Scots mum with 36K boobs forks out £3,600 to drop 11 cup sizes after NHS 'rejected' her
A mum burdened with enormous 36K boobs that people stared at forked out £3,600 to drop 11 CUP SIZES - as the NHS 'rejected' her.
Caitlin Telford suffered for 10 years with agonising back pain and deep grooves in her shoulders from the crushing weight of her chest dragging on her bra straps.
The first time she went to her GP at 17, sporting a 32G chest, the travel company administrator claims she was rejected due to her age.
Caitlin says she returned multiple times since then, but claims she was repeatedly refused surgery on the NHS due to her BMI and even when she lost weight she was still not approved.
So when her boobs ballooned to their largest at 36K after giving birth to her son Luca in January 2023, she began searching for private surgery options in the UK.
After being quoted £10,000 by UK clinics, size 12 Caitlin says her dreams of getting a reduction were crushed.
But when she discovered she could fly to Istanbul in Turkey and get the same op for £3,600, she booked in for surgery earlier this month [June] using a loan from her parents.
Six weeks on from going under the knife the mum-of-one, who's dropped a whopping 11 cup sizes and is now a C-cup, says the op was 'life changing'.
Caitlin, from Glasgow, said: "It was the beginning of this year, just after New Year and everyone was out in their little dresses and I just thought 'I can't do this anymore'. I felt hopeless.
"A few people I knew had been to Turkey and the price difference was unreal.
"I'm very happy with them and it's changed my life."
Caitlin said her chest attracted unwanted attention and she repeatedly went to her doctors but claims each time she was rejected - even when she dropped five stone.
Determined to take matters into her own hands, she decided to go private abroad and hasn't looked back.
Caitlin said: "By the time I had left primary school I was already bigger than most of the girls in my class.
"They continued to grow and grow. They [my breasts] were just getting in the way of everything and were getting too much attention.
"When I used to go out when I was 17 or 18 I'd get a lot of unsolicited male attention.
"Even when I went out with my partner at the time, I would get attention and that would annoy them too.
"It started with pain across my back and I've been on lots of different painkillers for this over the years. I was also developing grooves in my shoulders where the bra was pulling on them constantly.
"When I was 17 I finally went to the doctors for the first time to see what they could do.
"They panned me off and said because I was young, I hadn't stopped growing so they wouldn't put me forward for it.
"I'm not sure what age I went back but I've been back two or three times and every time I've been told my BMI is too high.
"It was annoying as they seemed to be taking my overall weight for my BMI [and not thinking about the weight of my chest].
"[In 2021] I had lost four or five stone at one point. I went back to the doctor when I'd lost the weight and got rejected for the treatment again.
"It just puts you down as you feel like no matter how much weight you lose because you have a bigger chest, you're never going to be a weight that you can be in a BMI they want you to."
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After undergoing surgery on June 11th, a delighted Cailtin dropped down to a C-cup and is now excited to wear a strapless top or backless dress for her birthday in July.
Caitlin said: "My birthday is in a few weeks and we'll be going out for that and I'm looking forward to wearing a backless dress or strapless top."
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said that eligibility for breast reduction surgery is determined via the NHS Scotland Exceptional Referral process (ERP), which relates to procedures that are not routinely offered and can only be provided on an exceptional case basis.
NHSGGC said the protocol ensures that only cases meeting all necessary criteria are considered for these procedures, through a clinical assessment that includes a range of factors such as the severity of symptoms, impact on daily life, and overall health.
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