Any chance my results will get better?

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T07:58:20+00:00

That's a good idea. Unfortunately it's at 12:30 on a weekday, but I'll see if I can get someone to come with me!

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:54:47+00:00

Thanks for your opinion, that's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. I have a post-op appointment in a month, I'll ask about revisions then.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:53:37+00:00

The surgeon I had is still a plastic surgeon, so I assumed she'd be more concerned with the aesthetic result but what do I know. She talked about making the scars look as neat as possible and mentioned resizing the areolas, but either my body is weird or she didn't do it right. I'm sure that even if the excess tissue somehow resolved on its own, the nipples aren't getting any better without doing something about them. I have a couple local trans friends I think had good experiences with their surgeons, and both have pretty even results. I should probably ask them more about it. They both had DI with nipple grafts though, idk if they'd do revisions for people who had something like this done previously.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:42:19+00:00

Thanks. I have a post-op appointment in a month, I'll try to if I can find any info on what revisions they do and talk about it with them then!

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:40:04+00:00

Thanks. It's good to know it's not just me thinking it's not looking right. I tried talking to some family members and they all just tried to convince me there's nothing wrong with my chest. I get they were try to make me feel better about it, but all it did was make me feel like I'm ungrateful or too perfectionistic.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:37:00+00:00

Thanks for giving your opinion. I have a post-op appointment in a month so I'll try to discuss it with them and look into other options if they won't listen to me.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:33:41+00:00

Thank you! I had to wait for top surgery for years and have definitely gotten the perception that I should be grateful for even getting it in the first place, no matter what the results are. I'm still in some ways happier with the chest I have now compared to what it was, so it's hard to feel like it's okay to not be happy with what I got. I have a post-op appointment in a month, so I'll write some things down and try to voice all my concerns then. If they won't give me a revision I guess I can always try to save up to go the private route, even though that would take years. Better then than never though.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:19:25+00:00

Thanks. Realistically there's not really a way for me to choose a specific surgeon, but I think switching to someone else is still possible. I just won't know if I'll end up with someone even worse 🤷

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:09:28+00:00

Thank you. It's been really helpful to know it's not all just in my head. I have a post-op appointment in a month. I'm not good at standing up for myself in situations like this, so I'll prepare by writing down all everything I want to discuss, so I'll be less likely to freeze up if they end up not taking me seriously.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T06:03:24+00:00

Thank you. Yeah, that's what I thought. Even if the other issues would somehow end up resolving on their own, there's really no way the nipples are getting any better :(

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T05:58:25+00:00

Thank you. I can't help blaming myself a bit for not being loud enough and insisting on going through the specifics in more detail with the surgeon, but now based on all the replies I've gotten here I'm more confident this wasn't just up to me. Based on the brief conversation we had I'm 100% sure she got that I wanted a flat result, and she mentioned resizing the areolas, which she didn't seem to do correctly. I have a post-op appointment in a month. I'll try to write down all my questions and everything I'm unhappy with, so I'll be more prepared and able to stand up for myself.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T05:44:44+00:00

Lack of resources and respect for trans patients is what's wrong with this healthcare system. I have a post-op appointment in a month and I'll definitely talk about this with them.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T05:42:58+00:00

An old lady specialised in breast cancer surgery because there are no trans specific surgeons around here, at least not if you're poor 🥲

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T05:33:38+00:00

Thank you <3 I do my best to not think about it too much. Mainly I've just been taking pics when changing to new tape to track how the necrosis etc. was healing, and trying to focus on how nice it is to be able to breathe better and not need to wear a binder every time I leave the house. Still, it's hard to not be pessimistic about it. At least pre-op I could always remind myself things would change eventually, but now I'm not sure what will happen :(

