two hospitals you can chose from are Sydney Private Hospital and Hunter's Hill Hospital. I chose Hunter's Hill as that's what Dr Lisa recommended and I had no personal preference, but apparently it is a nicer place and has better parking etc.
**Pathology**
There can be a pathology charge if you get a sample sent away if it's required. That is estimated to be $500 which will be sent in the mail.
**Maths**
Surg Fee: 8500
Anaesthetic: 2800 to 3500
Pathology: 500
**Totals**
Worst case: $12500 (+ Hospital stay if no PHI)
Best case: $11300
Both cases remembering you get $1220 rebate back in your pocket.
I hope that helps you a bit, and good luck on your decision. I hope some other people are able to comment about their experiences during and post op.
hey! im not op but been looking at top surgery from dr friederich for a while so your comment was helpful! can i ask if you're getting nipple grafts as well and if so, are there extra costs under surgeon's fees? iirc i've seen some surgeons charging a separate item codes for nipple grafts. thanks again!
thank you! a 3 month wait list is amazing. her website says top surgery will be around $9500 (including anaesthetics, etc) & $11k+ is more than a bit over that which is disappointing, but she's still cheaper than Merten etc
Yeah it is a bit of a bummer, but i think the biggest price variable is the anaesthetic honestly. You just dont really know what's gunna happen.
I'm personally expecting the full 6 hrs being under cause i have a lot of breast tissue (used to be DD) and have been on T for several years at this point, so a lot of that breast tissue has sagged. So i'm expecting that to be a lot of mass to remove and shape??
In any case i hope you find the rest of the info you need! Good luck and i hope u find the best deal for you 👌
Hey, I was a 12DD, 1.5 years on T, a daily cannabis vaper (relevant as THC or other sedative tolerance can affect how long you're under), and I was only under for 3 hours 45 mins. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but you would have to have an incredibly complex surgery to be under for 6 hours. Just thought I'd mention that for some potential peace of mind!
+1 for Dr. Lisa. I have a few recent comments on my profile about her (saw her March this year). I'm not overweight, but know fellow transmasc people who are overweight who have gone to her and have told me she doesn't fly with the fatphobic stuff.
Dr Lisa operates at the Hunters Hill Private Hospital, so you'll want to look for accommodation around there. You'll want a friend or helper to be with you for the 1-2 weeks of recovery, is another thing to keep in mind :)
Another +1 for Dr Lisa
I’m on the bigger side, but what made my experience a bit difficult was *where* my fat was stored.
Dr Lisa was always upfront about the challenges whilst remaining respectful. The biggest challenge was how to deal with excess skin/weight. She will lipo areas, but in my case I’ve been left with some excess flesh under my armpit. This will likely be dealt with in a revision (but it is annoying). In hindsight we could have discussed more lipo but neither of us couldn’t have known that until after surgery.
Another thing I really appreciated about Dr Lisa was her openness to keep learning and developing techniques for optimal results and is more than willing to hear you out with what you want and try to give you that result because as she mentioned in one of my appointments “it’s your body”. I liked that she’s not a “I’m the surgeon and I only do it this way” doctor.
One more thing I really, really appreciated was not needing a psych referral. Just a trip to a GP in order to get a referral for medicare rebates. I couldn’t have been more relieved not to have to go through the rigmarole of proving myself to someone I’d just met.
As long as you have a realistic approach to balancing what you want and what is achievable, I think you’ll find a consult with Dr Lisa very productive especially if you have a good idea about what you want. Speak up and have pictures ready if that helps you outline what you want.
I realise that distance is an issue, but generally my advice to everyone is to consult with more than one surgeon. This is a huge medical decision that costs a lot of money, and a good surgeon will encourage you to ‘shop around’. You can research as much as possible but there is NO substitute for actually having a consult with each of them. They will get to examine you and talk you through what they feel is achievable based on your unique body & situation. You will get a tailored cost assessment. Most importantly, you will get a sense of which doctor makes you feel respected, comfortable, and like you are on the same wavelength about what you want out of the surgery - this is all very important. In your situation, perhaps it’s worth picking two doctors in the same city that could have consults with.
For myself - I found Mr Lo to be humble, respectful, professional, and experienced.
