Cassie Nghiem, MD

Such a wonderful experience! Dr. Nghiem was professional and kind in her manner. She was open to any questions I had and explained everything in great detail. I honestly didnt mind having to travel from North Carolina to see her either as her results for ftm patients getting top surgery were phenomenal! Ill always recommend her and her team, thank you again!

From the beginning of my surgery process Dr. Nghiem was very kind and I always felt like I was in good hands. I highly reccomend her for her bedside manner and skill! My surgery was gender affirming care, and she was very respectful and straightforward about expectations and risks associated with surgery. I was also concerned since I'm a fat person and I'd heard some horror stories from other fat trans people about not being treated well by their doctors, and I was able to talk to Dr. Nghiem about this and never doubted that she was treating me with respect and care.

As an incentive for posting a review, this reviewer received an entry into RealSelf’s monthly $500 gift card giveaway.

Let me tell you about my experience with Dr. Cassie Nghiem and why I believe she’s one of the best surgeons out there.

First of all, there’s her demeanor. She’s incredibly welcoming, friendly, down to earth, and kind. When I first met her through my consult (which was free, by the way), the first thing she did was ask me to tell her about myself and my gender journey. I felt like she was genuinely invested in who I was and accomplishing my goals instead of just another routine patient. She also gave me her personal email to contact her at any time, which I did many, many times with the plethora of questions I had surrounding the surgery. She was always quick to respond and very through in her response, which helped me greatly with my anxiety.

At this point, I felt that Dr. Nghiem was showing a lot of care just because she was a kind person who cared about all her patients (which is true), but then something happened that truly made me realize she cared deeply about me and my well-being as a person, not just a patient.

Five days before my surgery, we ran into insurance complications. It was so awful we even had to reschedule the surgery for two days later, at which point I was experiencing intense depression and anxiety wondering if I was going to have to pay out of pocket for a surgery that should’ve been fully covered. Dr. Nghiem’s office was amazing, fighting for me against insurance day after day, and Dr. Nghiem herself was going above and beyond. She’s an accredited surgeon, so I’m sure she has better things to do than argue with insurance companies, but she fought for me day in and day out, even using her off time the night before my surgery fighting with them until finally, at 8pm, I received a call from her personal cell letting me know she was able to get them to approve it and get it covered.

Now, let’s talk about what everyone wants to know most of all: my results. Talking about my results at face value, my incisions are perfectly symmetrical as well as (in my opinion) very aesthetically pleasing. The shape of my chest is perfect, with not too much tissue taken out so that my chest looks flat but still natural. That’s probably enough for you to understand that she’s a great surgeon, but I’d like to explain further what makes her one of the best.

You see, there’s a few things to consider when performing top surgery. First, the shape, placement, and space between the incisions. It’s largely an art form, getting incisions to be even and aesthetically appealing while also avoiding dog ears and excess tissue. I actually had a lot of asymmetry in my breasts prior and she managed to perfectly account for that and create the end result I have, perfectly symmetrical. Then, there’s the closure of the incisions. Mine were so clean and neat (like a thin sharpie line with minimal wrinkling) when I first saw them, I thought it was maybe glued shut, but it turns out Dr. Nghiem actually HAND STITCHED them shut. I mean, wow. That’s real prowess.

In conclusion, Dr. Nghiem will not only give you fantastic results but also will give you an experience you will never forget. She treated me like I was a friend, not just a patient, and I feel extremely grateful to her. If you don’t believe me, book a consult with her and find out for yourself!

I’m hopping on here a mere 48 hours post op to say I’m so pleased with Dr. Nghiem’s work! She was super clear with me, answered my never-ending questions, was warm and comforting, and went out of her way to ensure I felt good about my breast reduction. Can’t recommend highly enough!!!
PS I don’t have a good ‘after’ pic yet because they’re very taped up but I plan to post those down the road!

Updated on 12 Jul 2024:
Sent this to Dr Nghiem today and figured I’d share!

Hi Dr. N!

Justin wanted to write now that I have some greater perspective on how life changing my surgery was. Among the lifechanging things:
- I’ve been able to wear a spaghetti strapped dress on multiple fancy occasions - previously a whole section of fashion was just inaccessible to me
- significant decrease in back pain
- I’ve picked up running again for the first time since I was a teenager/pre puberty! It’s been awesome for my physical and mental health.
- can go braless during these humid summers
- can wear a swimsuit that actually fits and feel confident doing so
- honestly can wear anything and feel like I’m not ‘showing too much’ which was such a fear of mine before
- my body looks and feels like mine

You made all this possible. Thank you so much! I hope you’re doing well!