Share review of Mr Paul Thiruchelvam

Mr Paul Thiruchelvam 2019-11-01 Person 5 5 0

I was recalled after a routine mammogram in late January 2019. I was told that micro calcifications had been found in a small area in my left breast. Further mammogram images were taken and a vacuum assisted biopsy was done on the same day. A marker clip was inserted after the biopsy to mark the affected area. I was informed that I had High Grade DCIS and would need a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy. I was put under the care of Mr Paul Thiruchelvam at Charing Cross Hospital. Mr Thiruchelvam explained the reasons for surgery and suggested that he could carry out the surgery three weeks later. I had my pre-op appointment with Mr Thiruchelvam, and he informed me that he would carry out what is known as a donut mammoplasty. The incision runs right around the areola. The DCIS was situated towards the centre of my left breast near my nipple. I was told that my breast would be reduced in size, and that the breast would be more pert. I was asked to come in the following morning for a 7.30am admission for surgery. Before going to theatre I was taken to have a wire inserted in my breast under ultrasound or x-ray (mammogram). This is where things went a bit against me and I ended up going to surgery much later than planned. The marker clip had moved since the biopsy, and it was explained to me that if they could not insert the wire to accurately determine the affected area for the surgeon, then it would perhaps mean cancelling the surgery altogether. The third attempt to fit the wire was successful and I was taken back to the surgical ward to wait for my surgery by which time it was early afternoon. My surgery went very well, and I was discharged a couple of hours later. At my post operative appointment, Mr Thiruchelvam informed me that he had removed more tissue that previously planned. The affected area of intermediate and high grade DCIS was 21mm and not 6mm as I had been told. There was no invasive malignancy and the margins were clear. I had three weeks of radiotherapy following surgery. The scar runs all around the areola, and has healed well. My breast felt quite swollen for a couple of weeks following the surgery, but gradually things settled down. The breast which has been operated on is visibly smaller and more pert than the other one. Seven months have now passed since the surgery, and the results are much better than I had expected. The scar circling the areola is hardly visible now. Mr Thiruchelvam has done a very good job, and I would definitely recommend him as a surgeon. He strives to give his patients aesthetically pleasing results something that is so important to many women who have to face breast cancer surgery. He has a very pleasant and friendly manner with his patients, and I felt reassured under his care.