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

[nobreasts]

Hi I have no breasts
It's impacted my bf of my children
I am healthy on the lower end of BMI
Have no breasts
GP in agreement
Have had babies so not particuarly a sex dissorder
Genuinely no breasts

Very upset

Have asked for an enlargement with nhs but Gp said he's never encountered and unsure how to go further thru this with NHS

Any advice appreciated

You pay for a service so if you are dying and can't breath, there is someone to help you or if you ha e a serious health condition.
It's not a service to give you a boob job.
I'm very seldom this blunt, but I also don't have any breasts I wouldn't even fit in A cup but I would never consider NHS as an option.

No, you're right, it doesn't make you eligible.

But in a humane and rational system, we absolutely would consider paying for reconstruction of your damaged breast to be worthwhile, both on grounds of human suffering but also on grounds of cold hard cash — unhappy people are often unwell people, and both mental health problems and physical sequelae are expensive to treat.

I've no issue with those posters who are simply describing the situation as it stands — that the NHS in most areas won't cover surgery for people in OP's position, because it's considered purely cosmetic and they won't cover most purely cosmetic procedures.

What I object to is the tone of some of the posts just popping on to tell her it's cosmetic surgery, which are clearly just intended to reprimand OP for expecting the rest of us to finance the free boob job she fancies.

OP, it's absolutely understandable for you to feel the way you feel but the question you asked was about your eligibility for the NHS procedure. It, unfortunately, does not routinely take into account how you feel but only if you fit the specific Trust's referral criteria.

You’d be better off coming to terms with your natural body. Breast implants are not without risk of complications. Look into underwear and swimwear for women who have had mastectomies to give you more confidence in your appearance.

Have you talked to someone about the practicalities?

My sister had small tubular breasts. She wouldn't have been eligible for surgery on the NHS so took a private payment plan. The surgeon was lovely but as she had so little breast tissue, the finished result was not good... she was warned, but the skin looked very stretched and sore, and she had them removed 8 months later. I know that isn't what you'll want to hear, but I wish someone had told her. She's got surgery scars now, which don't help how she feels about herself. She probably wouldn't have listened, but she'd have been a bit prepared, at least.

I don't think changing location will help with surgery, unless you change your address. Then there may be a minimum time, and you'd need to go through the referral process again.

I am sorry that you're struggling with this ❤️

I think it probably is worth engaging with mental health services too, as the physical surgery doesn't always do everything you think it will. For my sister, she thought having boobs would help, but she found it made her feel strange - that they weren't "her", and she was now pretending. She was devastated.

She's also now got a higher risk of lymphoma, even though she didn't have them for very long.

The NHS is on its knees, 10-12hr waits at A&E, serious operations with massive wait times and people still expect a boob job on the NHS because they feel insecure, thats very sad and selfish.

Just to say that at 8 months, the results are not finalised. They take a year to be considered "finished", and even then can change.

I'm 6 month post op and have had no issues. Of course it can happen, but I think choosing the right surgeon and the right type of surgery, implants, and size makes a big difference.

I was completely flat so went under the muscle. Over the muscle would have looked "horrendous" in the words of my surgeon. I also went with smooth implants over textured, as textured can sometimes have issues with taking longer to drop. I chose one of the smaller sizes - 300cc - so that they would fit my body better.

There is always the risk that they won't turn out right. But I think making certain choices help achieve the desired results.

For info, my surgeon is Dr Mileto and he has incredible testimonials. You also get 2 years of after care (and the possibility of corrective surgery if the results aren't as they should be) when booking through MYA.

Op I totally get it. And i really do hope you can find a way to get the op done, I can hear how unhappy you are and it’s awful to feel that way. I haven’t any advice that wasn’t already mentioned above but I agree that life is to short to wait, so if you have any way of managing private, I would do it without hesitation given the difference it will make to your life.

I’m sorry but I agree with this. The sense of entitlement here is strong.

If it really bothered you that much, you’d have found a way to pay for the surgery by now.

