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DI Mastectomy with Dr. Ramineni
This is my full honest review of Dr. Praful Ramineni from West District Plastic Surgery, who performed my double incision mastectomy at George Washington University Hospital on March 16, 2022.
I had my consultation with Dr. Ramineni on January 20th, after scheduling it about a month earlier. Chavonne at the front desk was super kind and helpful. The consultation was much quicker than I expected - I think I was only in there for half an hour. Dr. Ramineni very briefly went over the basics of his practice and how he typically performs DI mastectomies. He looked at my bare chest for maybe 2 seconds. After answering the questions I had prepared, I got to schedule my surgery for March 16th and that was it. I was expecting to talk with Dr. Ramineni for longer during the consultation as it seemed somewhat rushed, but I’ve also never had a surgery consultation before so maybe they’re usually like that. We’re also still in a pandemic, so I actually did appreciate the limited social contact.
Over the next several weeks, I made all of the required phone calls to make sure I was registered and scheduled for my surgery, and Dr. Ramineni and Chavonne answered any questions I had. After reading mostly positive, but some mixed reviews of Dr. Ramineni, I started to worry about whether I had been clear enough to him about my desired results during my consultation. I asked him if I could send some pictures of the way my chest sits (I had very loose skin after binding for so many years) and how I wanted the incisions, scars, and nipples to look. I annotated the pictures to tell him exactly what I was envisioning, I’ve included an example with the rest of my photos. I believe that this is what ensured my happy results. Dr. Ramineni is an incredibly skilled surgeon but performs as many as nine (I believe that was the number he told me) surgeries a day, and with that kind of schedule, it’s possible for small details to be overlooked or forgotten. I paid completely out of pocket for my surgery and I needed to be 100% positive that he would do everything in his ability to give me the results I wanted. Being able to share those pictures with him, and receive confirmation over email AND right before my surgery, boosted my confidence.
The day of my surgery came and went, and my healing has been going at the standard rate. I had my drains in until March 24. They were not comfortable, but not as painful as I expected. They did actually put me in the wrong size compression vest, which was way too painful to wear and cut off my breathing, so I had to order a new one online from Marena for $100. Besides that, my physical recovery has been pretty smooth. I’m now at 6 weeks post-op and mostly back to my normal routine. My incisions and nipple grafts are looking great, according to other people who have had DI. There are some stretch marks and puckering around the incisions towards the center of my chest, but that’s where a lot of my loose skin and stretch marks already were so that wasn’t surprising. It also looks like slightly more tissue was taken off of my right breast, so it looks a bit flat/concave on the left (my left) side of my right nipple, while my left breast looks more like a natural pec. That doesn’t bother me, but if that’s something that would bother you I would make sure to talk with Dr. Ramineni (or whoever you decide your surgeon to be) beforehand. I haven’t had any issues with dog ears, which is great. Honestly, I’m a lot happier with my results than I thought I would be, and I still have a lot of healing to go. My biggest takeaway from this whole process is to do as much research as possible on your surgeon, what their abilities are, what their top surgery style is like, and communicate all of your desires to them with as many specifics as possible and make sure you feel heard. Show them examples of what you want so you don’t end up surprised or disappointed by your results. Overall I had a very positive experience with Dr. Ramineni and his team and I’m so grateful and relieved to be physically recovering well.
I had my consultation with Dr. Ramineni on January 20th, after scheduling it about a month earlier. Chavonne at the front desk was super kind and helpful. The consultation was much quicker than I expected - I think I was only in there for half an hour. Dr. Ramineni very briefly went over the basics of his practice and how he typically performs DI mastectomies. He looked at my bare chest for maybe 2 seconds. After answering the questions I had prepared, I got to schedule my surgery for March 16th and that was it. I was expecting to talk with Dr. Ramineni for longer during the consultation as it seemed somewhat rushed, but I’ve also never had a surgery consultation before so maybe they’re usually like that. We’re also still in a pandemic, so I actually did appreciate the limited social contact.
Over the next several weeks, I made all of the required phone calls to make sure I was registered and scheduled for my surgery, and Dr. Ramineni and Chavonne answered any questions I had. After reading mostly positive, but some mixed reviews of Dr. Ramineni, I started to worry about whether I had been clear enough to him about my desired results during my consultation. I asked him if I could send some pictures of the way my chest sits (I had very loose skin after binding for so many years) and how I wanted the incisions, scars, and nipples to look. I annotated the pictures to tell him exactly what I was envisioning, I’ve included an example with the rest of my photos. I believe that this is what ensured my happy results. Dr. Ramineni is an incredibly skilled surgeon but performs as many as nine (I believe that was the number he told me) surgeries a day, and with that kind of schedule, it’s possible for small details to be overlooked or forgotten. I paid completely out of pocket for my surgery and I needed to be 100% positive that he would do everything in his ability to give me the results I wanted. Being able to share those pictures with him, and receive confirmation over email AND right before my surgery, boosted my confidence.
The day of my surgery came and went, and my healing has been going at the standard rate. I had my drains in until March 24. They were not comfortable, but not as painful as I expected. They did actually put me in the wrong size compression vest, which was way too painful to wear and cut off my breathing, so I had to order a new one online from Marena for $100. Besides that, my physical recovery has been pretty smooth. I’m now at 6 weeks post-op and mostly back to my normal routine. My incisions and nipple grafts are looking great, according to other people who have had DI. There are some stretch marks and puckering around the incisions towards the center of my chest, but that’s where a lot of my loose skin and stretch marks already were so that wasn’t surprising. It also looks like slightly more tissue was taken off of my right breast, so it looks a bit flat/concave on the left (my left) side of my right nipple, while my left breast looks more like a natural pec. That doesn’t bother me, but if that’s something that would bother you I would make sure to talk with Dr. Ramineni (or whoever you decide your surgeon to be) beforehand. I haven’t had any issues with dog ears, which is great. Honestly, I’m a lot happier with my results than I thought I would be, and I still have a lot of healing to go. My biggest takeaway from this whole process is to do as much research as possible on your surgeon, what their abilities are, what their top surgery style is like, and communicate all of your desires to them with as many specifics as possible and make sure you feel heard. Show them examples of what you want so you don’t end up surprised or disappointed by your results. Overall I had a very positive experience with Dr. Ramineni and his team and I’m so grateful and relieved to be physically recovering well.
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
2440 M St. NW., Washington, District of Columbia