consult w/ Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langner

[Nina_NYC]

My consultation with Dr BL is on Nov 7!

Yippeee!!!!!

[PrincessPatience]

Does anyone know the waitlist for her as of lately?

[Sydney_NYC]

Does anyone know the waitlist for her as of lately?

Her waiting list is a little over a year, but if you have a flexible schedule it's possible to get an earlier date due to a cancelation which is what happened to me. My consult with her was in April 2017 and I was given a surgical date of May 3rd, 2018, but in late August I got a call of a cancelation and a surgical date of November 2nd, 2017 was available and I took it. She is local to me and I'm self employed, so it was easier for me to reschedule my surgery plans and I'm very happy that I did.

[PrincessPatience]

Her waiting list is a little over a year, but if you have a flexible schedule it's possible to get an earlier date due to a cancelation which is what happened to me. My consult with her was in April 2017 and I was given a surgical date of May 3rd, 2018, but in late August I got a call of a cancelation and a surgical date of November 2nd, 2017 was available and I took it. She is local to me and I'm self employed, so it was easier for me to reschedule my surgery plans and I'm very happy that I did.

Okay thank you. Do you know if she does phone consultations?

[Sydney_NYC]

Okay thank you. Do you know if she does phone consultations?

I'm not sure, but you could call her office and ask.

[Sydney_NYC]

A followup from yesterday's office follow up visit.....

Dr Bluebond-Langner was extremely happy with the way I'm healing and I was told I could start my HRT (at half dose) again (yay, no more hot flashes!) The car ride through NYC traffic was a lot easier this time than when I left the hospital and I was even able to walk well from the parking garage to her office.

Everyday gets easier doing things and I've even manage to do some work on my laptop from home.

[Meghan]

Glad you are healing well Sydney. Any Surgery always need time to heal properly. Congratulations and happy for you.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Sydney_NYC]

Glad you are healing well Sydney. Any Surgery always need time to heal properly. Congratulations and happy for you.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Oops, I posted that in the wrong thread, but Oh well. I'll put it there too.

[Nina_NYC]

I am sorry to report that my consult on Nov 7 with Dr. BL and Dr. Zhao wasn't very positive.

For starter, I waited 25 minutes in the reception before anyone saw me. I arrived 15 minutes early as instructed in the email. I brought all my forms pre-filled out. I even "checked-in" online by filling out my medical history online. When I gave my forms to the young lady at the reception desk all pre-filled out, she said, "You have no idea how much time you've saved." I responded "well I read the instructions in the email."

As I noticed that my waiting time was getting close to 30 mins, I mentioned to the young lady in the front desk that I had an appointment with Dr. Zhao in 5 mins and hadn't seen Dr. BL yet. She said, "I know".

My consultation lasted only a few minutes. It went as follows: a Nurse Practitioner came in and asked me series of questions. He was very friendly. He then left and first brought in Dr. Zhao. He spoke with me for a few minutes then left and brought in Dr B L. She spoke very fast and I got the sense that they had another appointment immediately afterwards.

She asked me to put on a medical gown (left the room so I could change). She returned with the Nurse Practitioner and after examining me said, "I can get 5 1/2 - 6 in depth".

I wonder if my experience was a mixed bag because I didn't have my letters with me from a licensed therapist. I figured that I would bring them once I had decided on a doctor. I mentioned that I met with Mt Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and was evaluated by a therapist, so I do have letters.

When asked about a caregiver I said I would have to discuss with my ex-bf. Maybe I gave the the impression that I wasn't serious? I don't know. Maybe it was a busy day at her office? It was election day in NYC.

When meeting with a doctor, do you ladies have the entire Letter of Support or do you meet to learn more about the doctor and get a feel for him/her?

Just asking because I want to consider other doctors and want the meeting to be more productive by better preparation from me, if that is what was missing.

[Sydney_NYC]

I am sorry to report that my consult on Nov 7 with Dr. BL and Dr. Zhao wasn't very positive.

For starter, I waited 25 minutes in the reception before anyone saw me. I arrived 15 minutes early as instructed in the email. I brought all my forms pre-filled out. I even "checked-in" online by filling out my medical history online. When I gave my forms to the young lady at the reception desk all pre-filled out, she said, "You have no idea how much time you've saved." I responded "well I read the instructions in the email."

As I noticed that my waiting time was getting close to 30 mins, I mentioned to the young lady in the front desk that I had an appointment with Dr. Zhao in 5 mins and hadn't seen Dr. BL yet. She said, "I know".

My consultation lasted only a few minutes. It went as follows: a Nurse Practitioner came in and asked me series of questions. He was very friendly. He then left and first brought in Dr. Zhao. He spoke with me for a few minutes then left and brought in Dr B L. She spoke very fast and I got the sense that they had another appointment immediately afterwards.

