Has anyone had a breast enlargement on the nhs in the last few years

Please chase up on your referral with your GP. They sometimes get lost.

I personally don't see the comparison of becoming disabled and wheelchair bound to having bigger boobs, but each to their own.

This.

It's a lot of: it's shit for me, so it should be shit for you too going on.

Do you have Poland's Syndrome? No breast tissue is medical. I have no breast tissue on my left side due to Poland's Syndrome and I have had several operations because it's a condition I was born with. I have had a tissue expander, two implants a mastopexy on my right side plus fat transfer into the affected left side. It's not cosmetic. No breast tissue at all is very different to breast enlargement. Some of the replies on this thread are vile.

Please do your research on ‘breast implant illness’ and ALCL which is cancer. Also consider how you will feel about needing to replace them in 10-15 years, if you will have the funds to do so and so on.

Many women (including me!) are having them removed and if I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have had them. To add, I haven’t had any issues with them as such but even still, I live a healthy lifestyle and the risks that go with implants seem absolutely not worth it.

I have J cup boobs. I don’t go swimming. I couldn’t breastfeed either and had to exclusively express for my DC. The NHS didn’t even fix the botched vagina they left me with so there’s no point asking them to give me a breast reduction.

I can’t go swimming because of my disability. No surgery or NHS options. There are limits, the NHS cannot many everything happen for everyone I’m afraid.

I've heard stories of it happening on mental health grounds but not recently. Good luck

I wonder if the same applies for fertility treatment.

Yes, your trust offers free rounds of IVF but you should pay for it yourself anyway and stop being selfish? If you really wanted a child, you pay.

Not going to happen though, is it?

It's not OP's fault and she's perfectly right to ask. If it's not available then yes, she will have to pay. Simple as.

I think some of you should be aware that poor body image has a massive effect on individual self image and can

So ...presumably you would tell all the people whose teeth stick out not to have NHS orthodontic care and get used to the name calling etc and receive poor life choices.

I have family experience of this issue (tuberous breasts) and the transformation is beyond the cost of the operation. From hiding away throughout her teens she has blossomed into a wonderful happy person. No the NHS didn't pay and it still makes me angry for her.

You shouldn't have had to pay privately for that. Two wrongs don't make a right, no need to wish the OP the same fate!

Not personal experience but a good friend of mine had this done on the NHS for the same medical condition as you when she was 16 (she's 31 now and had them replaced about 6 years ago). I think they used skin stretchers the first time from what I remember she told me, and they had to put the implants under the muscle to make them look natural. She was told that putting them under the muscle, although a bigger surgery, has a much better effect in terms of how they look because there's no natural breast tissue to stop them otherwise looking like "bolt ons". If you do manage to get the surgery I'd suggest looking into that, hers looks really natural (other than being perky enough that she never needs a bra lol)

I know a woman with this condition and she had a boob job at 18 (paid for by her parents) because she literally didn't have any breast tissue. It was genetic I think because her grandmother had the same.

I don't disregard how much this could impact your confidence in your body.

That said, I am not surprised that boob jobs aren't regularly covered by the NHS. I don't think many people would be happy for their taxes to go towards these kinds of things when the NHS is on its knees.

I think some private surgeons can do payment plans which would make it more affordable. I also think you're right not to go abroad for it!

And while I agree with this sentiment the reality is quite different. As I had to sell my house a few years ago to pay for lipoedema liposuction on my arms and legs to keep me mobile and out of a wheelchair, I sincerely hope that the NHS is not giving out breast enlargements which genuinely are cosmetic and not related to mobility and becoming disabled if the surgery doesn't happen.

Sorry OP but you need to pay privately for your boobs 🙄

Pay for it yourself. It isn’t a medical condition that causes issues other than you not liking it. Plenty of people aren’t happy with their bodies and live with it.

Fuck me, why are some of the comments so rude?

If OP is able to get it for free, why would she choose to pay?!?! To martyr her finances, so online randoms are happy?

There is nothing wrong with asking, and clearly, this is something she's seen the GP about, that is affecting her mental health to some degree and has meant that her breasts are not functioning as expected (breastfeeding)

I used to think implants would solve my body issues. I had no breast tissue as a teen and literally visited a surgeon on my 18th birthday.

First op I lost my nipple sensation (never came back infact I only have pain). But they kept hardening so by the time I was 27 I had had 5 further surgeries. I tried everything - normal implants, different shaped implants, saline implants.

The fact you have no breast tissue goes against you - you don’t have any fat to soften the shape of the implant.

Eventually in my 40s I had them out for good - all the surgeries meant I had lost more breast tissue (as they remove internal scarring during surgery) and I can feel gaps in my body where they use to be. And I only had very small implants 200ml each.

The two reasons I had them out for good was no one had told me when I had them in you need to replace them every 15 years. So I was thinking - and I really going to be having another op at 60? And by that time I had kids and for me the increased cancer risk is just not worth it. My kids would rather have me with no boobs than no me at all.

Sorry if I've misunderstood, did you say you weighed 5 stone last year?

If that is the case can I gently suggest there are other things going on in your relationship with your body and it can be really easy to see an external intervention (like surgery) as the answer or the cure to a more complex situation than surgery can fix.

The person who paid for their mastectomy WAS a woman.
I do think paying for cosmetic surgery should be private, though.

I've no idea if you'll qualify under NHS op but I hope u do. I think it's quite dismissive for people to call it cosmetic surgery if as u say its caused u mental health issues and eating disorder. Best of luck.

I've had mine done privately and was a choice I have never regretted. You wouldn't know either , I just wanted breasts so they're by many peoples standards small. But the battle of bikinis , wearing a vest top are no longer there. Having no breasts no longer consumes my daily thoughts. No mental health therapy can change your body and the way you feel about your lack of something that are spoken about in puberty development , breast feeding and sexualized.
If you can do private I would do it, you could pay by credit card and slowly pay off and balance transfer.
We never understand problems fully unless you've experienced it, but if I were you I would do it

My health region no longer does cosmetic surgery on breasts etc. Breast reconstruction is only done post-Cancer.

Other than that, you have to pay. 🤷‍♀️

to be honest OP, you wouldn’t want the NHS giving you this treatment.

There is a spectrum of skill when it comes to cosmetic surgery. People can have surgery that looks bad. Whether that’s poor scarring or other issues that makes the end result look not as anticipated. It’s not a one size fits all approach where it doesn’t matter who does your procedure or what their experience is…

NHS consultants won’t have much experience in cosmetic surgery, their goal isn’t making your scars heal well or giving you natural results. They will be inexperienced with that. You’re not going to get the same results as an £8000 private procedure. Unless you hit a goldmine with an NHS consultant who has extensive private cosmetic experience which isn’t guaranteed or likely.

I would love a breast reduction, but I dont think I can get it on the NHS

@nobreasts I get it. I think. DD has body dysmorphia as a result of scoliosis. And an ED as a result of the dysmorphia. Her back will be straightened one day but It's a horrible thing. It's not just feeling a bit unhappy about your body. I don't like my knees very much but it doesn't affect my life. You're in a different category OP. Society as a whole thinks it talks about good game these days re mental health, but threads like this show how far we still need to go.
Good luck in your quest x