'Mini' Consultation, fees & experience

I've been recommended a clinic by 2 ladies who have had a BA.
Unfortunately the surgeon that had has now retired - after further research I chose to have the consultation with Mr Foo. I rang the clinic, who charge £120. They suggested I start with a mini free 10 minute consultation which I have booked for next Thursday!

What can I expect from a 10 minute consultation with the surgeon? Will they talk sizes? Or more procedure and about the clinic?

What should I expect after paying £120 for a consultation? 

Another friend said her full consultation was free, but it was with the nurse and not the surgeon (she didn't meet him until the day..) Which I don't like the sound of. 

What was your experience please?

X

I've not been to one myself, but by all accounts the free 'mini' consultation is just a teaser to tempt you in. They wont discuss 'your' BA, only what a BA entails, before asking for money for you to come back. I'm not sure if this is with the surgeons or not. 

Is it MYA? From what i understand from other ladies, the £120 gets you 3 consultations (3 surgeons if you like). these should be with a surgeon, discussing 'your' BA, sizing, what you're looking for, what sort to surgery will suit you. 

You can get free consults with surgeons with the right clinics if you were just looking for a comparison. The Hospital Group are free, and you're straight in with a surgeon, no nurse or PCC bull (though you'll see a PCC after the surgeon to try on some implants and sales pitch). Transform was also free, but my experience of them was awful, some snooty woman reading me the website verbatim, then practically saying 'so when do you want to book'. I told them where to go! If anywhere was doing consults with a nurse only and only meeting your surgeon on the day, I'd run a mile to be honest! You cant possible be fully informed, and these nurses are not trained correctly to know what the outcome will be.

I had a good Google about my surgeon, and he's also on you tube. I payed £100 for my appointment then if I wanted anymore after they were free. Also i payed for ba 2 weeks before, which I've just done. i didn't pay a deposit either. Both of my appointment I saw my surgeon, Diane his secretary once. And my pre op was done on the phone, so haven't met the nurses yet till my ba x x

I agree with Charlii and would too ran a mile if my consultation was with somebody who is not qualified - a nurse and then meeting a surgeon on the day - way to risky in my opinion.
I had couple consultations with my surgeon and booked my surgery few months later as I was still researching as wanted to make sure I was making the right decision.

I paid £25 consultation fee and seen my surgeon twice before surgery and then went to pre op week before surgery date where I met a nurse x

Mini consultations are generally offered at open evenings. Sometimes BAAPS surgeons will offer open evenings to discuss the surgery and offer mini consultations if you're interested in any particular surgery. They may ask you to remove your top and take a look and tell you what they think is needed but you won't have time to question anything or for the surgeon to have time to go into detail with you. But if you're happy with the surgeon and Mr Ivan Foo is a very good surgeon then it's worth the additional fee for a full consultations. This also pays for free consultations after your Breast Augmentation also and you'll be given 'time' if it runs over an hour, it's not a problem, they will go through everything they feel you need to know about your surgeon and will 'talk with you' about it rather then 'tell you what's going on'. That time having had personal experience of consultations with commercial clinics and private clinics makes a BIG difference and you always have direct contact with them, either via email, or on the phone, or if necessary through consultation. They're always there. There's also no need to check their qualifications. With a BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeon it's a guarantee they are on the GMC register, they are on the specialist register for plastic surgery and ALL of them hold or have held a consultant position in plastics in hospitals in the UK. 

BAAPS surgeons have such high fees because of the experience they offer. They're at the top of their game and are checked out regularly to ensure they're up to baaps standards and know all the latest techniques. The large commercial clinics don't have BAAPS surgeons, they tend to work for smaller non-commercial clinics such as Spire, MyBreast, Bupa or independently. You can however see a BAAPS surgeon for as little as £25 through MyBreast where it's likely Camilla is having her surgery

If you go for consultations with Non-BAAPS surgeons you'll find a very different experience. Their consultations are generally only around 10 to 15 minutes because of the amount of women that pass through the commercial clinics. If you were 'interested' in surgery with them they insist on a £500 fee (deposit) to book you a slot for surgery and with the surgeon. They generally have a one week cooling off period, so it's very little time to really make your mind up and possibly no money to see other surgeons. 

Transform and MYA offer free consultations but you'll be ruled by their PCCs they will see you first, they will also always be your point of contact between yourself and your surgeon who generally rotates each month to the clinic, so if you've a problem and want to see your surgeon when he's not around, chances are you'll see someone else (ive had to do that before). You will never have direct contact with your surgeon. 

Making decisions which surgeon you choose and this is the most important decision you'll make, after all this person is going to be the one to take a scalpel to your body is the most important thing. Choose wisely. Take your time, have a few consultations, maybe a full BAAPS consultations and a couple of free ones if you wanted too. Whatever you do though, don't hand any other money over other than a consultation fee if the surgeon requests it. 

Maybe take some time to research clinics yourself, there are no BAAPS surgeons in the large clinics but that's not to say there aren't any good ones there. There are plenty of good surgeons there, but do check their qualifications through the GMC register making sure they're on there and that they're on a specialist register for plastic surgery. 

It might seem like a whole lot of work, but when you think about approaching a surgeon to change the shape of your body, it's not so big then is it...and if you put the time in pre-op to ensure you get yourself a good surgeon, then it sure will pay off post-op and we'll be here to help you should you have any specific questions along the way. Xx

The consultation is with the Yorkshire clinic and he is a BAAPS surgeon, I had read into NHS surgeons and decided that I would like to go with one.

I have looked into MYA - I thought it was a bit unusual that all the before and after pictures were women under 25. I wondered if there was a reason for that, perhaps not as thorough. (Only my opinion)

I have emailed but not heard back from MyBreast, I think they have a clinic in Leeds, but there website does not give any information or even the names if the surgeons. I think I'll give them a cal on Monday.

Cookie, thank you so much for all that information. I really will spend as long as possible researching into a surgeon. 

Thank you for letting me know your experiences, definitely want to meet a surgeon before the day!! - I'll tick to my guns there 

You're welcome Sarah and don't forget, if you need help with anything, just ask away. xx

Just to add, if you pay a consultation fee for a specific surgeon you can always ask if you're thinking of going with them, if they'd  take it off price of surgery. 

Doesn't always happen but occasionally has. As the saying goes if you don't ask you don't get   

It is a fee worth it though 

Yes my surgeon took it off my final price x x

Sometimes, 'if they're in a good mood' I should imagine...they even waiver the consultation fee. 

My surgeon said he'd waiver the £150 fee for me, I couldn't believe it, but it was nice having the extra pennies in my pocket over Xmas! 

I'll be sure to buy my surgeon something nice as a thank you afterwards though.

So, a fee isn't always applied. But always be prepared for it. Some surgeons do take the money off the final fee, others don't. Most are pretty good though, but yeah, totally agree with Mrsball, it doesn't hurt to ask. Xx

The consultation fee is definitely worth the money! Consider it similar to any other private medical appointment. I like the idea of the mini consultation though....I guess it will be a whistle stop tour of next steps and it will give you an idea of whether you like and trust the surgeon which I think counts for a lot! Good luck!

I always attempt a bit of haggling.. I quite enjoy the experience, maybe once I have some boobies I'll be even more lucky, HA!

Maybe since it's the new year they'll be in a good mood.

I'll let you know how it goes and what they say, I can't wait!X