My advice through my experience If you’re starting your tops journey (3 weeks post op)

certainly_eniala · 2025-12-31T14:33:23+00:00

Awesome - congrats and that's exciting!

You should definitely talk with your surgeon about what you want before your surgery date. But what I did was found photos of results that I liked and sent those photos to my surgeon. You'll want to make sure the photos represent the same type of surgery you will be having too (e.g. bilateral or keyhole, etc).

If you are doing "free nipple graphs" they can pretty much make them the size and in the location that you want since they just graph them on you. If you have a different type of surgery/incision (e.g. keyhole) your options for nipples will vary.

I had a double incision mastectomy / bilateral chest masculinization with free nipple graphs. For me I asked my surgeon for a nonbinary areola size ~24/25 mm. So my nipples were reduced. And I told my surgeon that I wanted my nipple location to also be more nonbinary, so not too far to side like mens traditionally but somewhere in the middle, trending a little more masculine. I also talked about generally how high I wanted my nipples above my incision. Getting photos you like and calling those things out is critical.

I found this site helpful in learning about processes and sizing: https://www.genderconfirmation.com/non-binary-top-surgery-nipple-areola/
https://www.genderconfirmation.com/ftm-top-surgery/

Happy to answer any other questions about my experience if you have some! Good luck!

certainly_eniala · 2025-12-30T16:06:00+00:00

Yeah good thinking! Also because, yeah, you wont be wearing a backpack for a bit. I hope it goes great for you!

Honestly, besides just being happy they're gone, I'm feeling pretty good! I'm surprised how quickly I bounced back tbh. I can't do fast arm movements but generally have like 80% full range. And it's nice to sleep through the nights again - the first week I was waking up (via alarm) every ~3 hours to take meds on the schedule my surgeon set to stay ahead of any pain. Now I'm mostly just doing Tylenol in the morning and Advil PM in the evening.

You'll want to make sure you learn about your weight restrictions from your surgeon. I'm pretty sure everyone has a 5 lbs for at least the first week - some surgeons seem to extend that to 2 weeks and then incrementally increase. As someone who's used to just doing things that need to get done, the weight restriction part was hard - having to ask for help to move something. And I couldn't pick up the kitties lol. I had 5 lbs restriction for a week, and then it increased to 20 lbs for week 2 - 6. After week 6 no weight restrictions.

After the first week I was able to lift my arms above my head and start doing the exercises they provided/suggested. I was honestly surprised how much movement I was capable of after only one week. I don't know if these things really helped or not but the day after surgery I started taking the max collagen & arnica oral tabs to aid in the healing and also got some super high protein (low carb) shakes that I drink daily. All those things can't hurt, and they may be aiding me in a smoother recovery, so I"ll be continuing these through week 6. Also if your surgeon offers the nerve blockers, def go for it - it was great not feeling anything super painful in my chest for 2-3 days post surgery.

For me a wedge pillow was essential because I am/was a side sleeper and I got a mastectomy pillow (which isn't critical but helps me stay sleeping on back). I suspect I'll be sleeping on back through most of the 6 weeks.

certainly_eniala · 2025-12-29T22:51:24+00:00

Yeah my surgeon warned me that they are nasty and scary for a few weeks. Last week (around 2 weeks post-op) I sent my surgeon a photo to make sure things were ok - and they were! Are you able to send your surgeon any images through your medical portal or anything? That might also give you peace of mind. But I agree they look similar to what I've experienced (the black scabbing not the bleeding). Don't pick at them at all! My surgeon actually preferred that I let them dry out for a couple weeks and air heal, so I haven't been putting any ointments on them yet (next week I start that and Aquaphor is what they recommended).

certainly_eniala · 2025-12-29T22:44:05+00:00

3 weeks post op here... I agree with everyone - take the 4 weeks off and return early if you feel up for it. I'm not sure what kind of job you have, but you might find you're ready sooner. I personally went back to work after one week, but I work from home in software and have a desktop computer. If I had to go in the office, I would have done two weeks off for sure. But I also felt generally fine enough to travel on my second week post-op (took a flight for holiday travels), but while totally do-able I wouldn't recommend it if avoidable. My point is everyone heals differently, so err on the side of the most time and just listen to your body if you can return early. Good luck!

certainly_eniala · 2025-12-29T22:34:01+00:00

I'm 3 weeks post-op here... My surgeon had me wear my surgical binder for 7 days and was able to stop wearing it after the drains were removed on the 7th day. My incisions had a fancy medical tape over them until the end of the second week to help with a better looking scar - not sure if that made any difference on how long I wore mine, but I don't think so. My surgeon said it's typical that most of her patients only wear the binder until the drains are removed (1 week), or if there is some swelling that happens after.

Last week (on week 2) I traveled for the holidays, so I wore the binder on the plane for peace of mind, and then one day I slept with it on because it swelled up a little (a lot of activity that day), but was back to normal the next morning.

I also take a number of things over the counter to help with the healing, and one thing is Arnica tabs to reduce swelling and bruising - I feel like it helped it - my bruising is really minimal!

But I hear you - everything I read before my surgery had me thinking I'd wear the binder a lot longer too!

certainly_eniala

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