Commercial Companies Vs Spire, nuffield ect

Hi, girls im new to this forum.
im just wanting peoples opinion on the topic above.

ive had my consultation with MYA and now awaiting surgeon consultation with them, but a little put off on how people are treated Post Op surgery.. i have a consultation also with Transform but also swayed as ive heard things about them too. 

So been looking at Spire and Nuffield instead, as these seem to be more professional and if anything went wrong post op i would be left in the dark?? also these benefit me more as both are about 20 minute drive rather than travelling down to Manchester etc for the other companies.

Any reviews , info, just general opinions would be a great help, im so torn on who to go with.
(i hope ive posted in the right place hehe   )

Thanks in advance girls

Sorry it was meant to say " Wouldnt be left in the dark" 
xx

from being on here over a year now ive def seen lots of diff girls come and go or stay, been with clinics, hositals or private surgeons

Spire def have the top surgeons and less reop rates but offer a years aftercare however if you get a BAAPs surgeon that have opted into the new insurance, Cookie will tell you the name, then you can pay an extra £150/£200 and get an extra 2 years aftercare i think its with the surgeon and not the clinic/company

I went straight to the surgeon which for me has been great cause theres been no middle man and having needed a reop has realy helped me xx

I've been a private hospital and surgeon, who only has a secretary no Pccs.
I've needed a re op and have had no trouble getting it and was performed just months after the surgery. So no waiting around.

The benefits of using spire, nuffiled and bmi and private hospitals are that the surgeons they have are baaps registered and also hold or have held a position in an Nhs hospital.
They are specialists in breast surgery.

With commercial companies you will be allocated a Pcc and the emphases is very much sales based rather than individually based.
The first avail e surgeon will be allocated to you. You won't be able to pick your surgeon so to speak unless specifically requesting them.

Many ladies have had great experiences with the larger companies, however the aftercare can become a problem in some cases and has been known having to fight for re ops.

All I can say is have consulations and go with what feels right for you and you feel comfortable with and knowing this surgeon will be performing surgery on your body.

X

I've travelled down the commercial clinic road and I've travelled down the experience of seeing and being treated by a BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeon and in 'my opinion' hun there's no contest.

Its BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeons all the way. The commercial clinics simply don't tend to attract these surgeons and of the surgeons they have its so, so very important to do your research if you're seeing any surgeon through commercial clinics. We've found here that some employ surgeons that are only on the specialist register as a 'general surgeon' and some aren't on the register at all! The 'least' you want when choosing a surgeon is to know they're on the specialist register for plastic surgery which can be easily checked on the GMC register. If you get a surgein with any other qualifications such as FRCS, FRCS (plast) these are a bonus.

Many surgery working from the commercial clinics are known as 'fly-in, fly-out' surgeons and you will only be able to see 'your' surgeon if choice on the day they're in the country which is generally on a monthly basis. If there's an emergency you would be able to see another surgeon if yours isn't there. But it won't be 'your' choice of surgeon and you won't have a say in who sees you. Read about these surgeons HERE

BAAPS in particular are currently trying so hard to have this industry regulated 'cos as hard as it may be to believe there is no regulation right now so a surgeon with no experience in this field can simply go ahead and decide that they want to do boob jobs - now if you had a heart condition, you wouldn't just want a general surgeon operating on you would you?! Noooo! Of course not! You'd want a heart specialist!

Well, having a BA means allowing a surgeon to put a scapel to your body and change that shape forever and I don't suppose anyone would be happy not having a breast specialist to do that job would we?... Well, there are many that I would presume unknowingly do and this is why its up to US to do our research. Because there is no regulation all responsibility lays at our own door, so research is the only way to go to get the best for yourself so you're going to want a surgeon on the specialist register for plastic surgery. 

With BAAPS/BAPRAS you have that assurance. 

These surgeons have worked in a consultant position within the NHS for at least 6 years. They also have to have a FRCS qualification. They then have to have two sponsors. Then they will be admitted to BAAPS as a trainee. Theses trainees are NOT BAAPS members. They are taken under the wings of their peers and taught everything there is to know along with all the latest techniques in cosmetic surgery. When they're done training they have to be voted in and IF the surgeon gets voted in after all that hard work they then become BAAPS members. But the training doesn't stop there.... Whilst they are members they will be monitored and they're membership constantly reviewed to ensure those that chose these surgeons are getting a surgeon if technical quality. 

Now... There are some very good surgeons working for commercial clinics and I don't for a moment want to take that away from then, but there's an assurance you get from BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeons that you don't get from commercial clinics.

You also get more of the surgeons time when they're BAAPS/BAPRAS members because they believe you just can't have a full consultation in 10-15 minutes and have that patient fully understand their reasons for the decisions. BAAPS members will give you at least an hour of their time for a consultation. This will be a detailed consultation with time to ask questions. 

When I dealt with a commercial I had to BEG for time, not because of the surgeons 'I saw', I will say that, but because of the time limits applied to the surgeon by the clinic. With the BAAPS surgeon I saw, I could have all the time I needed. 

I also had so much difficulty gaining access to my surgeon due to the patient care co-ordinator. These women are masters in excuses and I think I've just about heard them all. 

With a BAAPS surgeon - I had direct access to the surgeon and could email them anytime. 

Like I said 'in my opinion there's no contest babe. Its BAAPS all the way for me and I say BAAPS/BAPRAS because small clinics such as Spire and MyBreast and BMI all use only BAAPS surgeons I 'think' the Nuffield do too but I'm not 100% sure on that. Xx

I went down the route of a commercial clinic, was planning to go through the hospital group, saw loads of surgeons there, but I had such a bad experience with theme tom start to finish (and this is PRE-op), that it completely put me of all commercial clinics, was really worried what their post op care was going to be like, as they have me a terrible pre-op experience! So went with a private clinic and couldn't be happier, best decision I made I think! You may always be lucky an get a good experience with one of the companies, but I think it's jus that-luck. With the smaller private companies your pretty much guaranteed and first rate experience. That's my experience with them anyway. But good luck with who ever you chose, really the most important thing is whichever you feel most comfortable with xxx

Thanks for the feedback girls!

