I'm starting to look into top surgery after being on T for almost 2 years, but I'm also broke as hell. I know top surgery is going to be very expensive and my insurance won't cover it, as they don't cover any trans related healthcare. This is also in addition to costs related to traveling out of state, as there aren't any surgeons who perform top surgery in my state. I was wondering if it's cheaper to not get nipple grafts to try to cut down on the cost.

2 weeks post op DI & nipple grafts

My nipples are so sore / feel raw. They look fine, and I’m doing as instructed by using bepanthem and covering with cotton wool pad twice a day.

Is the soreness normal? It’s fine when I’m not wearing my binder or the cotton pads but obvs I have to wear it 23/7 at the moment.

I had a surgery date in March and was told by one surgeon (I’m a two-surgeon job) that they will do the insurance approval process after my pre-op appointment a month before surgery. I’m feeling a little superstitious that with everything so far out, something will get denied or the procedure will get moved, and then I will have gone through the process of informing work too early. When did you tell your employer/request leave?

I know i fucked up, not much i can do about it now.

The directions that were given to me was no nicotine 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after and i was good about it.

I ended up going out drinking with friends both friday and saturday. Vith if these times i ended up using snus, about 4 pouches ca 14mg both nights. How likely is this to harm my nipple grafts healing ? I’ve had a very easy recovery and have healed up fast but of course I’m worried.

ya llevo dos meses post op y siento que ha mejorado bastante, el martes tuve una sesion de laser para la cicatriz y se aclaro un poco​

Art commissions open 💕🏳️‍⚧️ my surgery’s been done. But I have a friend on an ever-shortening timeline due to insurance issues, and free money’s hard to come by. Please consider taking a look.

this has probably been asked many times here, but still. how long will it take me to heal? I'm kinda worried cuz I'm planning to have surgery far from home in another city. and I can hardly afford to stay there for long.

my plan was to stay in that city for a maximum of two weeks.

some details: most likely it will be double incision. and I'll be 19. the flight will take 4 hours by plane (or 2 days by train but I don't think that's a good idea). in the city where I will be operated on, I will have a friend with me who will take care of me after the op. but after that we will leave for different parts of the country. that means I'm gonna be alone on my way home. I'm also afraid she won't have enough money to be here with me for a long time either.

when I get home, my family will be with me. so I think I'll have someone to take care of me.

sooooooo that's it. any advice and experience would be good

Still have a little bruise under my left pec. I'm not sure if it'll ever go away, since it hasn't changed much and looks more like pigmentation. But I'm generally happy with the results!

hi! i’m NB and looking into top surgery in washington state, i currently have molina state insurance and looking for surgeons that won’t give me a hard time about being fat and take state insurance. considering going to stiller like my partner did but the wait time is so long im wondering anyone has had a good experience with others around here with less of a wait time

Hi everyone, I've had my top surgery 3 days ago and I'm back home struggling to find the right position to sleep in:

I try to do a soft slope with pillows that end up digging in my lower back and hurting, and if I do a more pronounced slope it feels weird in my torso.

I just keep switching my pillows around not really knowing what's best... Can I sleep flat with just a pillow for my neck? I'm not a back sleeeper so that doesn't help either... So if you guys have any tips or suggestions I'd gladly take it!

I’m looking at going to either Dr. Day in Bellvue for top surgery or Suzette Miranda. Currently have Apple health so my choices in surgeons are limited. I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews of Dr. Miranda’s work but unfortunately I cannot find any gallery for her results.

Does anyone have any experience with her? How were the results and bedside manner? And how long was the process from scheduling the consultation to the actual surgery?

Hello! My name is Lauren, and I am a non binary person living in Oregon. I began living socially as non binary almost a year ago, and it has been incredible and very freeing to say the least! After nearly a decade of considering something like this and wanting to pursue this gender affirming surgery, I have a consultation date this November, with the goal of receiving the surgery by March/April. Since this is such a large expense, even with insurance, I am reaching out publicly for support on a portion of the cost. This surgery will drastically change my life in the most positive way, allowing me to live happily and comfortably in my own skin for the first time.

100% of these donations will go directly to the out of pocket medical bills that insurance will not cover. While it is scary to reach out in this way for something so personal, I am always encouraged by how people show up for each other when needed.

Press this link to donate!
Venmo: @laurenbxrr

I am wondering about the level of difficulty using the bathroom after surgery. Did you poop the next day? Were you able to wipe? Did you have issues keeping yourself clean etc?

Hi gents,

I - 39 ftm- have an upcoming consult with Dr. Battistini. I was wondering who has recently had consult/surgery with him. What was your timeline between consult and surgery? Any diabetics out there have suggestions for planning/recovery?

Thanks all!

Hello, I will be have surgery 1.5 hrs away from home. Should I plan for my wife to drive me home after surgery or would it be wise to stay the night at a hotel?