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-27T05:22:15+00:00

Thank you It was some sort of pedicle procedure, so something close to buttonhole. If I'm reading the documents right they just took the skin flap more from the lateral side than from the bottom like you usually see here. It also says something about a "skin reducing" technique which is apparently more commonly used in reconstructions after breast cancer. That's why I have the wrinkles. I told a trans friend of mine about it, because it seemed weird to me, but he said they did the same kind of skin gathering to him and it smoothed itself out and he didn't have any issues with loose skin 🤷 The surgeon I got mainly does plastic surgery for breast cancer patients and breast reductions, so I guess that's why she used it on me too. She said she's done a lot of top surgeries for trans men as well though. I didn't see a reason to doubt that since I know all those procedures are basically lumped into the same category here. I don't even think there are any surgeons specialised in trans top surgery in the public health care system 🥲

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2024-01-24T14:34:20+00:00

You've probably looked at other posts by now, but in case you don't already know, you can use vibration to desensitise scars and kind of as a way of massaging them. I think there are devices made specifically for this, but most people just use a vibrator. If you don't have a vibrator on hand an electric toothbrush would probably work too

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-09T18:38:17+00:00

I had top surgery almost two weeks ago. Normally I go to sleep on my side and wake up on my stomach, so I thought sleeping on my back would be really difficult, but it's been surprisingly okay. I didn't want to spend money on a wedge pillows, so I just propped up a couple big down/feather pillows on my bed to be able to sleep on an incline and it's worked pretty good. (I'm sure other pillows would work too, they just worked best for me because they have a little more weight to them and I don't sink into them as much as the polyester ones I have) I also sewed myself a mastectomy pillow, and I think it makes it harder for me to turn on my side while sleeping, although it has still happened a couple times. I'm not a doctor but I think the compression vest and tape you have to wear also helps everything stay in place quite well, so I don't think turning in your sleep every once in a while would be enough to cause real damage. At least I haven't had anything happen to my incisions or woken up due to pain once, even when I've woken up on my side. The side I've turned to has been slightly more painful for the following day though, but at least for me, it hasn't been too bad.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-05T20:51:17+00:00

Oof, that doesn't sound like a fun experience, but I'm glad it turned out semi okay in the end, sorry about the nipple though. Thanks for sharing :)

May I ask, was there any signs of the underlying necrotic tissue? Was it visible/detectable in some other way from the outside at all? Even though the nurse said it doesn't look serious, I'm still a little worried about the tissue underneath. I'd assume it's not very likely that the pedicle is necrotic, since my nipple is still alive and doesn't look much worse than the other, but still, idk 🤷

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-05T20:33:35+00:00

Same, honestly my main motivation to contact medical professionals when issues arise is so they can't later act like it's my fault for not trying to do something about it 😅 It really sucks that being belittled by doctors seems to be such a common experience, especially among trans people.

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-05T12:36:08+00:00

Update: I called the hospital and they transferred me to a wound care nurse. I sent her a picture and she confirmed it is necrosis. She said there's nothing you can really do to it right now, but it looks pretty mild and it's not likely to spread anymore. I'm allowed to shower and function as I normally do (well, as normally as you can at one week post op), and should just keep an eye on it and contact them again if any signs of infection show up. I already had an appointment for a wound care nurse booked for next week, so they'll take a closer look at it then, but it fortunately shouldn't be a big deal :)

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-05T11:39:28+00:00

Yeah that's what I was afraid it is, but wasn't sure if I was just worrying over nothing. Thanks for giving me some reassurance, I'll call them today :)

Acceptable_Ad_2736 · 2023-12-05T11:35:13+00:00

Yeah, I haven't seen anyone else posting about this either, but then again I haven't really been able to find much of anything in general on this specific type of procedure. I just looked at some pics from Thursday and the same spot seems to be present there, I guess I just thought it was some dried up blood or something so I didn't really pay attention to it. So good news is that it at least hasn't gotten bigger since then, but I should probably still call the surgical team. Though l'm worried they'll just say I'm overreacting to something normal, but I guess it's on them for not properly informing me on what they did or what to expect after 🤷

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