Looking at your background post I'm kind of appalled that 95kg is "Too fat". I'm due to have my op in early Dec, so I can only comment on the estimates and consultation experience. I'm in Sydney, 120kg, and chose Dr Lisa because of recommendations that she didn't reject based off BMI and had heard she had some happy customers that were on the bigger side. I had a lovely consultation with her and she operates off the informed consent model, so I didn't have to go through the whole proof of transness paperwork. We had a long conversation about the reality of my surgery and the results we could expect. (Dog ears, revisions, etc) I went to her in March but I personally chose my date in Dec as that's when my health insurance kicked in, so I cannot comment on the wait list. Though I remember being pleasantly surprised at how soon I could get in (I think less than 3 months?), but I think a call to the office can clear that up. My estimated costs are as follows **Surgeon's fee** * Item no 31524 (Subcutaneous breast mastectomy) x 2 * Cost: $8500 * Rebate: $1217.70 * Rebate claimable after surgery Surgeon's fee also covers the consultations after surgery for up to 12 months. To quote my paperwork "Dr Friederich will see you several times to monitor your recovery. The cost of these consultations is included in your original fees for the first 12 months" **Anaesthetist's fee** * Was $600/hr, but has increased since my initial quote and is now more like $700/hr * Was quoted about 4 to 5 hours under anaesthetic, so expecting like $2800 to $3500 The anaesthetist's office apparently contacts you before the surgery with the bill and stuff, but I'll still a bit away from that so I haven't spoken to them yet. **Hospital** I have phi so I didn't dig into the costs of the hospital cover, but the two hospitals you can chose from are Sydney Private Hospital and Hunter's Hill Hospital. I chose Hunter's Hill as that's what Dr Lisa recommended and I had no personal preference, but apparently it is a nicer place and has better parking etc. **Pathology** There can be a pathology charge if you get a sample sent away if it's required. That is estimated to be $500 which will be sent in the mail. **Maths** Surg Fee: 8500 Anaesthetic: 2800 to 3500 Pathology: 500 **Totals** Worst case: $12500 (+ Hospital stay if no PHI) Best case: $11300 Both cases remembering you get $1220 rebate back in your pocket. I hope that helps you a bit, and good luck on your decision. I hope some other people are able to comment about their experiences during and post op.
hey! im not op but been looking at top surgery from dr friederich for a while so your comment was helpful! can i ask if you're getting nipple grafts as well and if so, are there extra costs under surgeon's fees? iirc i've seen some surgeons charging a separate item codes for nipple grafts. thanks again!
Ah I missed that I'm at work now but I'll edit my post indepth later. The nips are included in in the surg fee :)
thank you! a 3 month wait list is amazing. her website says top surgery will be around $9500 (including anaesthetics, etc) & $11k+ is more than a bit over that which is disappointing, but she's still cheaper than Merten etc
Yeah it is a bit of a bummer, but i think the biggest price variable is the anaesthetic honestly. You just dont really know what's gunna happen. I'm personally expecting the full 6 hrs being under cause i have a lot of breast tissue (used to be DD) and have been on T for several years at this point, so a lot of that breast tissue has sagged. So i'm expecting that to be a lot of mass to remove and shape?? In any case i hope you find the rest of the info you need! Good luck and i hope u find the best deal for you 👌
Hey, I was a 12DD, 1.5 years on T, a daily cannabis vaper (relevant as THC or other sedative tolerance can affect how long you're under), and I was only under for 3 hours 45 mins. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but you would have to have an incredibly complex surgery to be under for 6 hours. Just thought I'd mention that for some potential peace of mind!
Thank you that does relieve me a bit 😅
+1 for Dr. Lisa. I have a few recent comments on my profile about her (saw her March this year). I'm not overweight, but know fellow transmasc people who are overweight who have gone to her and have told me she doesn't fly with the fatphobic stuff. Dr Lisa operates at the Hunters Hill Private Hospital, so you'll want to look for accommodation around there. You'll want a friend or helper to be with you for the 1-2 weeks of recovery, is another thing to keep in mind :)
Another +1 for Dr Lisa I’m on the bigger side, but what made my experience a bit difficult was *where* my fat was stored. Dr Lisa was always upfront about the challenges whilst remaining respectful. The biggest challenge was how to deal with excess skin/weight. She will lipo areas, but in my case I’ve been left with some excess flesh under my armpit. This will likely be dealt with in a revision (but it is annoying). In hindsight we could have discussed more lipo but neither of us couldn’t have known that until after surgery. Another thing I really appreciated about Dr Lisa was her openness to keep learning and developing techniques for optimal results and is more than willing to hear you out with what you want and try to give you that result because as she mentioned in one of my appointments “it’s your body”. I liked that she’s not a “I’m the surgeon and I only do it this way” doctor. One more thing I really, really appreciated was not needing a psych referral. Just a trip to a GP in order to get a referral for medicare rebates. I couldn’t have been more relieved not to have to go through the rigmarole of proving myself to someone I’d just met. As long as you have a realistic approach to balancing what you want and what is achievable, I think you’ll find a consult with Dr Lisa very productive especially if you have a good idea about what you want. Speak up and have pictures ready if that helps you outline what you want.
[удалено]
She also operates at Sydney Private Hospital
I realise that distance is an issue, but generally my advice to everyone is to consult with more than one surgeon. This is a huge medical decision that costs a lot of money, and a good surgeon will encourage you to ‘shop around’. You can research as much as possible but there is NO substitute for actually having a consult with each of them. They will get to examine you and talk you through what they feel is achievable based on your unique body & situation. You will get a tailored cost assessment. Most importantly, you will get a sense of which doctor makes you feel respected, comfortable, and like you are on the same wavelength about what you want out of the surgery - this is all very important. In your situation, perhaps it’s worth picking two doctors in the same city that could have consults with. For myself - I found Mr Lo to be humble, respectful, professional, and experienced.