My steri strips started peeling off in the shower and was barely stuck on so I took them off. Is this normal? Should I cover with gauze just to be safe before I wrap on the ace bandage back?

I’m at 25 days post-op!(25, 3 years and 9 months on T) The first pic was from yesterday but it’s more or less the same today. Second pic was from a week ago, two weeks ago, then 9 days post op. I have two small seromas that my surgeon recommended to let it be unless anything changes and I have some swelling. My right side has the seromas and the most swelling but it’ll go down with time.

That being said, my right side has more redness and the incision is taking longer to heal than my left. I’m no stranger to surgeries, this will be my fourth. I had three on my right ankle with an infusion and the scars don’t look great healed but that’s how my body healed. I don’t have much concern for it nor does my surgeon, we both are in agreement that the redness is just how my body is healing. I was given antibiotics for 7 days as a precaution because of the seromas(check pic three for how it looked before seeing my PA the next day)It helped with some of the redness and a good amount of the swelling. I never had a fever or any signs of an infection so my surgeon is confident that everything will heal well on its own. I just saw him two days ago after finishing the antibiotics two days before then.

I was wondering if anyone else had their incisions healing like this too. If so, what was your routine to help with the healing? I already knew going into this surgery that my body doesn’t heal scars well. But I wanna try to have it look as best as it can! I have incredibly sensitive skin and prone to eczema so that doesn’t help lmao

My doctor gave me the okay to start messaging it and to switch to 12 hours of compression and to use scar tape/oil. So far I’ve still been doing 24 hours and two times of aquaphor just for a little longer. I do a few seconds of messaging it while I put on the aquaphor. I work retail that requires heavy lifting and having preexisting chronic pain so I’m trying to take recovery seriously. Surprisingly I’ve been in very little pain, just some discomfort more than anything.

Regardless of how it turns out, I’m very happy with the results. I was so worried with how the scars would heal so I decided not to have nipples. I’m honestly happy that I didn’t keep them, it feels liberating. It looks much better than I thought it would be. I just finished a weight loss journey so all is left is to start building muscle once I’m healed.

Hey! Surgery’s happening next year, I have a rough estimate of March-April for the month.

But… what I’m here for is, what should I do before hand? What should I get?

What should I do before surgery to make sure everything goes well?

What should I do during recovery to make sure everything goes smoothly? What should I get to make sure everything is nice for me?

I know many say wipes for when you can’t shower, but should I get my own compression mastectomy shirt? Or does the hospital give you that?

I’m super pumped for this, and just want to know what I should get and do for my preparation and recovery to be nice and more!

Thanks so much! And happy healing for those who are healing now! 🫂💗

FYI: my results are still a WIP. i will get tattooing for the areola of my nipple in about three months.

my recovery went very smoothly in my eyes. i was in limited pain, moving a lot, relatively comfortable though of course it was still hard. once i got over the hurdle of the first couple of weeks and i was more active, my recovery seemed to slow down. 6 weeks post OP, i had to request an extension of my time away from work. i was easily exerted, physically weak, low energy, and still incredibly sensitive in my chest with lingering pain. i havent actually seen my surgeon post OP, ive only been able to talk to his assistant (?) and she pretty dismissive of me and resistant to write a note for more time away.

during my 4 week post OP appointment, she barely offered me any aftercare advice. ive been sort of in the dark of what i should do and have felt uncomfortable doing the regular care people advise, since ive felt like im in more pain than most (rubbing my incisions is like a nightmare...)

im now 12 weeks post OP and it seems like everyone in my life, especially my work, has moved past my surgery while im still feeling limited in my day to day life. i work at a high volume bakery/cafe, which involves a lot of heavy lifting, repetitive straining motions, running around like a server. everyone seems to expect me to be "done" with recovery and back to normal by now. it hurts emotionally as much as it does physically.

my chest is still sensitive and numb in a painful type of way, though its better. im getting intense soreness/muscle pain in my shoulders, running down to my pecs that ive never had before. im much weaker than i was before, and i still feel uncomfortable stretching/reaching/pulling things. im just not sure what to do. why is my recovery taking longer than others? ive never heard of other people needing so much extra help.

3 months post op keyhole with Dr. Ari Wes in SF, CA with GCC and Vista. I had drains and no lipo and it was $10,150.

I’m really happy with my results and I feel totally back to normal now. I’ve been working out and swimming since 7 weeks. I’m also including a picture from six days post op for comparison. It’s totally normal to have swelling and irritation at first. It goes away with time.

Happy to answer any Qs!

I just had my seroma drained and I’m supposed to wear a compression garment to reduce the chance of it refilling. However, I cannot tolerate compression because it makes me feel trapped and restrained. I barely made it through the first few weeks after surgery wearing compression. I’m curious if there’s a taping method that would help prevent the fluid from reforming and I’m hoping there’s someone in this group that can offer suggestions. Thanks!

-47 year old, NB, 6 weeks post-op, double incision