I'm having top surgery in 3 weeks which I am very happy about. Thing is all his recent reviews from guys keeps getting worst and worst. His bedside manner sucks and he is rude. I'm thinking about canceling and going with somebody else. I don't wanna be out of money if I cancel. I'm a little nervous but I wouldn't consider it cold feet because I can't wait to have surgery. Idk what to do at this point.

Quote from: Ethedon on April 10, 2014, 04:29:07 PM
I'm having top surgery in 3 weeks which I am very happy about. Thing is all his recent reviews from guys keeps getting worst and worst. His bedside manner sucks and he is rude. I'm thinking about canceling and going with somebody else. I don't wanna be out of money if I cancel. I'm a little nervous but I wouldn't consider it cold feet because I can't wait to have surgery. Idk what to do at this point.

From someone who has had experiences with bad doctors, if I smell a bad one now, I quickly run for the exit.   This is your chest, and you have to live with the results, good or bad.   Bad reviews and being a d^ck on top of it are two red flags right there. 

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

I  actually know someone from high school who got bad top surgery. He has a scar that looks pretty bad. I say if you see a bad review and they only get worse, then it's time to high tail it from that doc. Find a better one with better bedside manner.

Thing is he does AWESOME work that's why I chose him. I knew about his bedside manner before hand. But guys are also saying he is RUDE. I know a lot of doctors tend to rush through things. But I'd actually say something to a Dr if he became rude to me. Idc what your credentials are you will show me respect as you would expect from me.

He seemed polite during the consult and so was his office staff. But that was just over the phone.

Exactly how many recent reviews did you see that were getting worse and worse? 

It's your choice really - but I think that it's hard to judge from what others are saying when that's not been your experience.

I was scared away from a doctor here where I live because every guy I met kept telling me how horrible he was, how he'd insult me and basically sabotage me if I tried to go elsewhere.  But then, after I went with another doctor, I had more people tell me that wasn't the case and he was a nice guy.  So it depends on how much weight you give to other people's experiences.

Quote from: Malachite on April 10, 2014, 05:59:01 PM
Exactly how many recent reviews did you see that were getting worse and worse?

More than enough from forums, youtube, and just talking to people that actually seen him.

The main thing is I really would like to retain as much sensation in my nipples as possible and I don't think he will be willing to take the necessary steps to do this because of his bedside manner. He's the type that does what he does and thats it. Like snip snip you're done. NEXT!

Quote from: Ethedon on April 10, 2014, 09:39:49 PM
The main thing is I really would like to retain as much sensation in my nipples as possible and I don't think he will be willing to take the necessary steps to do this because of his bedside manner. He's the type that does what he does and thats it. Like snip snip you're done. NEXT!

If you are getting free grafts (DI), then you are not going to have sensation, period.

When it comes to DI, yes, Garramone is snip snip, next. 

If you are talking keyhole/peri, that is something different.

What are you getting done?

I agree with Brett here. If you have DI with nipple grafts you will not have anything but touch sensation (if you are lucky), and you won't get erotic sensation. Anyone who claims otherwise is imagining (and I don't mean this in a bad way), what happens I think is that they pair what their brain thinks about what is beign touched (the brain is the biggest sex organ anyway). Peri/keyhole might take a LONG time and may be impaired.

I don't know who this is, but keep in mind the loudest youtube voices aren't always the most articulate.

But anyway, I know I've heard that people consider Dr Garramone brusk. I think he is not really very sociable but professional, but he is an excellent surgeon .To me, it was more important to have someone who had done a real many surgeries and was as excellent as he is. But he has a surgeon's brain or whatever. Most of hte time I spent with him was under anyway.   But if that kind of thing is really important, I'd chose someone else.

--Jay

Without me saying his name you knew exactly who I was referring to and I don't think that's a good thing. I'm getting double incision. But I was hoping he could apply the pedical technique. But he probably won't.

Well, I was pretty sure I knew who you meant as well without you even saying his name. One thing I've noticed is that his chests pretty much look EXACTLY the same lol. Like if you've seen one, you've seen them all (that's the biggest reason I did NOT go with him, tbh). So if you like how they look, like if his work is ideal for you - I say go for it. And if you can't get your money back...holy crap that's a lot of money to lose.

But all that said, I completely understand about the whole bedside manner thing. I wouldn't take kindly to being treated rudely either, especially when I've saved so much cash and hope for this surgery. I think this is one of those situations where you need to really weigh it out. If you're pretty sure you're going to be satisfied, and the possibility of a bad bedside manner is the only thing holding you back...is that really worth it? Which will affect you most long-term - someone coming off as a bit of an ass to you, or losing some money? Your new chest will be with you forever. You might be PO'd at a bad bedside manner for a couple weeks. But if it's something you think would really be a huge problem then you gotta go with your gut.

Quote from: aleon515 on April 10, 2014, 11:17:55 PM
I agree with Brett here. If you have DI with nipple grafts you will not have anything but touch sensation (if you are lucky), and you won't get erotic sensation. Anyone who claims otherwise is imagining (and I don't mean this in a bad way), what happens I think is that they pair what their brain thinks about what is beign touched (the brain is the biggest sex organ anyway). Peri/keyhole might take a LONG time and may be impaired.

I don't know who this is, but keep in mind the loudest youtube voices aren't always the most articulate.

