To ask about NHS funding for breast surgery?

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

I posted on here a while ago about wanting a boob job and had a very positive response. Please don't judge me for the title of this thread as I'm sure it will stir up a lot of attention but I would like to hear people's experiences and opinions on this.

Basically I have a teenage boy's chest with tiny bulbs where my breasts should be. My left breast has zero breast tissue and my right breast is roughly 3 cups bigger (but still there is barely any breast tissue and they are tubular.

I'm not just some dumb girl who wants to look like Katie Price, my breasts are actually deformed NOT small. My mum died of breast cancer so this is a serious subject for me.

Thank you.

[electionfatigue]

my area does have a PoLCE

that's good. I think it's a very fair system actually - whereas in the past, someone with a GP prepared to fight for them would win over someone with a GP who wasn't interested, now there are defined criteria so it is fair.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

UPDATE

I received a letter from the GP this morning asking for my height, weight and cup size. It says she can't apply for funding until she has them so I'm not sure why she didn't do all this while I was there but never mind.

I'm just panicking a little because I know I weigh too much at the moment and I know they'll refuse funding on that basis. Also, I don't know my cup size(s) because I just wear VERY padded bras to hide my lack of breasts. I don't know what to do!

[notauniquename]

For what it's worth, My sister had "vastly" different sized breasts, she was approved for funding, (though she had to wait until she was 21 to ensure that she'd definitely stopped developing.)

She was over weight (though not obese).
it took ages though, (years to progress through the system)
In the time it took she met the guy who is now her husband, who loved her regardless, and she decided that he'd be the only one seeing her naked, and if he was happy she could continue to pad one side.

but mostly I think she was just really scared of surgery!

I received a letter from the GP this morning asking for my height, weight and cup size. It says she can't apply for funding until she has them so I'm not sure why she didn't do all this while I was there but never mind.

There is a good chance that the GP just didn't know the information that they needed to provide until they read the application form that they'd need to fill out.

[Aermingers]

I think they are normally okay with a BMI under 30. As for your cup size go on next or grattans website, they explain how to measure it yourself.

[Aermingers]

Although you may need to measure each side separately and double it to get the cup size for each one because they're different.

[electionfatigue]

The form may have been bounced back asking for that info

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

I found a way to measure individual cup size online and the results are -

Right breast - AA
Left breast - Not even a cup

How do I even explain that?!

On the plus side I just weighed myself and I'm not as heavy as I thought I was.

[Aermingers]

I think the one that's not a cup, you add an A for every inch less than an AA the cup size is. So 1 inch less than an AA is an AAA, 2 inches AAAA.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

Oh and thanks notauniquename it's great that your sister got funded and good for her if she was happy in the end. I'm a single mum so the only person seeing my naked body is me and I'm definitely not happy with what I see, so I need to do something about it. Surgery doesn't scare me either as I've had a couple of big operations before so I'm hoping it all works out. Even if it takes a couple of years I don't mind, as long as I don't look and feel this way for the rest of my life.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

Right, done it again.

I'm AAA in my left breast and an A in my right.

[fabby40]

Good luck. I hope you get the funding.

[Pumpkinpositive]

Sorry OP but I think the NHS should not pay for breast augmentation. I can see the case for breast reduction, because of the issues with bad backs.

But presumably you would not oppose the NHS paying for counselling for those with emotional or psychological difficulties? Which is being suggested to the OP here.

So the OP may have emotional difficulties caused by the abnormal growth of her breasts. This can be dealt with by the NHS in either of two ways: refer for counselling or surgery.

What if the OP requires lengthy counselling to come to terms with the appearance of her breasts?

If cost is the issue here then it could potentially work out cheaper to operate than counsel.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

Thank you

[kinkyfuckery]

I am glad that you went to the GP and have everything crossed that you will be accepted.

Keep us updated

[Cornettoninja]

Good luck op.

