Breast operation horror - could it have been avoided?

You may have read in the Mail on Sunday last month about Sarah Cound's horrific breast reduction operation horror that has resulted in £17,000 of surgery, and still Ms Cound 'feels deformed'.

We won't reiterate the whole story here, but suffice to say Ms Cound may be £300,000 the richer after her monetary award, but as many women know, the money won't make up for the knock to her confidence, her self esteem, and her body.

Interestingly, and shockingly, The Mail on Sunday reports that:

The GMC records show that when he operated on Sarah, Dr Horn - who is not a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, BAAPS or the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons - was listed as a general surgeon. He was not registered as a plastic surgeon until four years later.

A Harley Medical Group spokesperson said: 'Gary Horn was employed as a plastic surgeon at the Harley Medical Group for a three-year contract 12 years ago between 1997 and 2000, when his contract expired.

'Only since 2002 have all our surgeons been required to be registered on the GMC Specialist Register as a plastic surgeon.'

While these horror stories are rare, it is important for us to reiterate a few simple checks and rules that can help you to avoid a similar story:

• Always check your doctor's credentials and ensure your doctor belongs to the necessary associations
• Ask for patient testimonials - this is your body you are talking about, insist on seeing what others say about your doctor
• Insist on seeing before and after pictures of real patients that your doctor has treated
• Ask to speak to previous patients - if your doctor has satisfied patients then it should be no problem to speak to people going through the same procedures as you

Most importantly, don't believe that because the clinic has a big and well known name or address (as in this case, Harley Street) it is the best. It's easy to be blinded by posh offices and a great bedside manner, but the above checks are way more important - avoid any horror stories of your own by making sure you cover everything.

If you're worried about a breast operation procedure and would like to talk to someone about a non surgical alternative, give Dr Ravi Jain a call on 01582 762877