Dr Ioannis Ntanos MD, MA, MBA

Written by a private patient at The Pines Hospital

Dr Ntanos was absolutely brilliant can reccomend enough

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Written by a private patient at The Pines Hospital

My whole experience from start to finish with Mr Ntanos was a very positive one. When I first enquired about top surgery he got back to me straight away and was very informative and we arranged a consultation for a few weeks later. I’m usually quite nervous about video calls but he made me feel completely at ease and gave me all the information I needed and when I couldn’t think of any questions on the spot he told me to take my time thinking and then ask as he’s sure I have some, then I was able to think of quite a few questions for him. At the end of the consultation he looked in his calendar and gave me a surgery date for 3 months later! I couldn’t believe how soon it would be, I was very excited. His finance team have been very nice letting me pay half at least 2 weeks before my surgery, and then the other half in 5 monthly instalments after the surgery. Without doing that I wouldn’t have been able to have top surgery for about another year or so! The nursing team from The Pines were in touch with me 2 weeks before my surgery to give me an over the phone pre op assessment which was just checking if I had any health problems. Then they called me again 2 days before my surgery to give me a time to be there, they were very friendly. Then on the day I was the second person of the day to have surgery, so they got me settled in my room with the telly on and although I was very nervous as it was my first surgery, I was able to zen myself before. Then I had a blood test, my weight taken and blood pressure and temperature. I was also seen by the anaesthetist. Then Mr Ntanos came in to explain everything to me and answer any last minute questions and then he drew the incision lines on my chest, which was probably the hardest part of the whole experience for me, but it was over very quickly and I knew it would be the last time that ever had to happen. I was then brought up by a nurse for the surgery. When I lay on the operating table/bed thing there was about 4 different people doing different things at once like putting a cannula in my hand, putting a breathing mask on me etc but there was a nurse stroking my hair and telling me that everything was going to be alright which really kept me calm. I then woke up back in my room and the first thing I remember was a nurse telling me “they’re gone” lol. Mr Ntanos came to see me which is a bit of a blur because of the anaesthetic still heavily in my system. But I remember him reassuring me that everything went very well and smoothly. I was worried that he’d have to join the incisions up in the middle, which he remembered me saying back in my consultation, so he straight away told me that he didn’t have to do that. He also provided me with his WhatsApp number and told me to message him if I had any concerns at all post surgery. (I did once and he replied within 2 minutes with really helpful advice). I stayed over night and the HCA’s and nursing team treated me like a king. They were all so lovely and helpful and made sure I was comfortable at all times, puffing my pillows for me, helping me back and fourth to the toilet when I needed it, kept me provided with food and drink (the food was really good) and were respectful at all times. After 2 weeks I went back for the big ol chest reveal. I made sure to have some pain killers half an hour before because I knew it would hurt a bit getting the bandages off. The pain wasn’t too bad though, Mr Ntanos did it gently and reassured me that he was happy with how it was all looking. Seeing it in the mirror for the first time was a feeling I’ll never forget and I was quite speechless and all I could do was smile at Mr Ntanos. I gave him a thank you card and gift which he was very grateful for. I couldn’t have had a more positive top surgery experience and will forever be grateful to Mr Ntanos and his amazing team.

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Written by a private patient at The Pines Hospital

Dr Ioannis Ntanos is an excellent surgeon. I have left listened to and cared for since our first interaction on email to now recovering post surgery . When selecting a surgeon for my top surgery having someone who I knew cared about trans people and our experience was paramount for me. I had heard from friends about their experiences with Ntanos and they were right, he does listen and he does take your needs and concerns seriously. All my questions and wobbles were listened to. The aftercare instructions and all the guidance along the way have very clear making the preparation and recovery feel safe and manageable. I am also incredibly pleased with the results aesthetically, it is exactly what I wanted and feel so grateful and thankful that this now gets to be my body.

