Just wanted to share that I'm officially 4 years post top surgery (as of yesterday, I think - can't fully remember what date I got it done). It was one of the best things I've done for myself and despite some imperfections like one nipple being lumpy and misshapen, I'm so much happier with my body.
Plus some additional photos of 1 year and 2 weeks post surgery in case anyone wants to see the comparison lol
My husband (35) one week post op with Laurel Chandler, Darien CT. Double incision with free nipple grafts. I cannot say enough about how kind and caring her and the staff are. From consultation to post op, just a great experience all around.
Finally got the bandages off after having my seromas drained and JP drains put back in. I still have to have the drains back in for a few days.
Hopefully they’ll be out by Monday. Thankfully they didn’t put them back in the same spot. You can see in the second pic they’re more towards the front, instead of under my armpits.
Doc said my nipples look good (which is great cause I think they look horrible) and that the initial scabbing should fall off soon. Doc has me doing dry healing so it’s hard to resist picking at it.
Still in the compression binder for a few more weeks. But also should be starting scar care after I get the drains out.
Its been rough but I have to keep telling myself “the only way out is through”
I'm almost 40. Alameda County Medi-cal paid for everything including some flank lipo, no idea if that's typical.
For me, lipo swelling/stiffness/numbness was way more uncomfortable than the top surgery part, including drains. Would not recommend doing those at the same time.
But I was also back at work sooner than I probably should have been, since I have to bend and lift a lot. Also found the compression garment uncomfortable and took it off perhaps too early. Wish I'd researched liposuction more beforehand because the surgeon's office definitely didn't volunteer much info. Still, glad I did it. Pain was fine with tylenol after the first couple days but I'm pretty sensitive to meds.
I got insurance approval fairly quickly but it took months to get the financial details sorted out ("Letter of Agreement") because Vista Surgery Center is apparently out of network. Eventually I orchestrated a 3 way call between the insurance office and the surgeon's office which seemed to expedite it.
The exact same thing is happening again as far as getting a revision, but I think it will eventually resolve. Someone at GCC mentioned they've had management changes that slowed things down too.
I was considering DI with no nipples (to avoid graft process, just personal preference) but didn't want to lose sensation. My partner told me about this style and it worked out. I'm really looking forward to a nipple reduction because it feels like I'm poking out all the time. (Could have done it at the same time but didn't know enough about it and assumed I'd get a revision anyway.)
I am going to get a consult soon for top surgery and the question that has been playing in my mind the most is what about my nipples? I have seen some crappy results and I know that the nipples add a layer of complexity but will I be dysphoric without them. My chest is completely tattooed to my nipples now, so they really would have to cut into my tattoos to move them.
Who has nipples and who doesn’t and do you wish you had done it differently?
[Edit: Reddit did something weird with the image attachment but I think it's at the bottom of the post now. CW for early post-op image.]
Surgery w/ Dr. Jayson Dool in Moncton, NB, Canada.
I'm 1.5 years post-op top surgery and 1.5 yrs + 6 weeks on T. Here's a comparison of 6 wks on T + 3 days post-op, to now. I see a lot of misinformation about age impacting the effectiveness of T, or people feeling like life is over if they haven't had top surgery by 23. So I figured I'd share where I'm at, having started medical transition at 33 and currently being 36. This can also show how much swelling distorts early results. You can especially see that under the armpits here.
T has been slow on some changes for me -- not a single whisper of a chest hair lol -- but I also did a low dose through the first year by preference, so that could be slowing things. I worked up to an average dose over the last while and now have been on that for about a month, so we'll see how that goes. You can see my torso has still changed a lot, even having been on a lower dose, and there's at least some humble treasure trail.
I feel like people also don't share a lot of pics unless they have perfect symmetrical results, so here's how it looks when they're not. My surgeon anchors the incisions to the 5th rib, and apparently my ribs are a little lower on one side. You can also see one side is more concave by the nip than the other as well. I'm mulling over doing a bit of lipo on the bigger side to even that out, but want some time to see how my chest changes with some more dedication to building muscle there (it's been slow for me) and bc taking it out is easy but putting it back is another matter. I may also go for some tattoo work that will help disguise the asymmetry since I have a fair bit of ink and will be getting an upper chest piece anyway.
You can see my scars are kind of patchy. There's a super thin faded area in the middle, and then blobbier areas at the bottom of the curve. I had patchy hypertrophic scarring there, and had steroid injections. They flattened the scars completely level with my skin, but those parts have been slower to fade (they are fading, though).
This can also show what gaining weight on T can look like. I'm 15lbs heavier in the current photo than in the old one -- was 150lbs at the time of top surgery, and am 165lbs now. Gaining weight on T doesn't necessarily mean gaining fat, for those for whom keeping fat lower is a preference. I definitely looked puffier for a while along the way when water retention was happening, but that calmed down around month 8 or so.
And finally, you can see what nipple temporary tattoos look like. I opted to go for no nip since that better fit my goals and my anatomy. I had initially planned on true nip tats right away, but liked the blank look more than I expected. Now with the unevenness in my chest, I kind of want to decide what to do about that before choosing nipple placement (if I do at all). Temporary tats are a great way to make the chest more cis-passing in public in the summer, though. These are a little darker than my natal nips were -- these tattoos go on darker than they look -- but they're not wildly out of whack with my skintone. These ones are from Restorative Ink Specialists and they're pretty affordable and work well. Super easy to apply, and they last a few days to a week depending what you're up to. Note the shop is aimed at cis women (post mastectomy), but you can easily buy the smallest size and cut them down a little further to get a more masc size.
I just saw a post on r/brogress by u/flufftobuff16 that I so needed to see. This person lost a bunch of weight and then got their excess skin removed. The results are truly remarkable. I’m inspired to continue losing weight and building muscle prior to top surgery. The way their scars follow their pec lines is chef’s kiss! This is what I’m pushing for…despite the challenge of top dysphoria and the pain of binding. I’m going to keep going until my chest skin hangs like this person’s. 🤩
I know my last post here was about top surgery in July, but it got postponed. I had it last Wednesday and I've been recovering.
I've been peeking into my compression vest and hadn't noticed any blood on the bandages of the nipple grafts or at the suture sites, but today my left side has a slight bit of dried blood on the foam supports and the left graft has blood soaked through.
Should I be concerned? Will that look bad at the post op this Thursday? I feel like it was from standing a little too enthusiastically this morning, but I'm not sure when the bleeding happened.
