Testimonials

I opened a bill from Plastic Surgery Associates today and was reminded of my experience with them this past April. I will start by saying that this office is probably a good fit for most people who seek plastic surgery. If you are trans, I can't recommend it. And this is the core of why I decided to write a review. If you are seeking gender affirming care, go elsewhere.

To start, knowing that I was a medical patient, I wish they would have told me when scheduling that there would be a $4,000 facility fee that would not be covered by insurance. I could have saved all of us time right there and I wouldn't have proceeded with scheduling a consultation appointment. Particularly since they only do medical consultations at an extremely specific time, I believe it was 10:30 on Fridays. However, the facility fee was a surprise for later, after I had driven an hour to their office and sat through a pretty uncomfortable appointment.

But the moment that really sticks out to me the most is when I sat down with Dr. Aitken and when she asked me about myself and what I was envisioning for my breast reduction, I told her that I identify as non-binary. On her notes, she wrote in quotes "non-binary". This rubbed me the wrong way, but I bit my tongue. Maybe I was reading into it too much. But her continued vaguely dismissive demeanor made me grow increasingly uncomfortable. I have a large bust that is causing me a great deal of physical pain and my primary care physician recommended I seek a reduction. I told Dr. Aitken that I wanted my breasts to be small enough to be able to go without a bra once I've healed from my surgery and she said, "I recommend everyone wear a bra after surgery because if you don't, it'll make your breasts sag." I raised my eyebrows at this because I'm no doctor but as far as I was aware, this was something that we have little to no evidence for.

But she went on trying to dissuade me from getting a small cup size, saying that I would be left with large scars (told her I didn't care, she didn't seem to believe me), and that it would increase the risk of complications (I said, I understand, but surgery has risk no matter what so I may as well get what I want). She said she would "try" but she couldn't make any promises. I found this a strange statement considering how many people have their breasts removed altogether. There was also mention of maintaining my feminine shape, I wish I could remember what exactly she said, but by this time I was vaguely dissociating with my tits out as they took pictures of them for insurance purposes - something I kind of wish I had been warned about before coming, also.

Then of course I sat down with billing, they told me about the fee, I said I would think about it (wanting desperately to just get out of there and not open the door for further discussion), and headed home.

I got a follow up call at one point, maybe a month after the appointment, once they had reached out to my insurance and found out how much the surgery would cost. I forgot all about their office.

Then I got a single bill from them in the mail, dated July 8th, with a Final Notice stamped on it. I often take a while to open my mail (obviously, it's September 5th now), because I'm working 30 hours a week and attending university full time. Unfortunately, now that I'm trying to pay it online, it's saying the information is invalid and I can only assume it's in collections. I am slow with my mail, but I put it all in my letter holder right by the door so I don't miss anything. I also wonder why I didn't get any phone calls about the bill, just the one with the insurance information about the surgery.

This is a pretty facility. Everyone seems nice on the surface. The valet parking is fun. So, it gets a star for those qualities. And it's on me that I take forever to open my mail. But I don't think this is a validating space for trans people, and I'm annoyed by the fact that I received a single bill three months after the date of service and now I have to deal with it being in collections.