I had breast reduction surgery and I enthusiastically recommend the procedure, and my surgeon Dr. Gabriel Kind.

Provider Review

• 18 Jul 2017

I had breast reduction surgery and I enthusiastically recommend the procedure, and my surgeon Dr. Gabriel Kind. I thought about having the procedure for 10 years, but listened to friends who suggested I 
“try to loose weight instead” or that I’d “be sorry going smaller”. With the encouragement of my husband, this year I investigated the procedure more fully and decided to do it. I read reviews and visited web sites of many plastic surgeons. I picked three to interview with a personal consultation. Dr. Kind was the first consultation. He spent at least an hour with me, striving to get to know me prior to in-depth discussion of the procedure. He answered all my questions thoroughly and understandably. I was a 36DD/E and wanted to go to an A/B cup. He talked me through the options about how to achieve that significant a reduction, and the likely implications on structure and sensitivity of each option. He also said that often a cup size means different things to different people, and advised that I should go on-line and look for post-operative photos to identify the size/shape I wanted. He said he would use those as a guide for my surgery. He provided me with his email address and said that he would be happy to answer any follow-up questions I had. I did end use this email once and found he responded very promptly. After the appointment I did find photos that I felt represented the outcome I was looking for. I also found examples of “too big” and “too small”. I took these photos to the other two appointments; interestingly one of the other physicians said, “wow, it is a really good idea to use pictures this way”. Both of the doctors told me that it was unlikely they could achieve the reduction I wanted without removing/replacing my nipples, and that they would not undertake a procedure like that. One told me “you don’t want to go that small”. The other said that if I was firm on wanting that size, he would suggest doing it in two operations, rather than one. The other two doctors charged a consulting fee for this meeting, and told me that they would not bill insurance for this consultation and that they would not assist in working with my insurance company to see if the procedure could be covered. I came away with the impression that while very qualified surgeons, these two physicians choose to operate within more narrow parameters, regardless of the patient’s desired outcome. And that they were interested only in patients that did not need to use insurance. While it wasn’t absolutely necessary for me, it was a medical procedure which is covered by insurance so why wouldn’t I want to use it? My decision to have Dr. Kind complete my surgery was an easy one, and proved to be a great one. The outcome from the surgery was better than I could have imagined. The recovery from the procedure was uncomfortable at times, but not too much so. The care I received from him and his PA Candace was outstanding. His office completely managed getting the operation approved by my insurance company, and was unfailingly friendly when dealing with me. (I did have to call a number of times to get my pre-op details. In the end I asked them to email them to me instead of mail them, so I knew where to go on the day of surgery.) In terms of the details of the procedure and the recovery process: I saw Dr Kind again one more time prior to the operation to review my photos and talk through the specifics of the procedure. I decided I wanted him to make the breasts as small as possible, without removing the nipples. The operation unfolded as he had described - it took about 4 hours and I had about 1 1/2 hrs in the recovery room/discharge. I had a minimum amount of pain immediately post-surgery. I had considered staying in a hotel near the hospital because I was sure how I’d feel on the 2 hour car drive home, but I didn’t and it wasn’t necessary at all. The next couple of days, as the anesthesia wore off my pain increased but still was not significant (5 - 6). I took pain pills for the first 36 hours and then used Tylenol when needed. I was running a low fever (101.3) on the second day and called Dr Kind about it. He answered within 15 min, advised me it was likely from the pain medication. He also encouraged me to take off the dressings, take a shower, and told me that if the compression bra was bothering me at night to take it off - sleep was more important than compression. [This differed from the written post-op instructions I had been given. Make sure to review post-op details with Dr. Kind or his PA Candace prior to surgery. The post-op nurse was not helpful, just handed me the written instructions and said,“everything you need is here”. On the other hand the pre-op nurse was fabulous, so kind and informative.] The shower was wonderful! I had not understood that all the stitches were internal and the skin closed with glue (which was the cause for the purple color of my scars), which would flake off on its own. This meant that there was not need to be concerned about getting the incisions/scars wet. The purple color of the glue made the scars look much worse than they really were. Within a week or so the glue began to flake and I realized the scars were smaller than I anticipated and mostly hidden in the breast fold. I am very pleased with the uniformity and delicacy of the scars. The first few weeks the breasts were still swollen and larger than their new size. Right after surgery I had to go up a band size on my bra, but ended up going back to my original band size. Probably the most discomfort I had was between the 2 - 6th weeks. The breasts continued to feel different as the anesthesia wore off, as the numbness decreased and sensation returned. At this same time, the muscles in my ribcage were very sore/painful. At about 4 weeks the scars became more sensitive, at times so much so I didn’t wear a bra. None of this was terrible, all manageable with Tylenol. And now at 10 weeks all of these issues seem to be behind me. I am very pleased with the look of my new breasts. They are very even and uniform, and just the size I had hoped. I like how I look so much more! I am thrilled with how clothes fit. I find it much easier to exercise. It feels like a whole new me!