She asked me to put on a medical gown (left the room so I could change). She returned with the Nurse Practitioner and after examining me said, "I can get 5 1/2 - 6 in depth".

I wonder if my experience was a mixed bag because I didn't have my letters with me from a licensed therapist. I figured that I would bring them once I had decided on a doctor. I mentioned that I met with Mt Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and was evaluated by a therapist, so I do have letters.

When asked about a caregiver I said I would have to discuss with my ex-bf. Maybe I gave the the impression that I wasn't serious? I don't know. Maybe it was a busy day at her office? It was election day in NYC.

When meeting with a doctor, do you ladies have the entire Letter of Support or do you meet to learn more about the doctor and get a feel for him/her?

Just asking because I want to consider other doctors and want the meeting to be more productive by better preparation from me, if that is what was missing.

Hi Nina, I'm sorry to hear it wasn't very positive, but I can say that Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langner was very busy that day. I saw her and Dr Zhao that morning as they had removed the packing from my surgery on Nov 7 in the hospital and she was telling me how crazy that day was for her. When I was in the hospital she took the time every day to check up on me even though her surgical team had already checked up on me earlier. On my follow up appointments (I see her again tomorrow/today on the 21st) she always stops in to see me even if I'm only scheduled with a nurse practitioner. Sometimes (especially on Tuesdays) her waiting room can get a little backed up, but her office and staff have always been very nice.

When I had my initial consult it was the first appointment of the day. I did have all of my letters and my wife was with me as my support system so that was not even questioned. Like you I had everything already filled out and like you was thanked for saving them a lot of time. I was also told 5½ - 6" in depth but donor skin was going to be needed. I'm happy to say that I have over 6" in depth. I'm extremely happy with my results

[Nina_NYC]

Hi Sydney: thanks for your note. I did suspect that maybe it was turning out to be a very busy day for Dr. BL. She has a terrific reputation not only for her competency but also for her bedside manner.

I am so happy that you are thrilled with your results. Thanks for the suggestion of having the Letters of support + caretaker firmly identified at the medical consultation.

Wishing you the very best in your recovery and to a new beginning!

xo

[PrincessPatience]

I'm not sure, but you could call her office and ask.

I'm trying but her office has never contacted me back. It's been 2wks now and I'm trying to find out has anyone else had this problem? Is there a quicker way to reach her office or speak to someone? I sent her a submission for a consultant that was recommended to do on her website but nothing.

[Gail20]

My experience is that waiting 15 or 20 minutes is the norm for almost any Doctor, especially Specialists, so I try to always book early morning appts when they are less likely to get behind.  They never know when a patient may take more that 15 or 20 minuets. It only takes one to put them behind for the day. .

Most of my appts with Dr BL have been for about 15 minutes and I did feel rushed at times but I know her time is valuable so I always come with a list of questions. Keven is the NP and I've found him to be really responsive, especially after surgery when I had questions regarding various recovery issues. . .

The office people are really, really hard to get responses from. Fortunately, I haven't needed to work with them since before my surgery on 8/18/17.  They were all nice and I KNOW they care but they seem to be really understaffed and haven't been able to find a new person with the qualifications they need. . .

Dr BL and Dr Zhao are team and I believe its the only way to approach this surgery; with experts in both Urology and Plastic Surgery working together.  NYU is a Teaching Hospital and it was really impressive every morning when the 2 teams with 5 scary bright Interns each in tow, came in to see you every morning. Nothing was going to get past all these people. . .

[Sydney_NYC]

I'm trying but her office has never contacted me back. It's been 2wks now and I'm trying to find out has anyone else had this problem? Is there a quicker way to reach her office or speak to someone? I sent her a submission for a consultant that was recommended to do on her website but nothing.

Tuesdays are her normal office visit days (sometimes on Mondays too) and that is the best day to call as her full staff is usually there on those days, but other days can be hit or miss for calling them and having someone answer the phone.

[Sydney_NYC]

Dr BL and Dr Zhao are team and I believe its the only way to approach this surgery; with experts in both Urology and Plastic Surgery working together.  NYU is a Teaching Hospital and it was really impressive every morning when the 2 teams with 5 scary bright Interns each in tow, came in to see you every morning. Nothing was going to get past all these people. . .

I totally agree with you. Every morning (including Sunday morning) around 7-7:30am  the two teams came in to inspect everything. I felt like the feature presentation of the morning, LOL, but it was a good thing and I felt well taken care of. Plus every day Dr BL came in separately to see how I was doing. One time right before she was leaving for the Gender East conference on Nov 3rd.