I was being so Naive when i went to see MYA, the PCC really took a hold of me, really nice ect but then again as my mam said shes just a sales woman!! i was so naive i was actually planning on going with them without seeing anyone else, and applying for a credit card to get it done ASAP but a girl who i spoke to on another forum really helped me give my head a shake as she had bad experience with MYA and explained things over with me, Im so GLAD i got speaking to her. I am now going to take things slower as im only 19 , plenty of time to think and get it done.. my dad says he doesn't want me to get into debt or rush into things, so hes going to help me with the money,we have decided to save up , look around, do more research and plan on going ahead with it in October.  Ive been so depressed and emotional as a BA would change my life and i want only the best.

Thanks girls you've really re-assured me and i am definatley going to go with a BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeon at spires or an other private surgeon with no middle man!

I have chosen to go down the commercial clinic route as getting information from 2 private hospitals in the area (incl. Spire) has been somewhat disappointing. I even went to Spire personally a 3 months ago to request information after several online enquires came back unanswered and they took my details at reception and said someone would contact me but nobody has contacted me    
I also rang up another private hospital in Reading (there's 3 here) and was transferred through to a cosmetic surgery nurse/secretary, who never picked up her phone and I was on hold for a long time and no success several time! So that put me off them too. Maybe I have been extremely unlucky that I have been overlooked by these 2 hospitals but if I am willing to pay the amount of money for surgery I would expect an excellent customer service and communication. And there was no communication despite my attempts.

Also went to see private BAAPS & BAPRAS registered surgeon in third private hospital, however he only offered 1 year of aftercare. 
With Transform I have always been able to speak to someone, they always responded to my emails and calls. And I saw several surgeons via them- most recommended similar size implants/placements as the BAAPS surgeon. I chose my PS, because I felt most comfortable with him and his experience within NHS and privately. He gave me facts and didn't try to do a sales job and I liked that about him. 
Only time will tell if my relationship with Transform remains as good but I hope so- will keep you updated anyway xxx

HI kdee, 

wow really?! i think everyone's different, i hope everything goes well with transform yes please do let me know how you get on xx
 

Hey hun, I had consultations with commercial companies and private surgeons. For me, I felt that having direct access to my surgeon post op, even for a 'piece of mind' email was the deciding factor so I chose to go direct xx

Hi Gleaming, thats so good to know. so who did you go with if you dont mind me asking? xx

I went with a private surgeon in Kent called Roger Smith that I found through my research and who came highly recommended from a fellow breast buddy :) xx

Hey, 

I went with a reccommemdation from friends about surgeon who works at nuffield and I have had to go back several times as had different problems which I couldn't explain.

Nuffield have got a no time limits on their aftercare as I have been back twice to see nurse and then about three times to see surgeon about the more serious problems.

I have found that from this forum the surgeons who work at the commercial clinics are only there once/twice a month and so if you have3 a problem that needs to be seen by the surgeon you have to wait til they are there if missed that month. whereas at nuffield e.g. my surgeon is there on a monday for surgery then tuesday evening for consultations and review appointmemts so I can see him asap if neccessary.

Hope this helps

Hiya. 
I went with a private surgeon and really liked the fact that I had direct access to him every visit. His secretary was great also.  A couple of days post op when I had a concern, I called the hospital to ask advise rather than disturb my surgeon with something that may be easily answered by the nurses. They contacted my surgeon and within an hour he called me to put my mind at ease. He gave me his 24 hr mobile number to use if I felt necessary. That is great reassurance. 

Personally I am really glad I did not have to go through a PCC, although of course lots and lots of ladies have a good experience. 

Xx

I think it varies from person to person, surgeon to surgeon really, there's no right or wrong answer in terms of if you should go private or with a commercial clinic, it's a case of seeing as many clinics as you can and then going with who you feel comfortable with.

I had revision surgery with MYA in October and I couldn't be happier all though I will say this is down to me meeting many Dr's from different clinics and going with who I felt most comfortable with. PCCs are mostly sales women and I have no doubt in my mind if something did ever go wrong for me this time around (heaven forbid) I would have a fight on my hands to get through the PCC or Gatekeeper as I like to call them lol. I have come to my own conclusion that many clinics be it private or commercial are cowboys to some small extent... the majority of them will try to get away with helping you as little as possible as it's all money. This surgery is elective therefore it is very much business before anything else. That's not an opinion everyone will share but after all the nonsense I have gone through with mine, the terrible clinic the first time, and the many, many places I saw this time around it's just the conclusion I have come to.

I can't speak highly enough of the care I have recieved from my surgeon at MYA however they are very prone to admin and communication break downs, I have had my post op changed three times, my addmission time on the day was changed and they didn't tell me. I also feel very lucky to be one the women who searched long and hard about BA before getting one as I found most Dr's didn't go over many complications, they all mentioned CC but nothing much else. A lot of them reel you in with the LIFETIME aftercare however, this only means you can see a nurse any time you like, everything else is covered for three years or so.

I actually wanted to be a PCC given I spend a lot of time helping women who have or are considering implants but after learning what thier actual job is I have changed my mind totally.

The point here being you can't really base who you go with on others views, you need to see several places and decide on your own, there will be groups of women who have all gone to the same DR and some will rave about how great they are whilst others will have had a rough time. IT's very individual.

Long post is post... shutting up now lol.

Thankyou girls for all sharing your advice and experiences