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Written by a private patient at The Pines Hospital

I was seen by Dr Ntanos in November and wanted to wait a few months before reviewing to be able to comment on my post-leaving care as well as the actual physical aspect of my recovery. Pre-Surgery: Dr Ntanos was an incredibly easy person to communicate with from the get go - and continued to be so throughout my care. There was a (comparably to NHS) very short waiting period between my initial email, my consultation, and my actual surgery - I think I remember having my consultation in June and having my surgery date in November of that year. He made sure that I was very aware of the risks of the surgery from the start, and worked with me to create a plan that would get me the result I wanted. Pre-surgery: When I was admitted to PINES, I was super supported by all the staff there, and they made sure that I had the room laid out how I wanted it so that after my surgery I wouldn't be stressing about where my things were. They were very lovely about taking my bloods and taking any samples needed, and it was honestly a very fun experience! Of course it's different for everyone, but I did not feel stressed at all before this surgery, and a lot of that was down to Dr Ntanos and the team's outlook. When he came to draw the lines on my chest for the surgery, he was very respectful and carried a nice conversation, and clarified the type of incisions I wanted. The surgery: Obviously I was knocked out for most of it, but I remember that the "going under" part was super comfortable, and to be fair quite funny! It's really amazing what a great team outlook can do for a patients feeling of safety and comfort. When I initially woke up, Dr Ntanos was there to check in on me and let me talk absolute nonsense while I was still a little high off the anaesthetic. Hospital recovery: I chose to stay overnight in the hospital which I am really glad I did. I didn't feel particularly bad after surgery - I didn't really feel that chest pain at all that a lot of people describe post surgery, but I did have an adverse reaction to the anaesthetic and kept throwing up. The nurses were super understanding though, and kept me sat upright with sick bowls and a lot of water, and gently encouraged me to try to eat my dinner (veggie dahl - which was banging by the way!) but in the end I had to have an anti nausea injection and it worked like a charm! Didn't have any problems with throwing up after that. I also was hooked up to machines which kept my blood circulating in my legs, and when one of them kept beeping at night the night shift nurse was so lovely despite me calling them very often, and changed the machine for one that worked properly. When I woke up that next day, I was seen by Dr Ntanos at around 8am, where he took a look under my compressive bandages and applied fresh gauze and tape. He was very happy with how I was recovering and gave me a rundown of how my recovery would go over the next few weeks. After this, I was prepared by another nurse for discharge, by being prescribed codeine, having breakfast, having my IV taken out, and getting all my documentation. Post-op bandage removal: Around 10 days later, I was back at PINES and seeing Dr Ntanos to have my bandages removed. This was another great interaction with him, as he was very helpful with taking off my binder and made sure that the way he took the tape off wouldn't hurt too much. He was super reassuring when there was a little bleeding, and even told me how much tissue they removed when I got curious and asked! Recovery care: I'm a little bit of a nervous person, so I was very scared by the prospect of having bandages on that I couldn't look under and investigate. Luckily, I got given an emergency number, so I was able to contact Dr Ntanos with any questions and he replied very quickly with a lot information. After my post op as well, I sent a few photos of my results to Dr Ntanos and he's been very good at reassuring me that I've been healing correctly, and advising me on ways to treat my scarring (I've got genetically hypertrophic scars). Overall: I am so so happy with my decision of going with Dr Ntanos for my top surgery - truly a life saving procedure. I am so happy with my results, along with the whole process (which I've been using as an example to reassure my partner who was also going through top surgery, though down south through the NHS) and my overall care at PINES. I don't think I would have changed anything in this whole process, potentially maybe getting in touch with Dr Ntanos sooner! If you're looking to get surgery with him - I couldn't recommend him more. My results are exactly how I imagined them, and the entire process was a lot easier than I had previously thought it would be. :)

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Written by a private patient at The Pines Hospital

i got my top surgery from mr Ntanos on the 15th of march so i am still healing, but i couldn’t be happier with how things are going at the moment. For the consultation and conversation before the operation, I was never made to feel uncomfortable and always given a chance to ask any questions i had. I was anxious that my results wouldn’t be good as i am overweight, but my chest is completely flat and i am very happy with the way it looks as current, and very excited to see how it heals. Overall i’d definitely recommend going with him.

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