But anyway, I know I've heard that people consider Dr Garramone brusk. I think he is not really very sociable but professional, but he is an excellent surgeon .To me, it was more important to have someone who had done a real many surgeries and was as excellent as he is. But he has a surgeon's brain or whatever. Most of hte time I spent with him was under anyway.   But if that kind of thing is really important, I'd chose someone else.

--Jay

He doesn't have to be social really. I knew this when I chose him. But I still wish he would even consider it. Did you go to him?

Quote from: birkin on April 10, 2014, 11:50:28 PM
Well, I was pretty sure I knew who you meant as well without you even saying his name. One thing I've noticed is that his chests pretty much look EXACTLY the same lol. Like if you've seen one, you've seen them all (that's the biggest reason I did NOT go with him, tbh). So if you like how they look, like if his work is ideal for you - I say go for it. And if you can't get your money back...holy crap that's a lot of money to lose.

But all that said, I completely understand about the whole bedside manner thing. I wouldn't take kindly to being treated rudely either, especially when I've saved so much cash and hope for this surgery. I think this is one of those situations where you need to really weigh it out. If you're pretty sure you're going to be satisfied, and the possibility of a bad bedside manner is the only thing holding you back...is that really worth it? Which will affect you most long-term - someone coming off as a bit of an ass to you, or losing some money? Your new chest will be with you forever. You might be PO'd at a bad bedside manner for a couple weeks. But if it's something you think would really be a huge problem then you gotta go with your gut.

I agree with you. I would rather have good results. I like his work. I'm going to call and ask tomorrow. If I didn't care about my nipple sensation I wouldn't even consider canceling.

Perhaps you should make a list of the pros and cons of having surgery with this surgeon. Remember in the end it is -you- who will be living with your chest and not these other reviewers. Another thing to remember is that dysphoria often can really mess with how people see their own body...and surgery doesn't always help. The surgeon I chose to go with has also been bad mouthed and given poor reviews online and one in person, but I felt that he could do what I wanted so I went with him and you know what. I love the work he did.


Now on to the personality of a surgeon... I've spoken to and been treated by four (five if you count the one I wouldn't let operate on me even if it killed me...horrid man should lose his license IMO) in the last 11 months and of those four only one had a half way decent bedside manner. The others have been professional and brisk, but listened and answered my questions. They come off as know it alls and have the I know best attitude down pat, but I think it has to do with the profession. My top surgeon had the same style of bedside manner and when I jokingly mentioned the trend he laughed and said that it was common and surgeons don't have enough time to double as therapists. We both shared a laugh over it because looking at it from a surgeon's point of view it's true. He told me he spent most of his time yelling at people for doing things too soon after surgery and messing up his work.

And don't forget you add in the art of plastic surgery to the surgeon and it's no wonder some of them seem to lack a bedside manner. Plastic surgery is art more or less and I'm sure we all know how artists can be at times.

To me the only con is the fact I know he won't consider the procedure. I'm fine with everything else.

If you're set on a certain procedure have you looked at other surgeons that will do it? It's a lot of money to spend on surgery if it's not exactly what you want.

I haven't yet. I just started considering it today. I can only ask and see and then move from there.

Quote from: Ethedon on April 10, 2014, 11:40:54 PM
Without me saying his name you knew exactly who I was referring to and I don't think that's a good thing. I'm getting double incision. But I was hoping he could apply the pedical technique. But he probably won't.

Yes I'm a Dr Garramone patient. I'm very happy with my decision, and I think he did a really nice job. The office staff treated me very well and he was polite and efficient. He is VERY focused which is a good trait in a surgeon. I have had lots of guys here who really admire what an awesome job he did. I had very little trauma (pain and so on) and healed really well which is partly his skill as a surgeon (and also my general good health). I also found him very calming in situations where you might think you'd have a lot of dysphoria (the times I had to show my chest) and he was calming in that I was afraid of surgery.

I would say you gave some tips as to who it was (awesome results, nice staff, polite, etc). It's easy to guess actually. I can see why people would think of Dr G as rude. I do NOT consider him rude at all, but he is very business like and can snap from joking and social to business like in a half second. I just consider that this is who he is. But I was never treated in anything but a professional way. He answered all my questions and when I asked him something he wasn't familiar with he answered in a really interesting way. I just think he is not a particularly social kind of guy. He doesn't really like that aspect of being a surgeon. But if you aren't comfortable with that, well there are many other surgeons.

He won't do the pedicle technique because he *doesn't* do it, it wouldn't be anything personal. He doesn't know how to do it, and choses not to learn it. If you want the pedicle technique you need to find someone who specializes in that technique. Surgery techniques aren't something that you can sort of discuss with a doctor and get them to do, it's not a thing like that. He also is kind of old-school, drains and so on. I think if it works, he isn't fixing it. I don't consider it a personal decision. It wouldn't have anything to do with being "more trouble". That's kind of irrelevant. If you don't know how to, say, cast a fly, it's not "more trouble" to do it, it's "you aren't able to do it".

There are very good surgeons who do the pedicle technique because they want to do it.

If you *really* want the pedicle technique, it might be worth losing your $500. But if you are just worried that he might be rude to you, then I think it's kind of a lot of money to lose for something that it isn't what everybody experiences anyway. But that would just be my opinion on it.

This link has surgeons who perform this technique (not too many actually), not sure how old this link is: http://www.topsurgery.net/procedures/inverted-t-anchor-top-surgery.htm


--Jay