I would say get your GP to refer to mental health services and a breast clinic. Obviously people do have breast surgery on the NHS and people also have treatment for mental health problems on the NHS. Whether any/all/the combination, of physical and mental difficulties your breast size causes you are sever enough to warrant treatment on the NHS is only for clinicians to decide. I don't imagine they will have to do anything terribly invasive to decide whether you qualify for surgery, so if they say there is no reason for surgery because it's not something that is really affecting your mental or physical health that much fair enough, but they might not.

I sympathise OP but I’m not sure the NHS will be a viable option. If this is the case, I’d really try and look at other ways to be happy and accepting of your natural body. I have a couple of features that I truly loathed as a child and also as an adult. I have looked at cosmetic surgery countless times but I realised after having my own children, that they’d inherited my flaws and every day I make a huge effort to be kind to myself about my appearance as I hope my children will be about theirs. I’m a couple of years down the line with practicing this and I feel more content than I ever have with my appearance.

While I sympathise with your situation If you have the money then why should the nhs pay? You can’t even get things like varicose veins stripped on the NHS these days. There is no budget for breast enlargement.

People can't even get life saving/changing surgery for actual medical issues on the overstretched and underfunded NHS, of course they aren't giving out free boob jobs.

Several people I know haven't even been able to get reconstruction after a full breast single mastectomy.

Some seriously nasty messages on this thread. Some people should be ashamed of themselves.

I must agree with this. Breast implants often come with systemic side effects that are rarely talked about because they are rarely attributed to the implants. Then there's the risk that having the procedure doesn't actually fix the way you feel about yourself. If you started with addressing the mental health concerns, even if it was simultaneously to investigating/waiting for surgery, you may reach their root and save yourself potential further health implications (physical and/or mental).

I say this as someone who doesn't even fill an AA cup.

It has been granted sometimes in the past on the grounds of it affecting mental health and therefore quality of life. So there’s nothing wrong with OP wondering if she might get the same granted for her.

“It's impacted my bf of my children”

What do you mean by this?

I have one breast literally double the size of the other one due to breast cancer and was offered an operation two years ago to even them up. I accepted eagerly and was then told there was a risk of infection and referred to the prosthesis clinic, which I declined having managed for 16 years with one breast double the size of the other. I went to a GP to ask for the operation and was referred but have heard nothing since, so I take that as a no.

Honestly I think it depends where you live. My friend had her bunions done on the NHS, but mine wouldn't fund it. Mine were worse than my friends too. Go and see your GP and see what they say, and get the ball rolling. If they won't refer you, then look into it privately. Private firms often offer an installment plan.

Hi OP. I work in a unit that specialises in Breast reconstruction after Cancer. It is very unusual but not unheard of for a consultant to take on an enlargement patient. Would be quite extreme circumstances like absolutely no breasts or very unmatched size. So although unlikely no harm looking into it.

Myself and my daughters have no breasts at all. I paid privately a few years ago for my dd to have hers done when she was 20. My other adult daughter doesn’t want hers done - whether that changes we’ll see. We enquired about NHS for all of us but they don’t allow it. For those calling it cosmetic - there are circumstances where it’s really not! My daughters have no breasts at all, completely flat like prepubescent children, they look like they’re 10/12 years old, despite being early 20’s - that’s really not ‘normal’. There’s a difference between women who have small boobs and unhappy with them, and those who literally have no boobs at all, not even a hit of fat/curve/swelling.

Well, a quick Google of the NHS website says it's available if there are no breasts or if the breasts are misshapen. So, you might as well ask.

You can’t just pop over to a different trust no. You’d have to move there, have a registered postcode to live there etc.

Gosh there are some harsh replies on here. No breast tissue. That is quite stark, and you sound as if your mood matches that word. We live in a stupid society where we are judged on breast size. I would think that your diagnosis would lead to mental health issues - body dysmorphia? That's an actual condition and it can be horrible.