Dr. Katherine Rose is a surgeon in PA.
Booking
I already had a letter from a qualified therapist and my PCP physician when I contacted them.
In September, I called their office a few time trying to book an appointment, but had some complications, I forget why exactly. Eventually, I got through and they told me I needed to fill out a patient intake form. I believe the office got my email wrong the first time, so I waited a few days and called them again to comfirm the email, then I received it same day.
There was no option to digitally fill them out, only mail in or fax, so I printed and filled out the papers. I faxed it through my PCP doctor's office.
After a few days I received a MyChart account login link and made an account with Mainline health. I called the office again on September 16th and booked the appointment over phone for October 22nd.
(I had opted in for earlier options on MyChart, and the next day, the 17th, I received a message about opting for an appointment on October 1st. I took the appointment, but was later contacted about that being a system error and Dr. Rose would be off that day.)
Consultation (Today!)
The appointment was at 10:30am, with a note to arrive at 10:15am. I arrived at 10:10, the building wasn't confusing to navigate, receptionists/front desk workers were all very kind, and the parking lot was easy, though pretty full.
I finished checking in at 10:15 and was taken back into the exam room at around 10:30 by an assistant nurse who took my blood pressure, asked me what procedure I wanted, etc.
She left, and I waited 20-30 minutes for Dr. Rose's PA, Dan.
He asked me what I wanted out of the appointment today, and what i wanted with my procedure. He answered a few questions I had, told me to remove anything waist up and get changed into an open front gown, then left.
I don't know how long I waited for Dr. Rose and Dan to come back, but I did for a bit. To note, they both knocked before entering the room, which I liked.
I brought a notebook for writing notes and wrote my questions in a Google doc.
Both Dan and Dr. Rose were nice and friendly, though I did feel a bit rushed once the surgeon was actually here. She did take the time to answer my questions, mostly an atmosphere thing I'd say.
We went over what I wanted, my medical history, etc.
She examined me, told me what I qualified for, and what she would do. She kinda said she'd place my nipples where she liked, and I may not like it. Which kinds gave a vibe of "I'm the professional here, so we're going at my pace/confort, not yours." But idk.
I am 5'3" and 173-175 lbs.
She said with free nipple grafts, they're dead and they won't have any sensation. I asked about nipple reinnervation, and she said I'm above the BMI for that, that I would need to lose weight and wouldn't be able to have liposuction then because it damages the nerves. I sadly didn't ask how much weight I'd need to lose for consideration, because I was sure I'd probably want liposuction to avoid dog ears and unsure if I could lose that weight before surgery.
Since I want nipple piercings eventually, I asked about this and she said that is a question for my piercer and for how my nipples heal. Some pierciers say piercings are too heavy for grafts.
She declined to show me before and after photos due to not showing patient photos.
Exercise, weight gain and weight loss: while my chest will grow and change with exercise, any excessive weight gain or loss will most likely need a future revision.
Revisions: depends on if my insurance covers it, so sounds like she doesnt do reduced price or free revisions. Though Mainline health has a financial aid program based on your income.
She said I'd wear my drains for 1-2 weeks.
I would have post-op follow up appointments at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months.
Not allowed to carry anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks.
Go back to work in 4-6 weeks.
I'd be allowed to shower normally 2 days post-op.
I'm not to take THC for two weeks pre-op and two weeks post-op.
The official date wasn't settled until she contacts my insurance and if a few other patients insurances go through, but gave me a date in December and January that are maybes, and if not the surgery will be in February.
I left the appointment at 11:41am.
Then I went back to the front desk 10 minutes later to ask about surgery costs without insurance.
The lady I spoke to (someone in the financial end but i didnt get her title) made sure to emphasize this was an estimate without the full details yet, but the actual surgery would $6,000 (price depends on how long the surgery is and how many grams will be removed), the liposuction will cost $3,150. I believe that doesn't include anesthesia.
I will update and reformat this later.
