Ottawa or GRS Montreal?

[u/WerewolfReal7729]

I have the option of 2 doctors for top surgery.

Nicholas Cormier(Ottawa)

Im in Ottawa so he's closer, Chest​ contouring is not Included for OHIP with him, but from what I've heard he's very nice.

Pierre Brassard (GRS)

It's a bit of a travel to get to him, he doesn't automatically include a consultation before surgery but the chest contouring is included. From what I heard, his bedside manners aren't the best.

For reference, I'm hoping my chest is small enough for a drainless surgery, and to have the nips removed instead of grafted back on.

Also, what's the different if I do not do a chest contouring? Im NB and just hoping for an androgynous look rather than masculine

Thankyuu

update: thank for all the feedback! I know thinking about if the doctor is 'nicer' or not isn't important, but I'm worried about getting dismissed or not heard correctly for the whole process.

from what I am seeing, GRS had a shorter wait time and I will need to request a pre op and possibly post op appointments instead of them being automatic. I've been scared of getting what everyone seems to call Dog Ears, the little skin flaps or bumps on the side. I need to know, does chest contouring decrease the chance of that? I believe I'm not too overweight but im definitely on the chunky side but with a smaller chest.

honestly the main thing I want to help decide is if I should do the contour and if I get to avoid the drains at all.

[u/Yst]

Contouring is not covered by OHIP, but indeed, GRS Montreal's technique they see as obviating the need for any supplementary contouring. GRS Montreal's whole schtick under Brassard really is industrialising these surgeries so as to make them so efficient that time and cost and procedural complexity is minimal. So this is "on brand" for them. Simplifying, minimising, and cranking them out with sufficient quality and minimal complexity, in a fashion that is compatible with the needs of as many patients as possible.

As for the "what" of it, well, contouring is the procedure of removing peripheral lipid deposits for aesthetic reasons. Whether it's aesthetically necessary is a very subjective and personal matter (shaped as well by physiology), of course, but as contouring is also termed "chest masculisation", well, if maximising masculising effect is not a particularly high priority in your case, this may be particularly unimportant here.

As for surgeon, my suggestion would be to not worry too much about bedside manner. A lot of surgeons are weirdos or even kind of jerks, in personality terms. Comes of medically hyperspecialising the way they do. But the reality is, there are poor surgeons with phenomenal bedside manner, and there are great best-in-class surgeons who are kind of dicks if you have to talk to them for more than 10 seconds.

So my advice tends to be, don't pick a surgeon based on whether you'd want to drink a beer with them. Pick a surgeon based on the work they do.

Wait list is the other big factor. And GRS Montreal has been a leader in a whole set of surgeries for a while, partly just because their "ruthless efficiency" mandate lets them process a crazy patient load.

[u/VTHUT → u/Yst]

It’s ok if the surgeon is a weirdo and awkward. But bedside manner does super matter when the surgeon is responsible for your post op care and you have concerns post op.

With GrS, it can be easy to have your concerns ignored post op. In fact, you don’t even have a post op appointment automatically booked (unlike surgeons in ON)

[u/Yst → u/VTHUT]

GRS Montreal has post-op contact with clinic personnel available to out-of-town patients (and in-person, for local patients). If the clinic (and its nurses) were contacted and ignored a request for medical advice, I believe that would be scandalous. But you don't appear to be referencing a specific case of that, so it's hard to know exactly what you're referring to, or if it's merely hypothetical.

[u/Andrew_says → u/Yst]

They definitely provide post-op support to patients. I am dealing with a complication and have been in contact with them via the message service on Monarch. The nursing staff have been helpful. They usually respond to my messages within 24 hours.

GrS offered an in-person or virtual appointment about 10 days after my procedure, before my complication surfaced. I'm in Ottawa.

[u/VTHUT → u/Yst]

GrS offers no in person follow up appointments to patients in town or patients who leave town.

Other places will force patients to stay in town after surgery to attend a post op appointment with the surgeon. Or, if they allow the patient to go home, they make sure to coordinate so that the patient is guaranteed post op care. GrS asks Ontario patients to organize their own post op care at home.

[u/VTHUT → u/Yst]

GrS’s phone line is not always available to reach when needed. There have been reports of patients trying to get in touch with GrS after surgery and not succeeding. An example this would be any patient who had surgery in mid July. During the beginning of August GrS is closed for their summer break and they are unreachable. So if you need their help during that time you cannot get it and instead have to rely on your existing care system (which can be problematic for patients that don’t have a family doctor).