I don't see the issue here, it's not a case the op is just flat chested and wants to be bigger, but her breasts are actually abnormal and causing her issues. It's not as simple as learning to accept the body she's in. I don't really see how counselling is going to resolve a clear difference between 99.9% of females and her own body. It's relatively simple to resolve and doesn't require complicated restructuring so it makes financial sense (assuming that psychological intervention is lengthy, also costs a lot of money and isn't guareenteed to be successful) and is pretty much guarenteed to resolve the issue entirely.

There're limited funds and no certainty the nhs trust reviewing the case will even clear the operation for the op (and if they don't op, don't lose heart but have a chat with your gp about appealing or applying again in a couple of years) so it's not like these kinds of procedures are being handed out like sweets. People with far more clinical knowledge and understanding have so far made the judgement that it's a valid treatment for people in this position.

[MrsBennetsEldest]

Op, you can have mine. Sick to death of them. They are 11 years old but still have plenty of life in them. I am so angry with myself for having them in the first place. I'm living with foreign objects in my body and detest them. I can't afford to have them removed.

[BarbarianMum]

For those that feel the NHS should not pay for this, do you also feel that reconstruction work after breast cancer surgery should not be funded? That is cosmetic surgery too.
Having no breasts/ tubular breasts is very different to having small breasts.

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

Thanks so much everyone, you're all so lovely! I will keep you updated along the way.

MrsBennets, can I ask why you hate them so much?

[MrsBennetsEldest]

Of course, because they are not part of me. I detest the fact that I did something this extreme just to change the way I look. ( I did not have the problems you describe , I was just very flat chested). They didn't change me as a person, they didn't make me more of a woman/feminine they only changed the way I looked. If I could afford to they would be gone tomorrow. They are not real, never will be real and I realise now that the person I am has nothing to do with the size of my chest. I shudder to think what I will look like at 70 with these stupid things sticking out of me.

[maggiethemagpie]

Whilst I sympathise, with the way the NHS is overstretched at the moment I could understand completely if you are told no. I have a serious eye condition that could lead to blindness, and am frequently getting my routine appointments for checks cancelled or pushed back (so much so I went private in the end). My consultant told me that on the NHS he has seen people develop permanent sight loss due to not being seen frequently enough or treated in time.
compared to that a breast op to improve your appearance is gonna be low priority.
It may make you feel bad when you look in the mirror but it's not going to make you either dead or disabled.

[Klayden]

maggie the NHS does not and has not ever only treated conditions that prevent death or disability. Have you googled pictures of the congenital deformity that the OP has?

[MistressMia]

maggiethemagpie Your PRIVATE consultant has a vested interest in regaling you with headline worthy scare stories. Not saying they aren't true, but just that a lot of the problems are as much to do with organisation (or lack thereof), inefficiency and skills shortages and not just due to funding.

There is a lot of wastage, unnecessary duplication and non-essential procedures undertaken in Ophthalmology. Squint surgery is mostly done to improve cosmesis. Should that not be done either ?

[electionfatigue]

The thing is, whether or not the OP gets surgery shouldn't depend on my opinion, or those of anyone on this thread, or her GP. Previous systems meant that those with a GP prepared to be pushy were more likely to get treatment. The benefit of the PoLCE system is that there are clearly defined criteria, agreed locally, so that it is fair and transparent.

[maggiethemagpie]

Seeing as I was asked, ok if I was in charge of the NHS I would prioritise treatment/funding in this order

1. risk of death
2. risk of permanent disability
3. risk of temporary disability
4. cosmetic procedures (I am NOT saying the op is only doing this because of vanity, or anything like that, but it will not make her disabled to not get this procedure done, her body will still function as it should whether she has the procedure or not)

When I was at risk of blindness, it would have affected my whole life, i'd have lost my job, ability to drive, it would have really affected things in a big way for me.

I went private because I didn't trust the NHS to treat me in time, but that's another story.

I am sympathetic to the OP's predicament and hope she gets the funding she wants but at the same time, I was asked for my opinion (this is AIBU after all) and I do believe that this condition should be lower on the priority list than many others.