chest surgery and scarring?

[Tad]

so i got it all done a while back. Doctor wasn't super clear on what i should or shouldn't be doing, however he gave me a 10 pound weight limit for one month, and mentioned that for the first little while I shouldn't wear t shirts.

After that 1 month, no more restrictions.. for women who get mastectomies, i see that 3-4 weeks is the time before they are able to get back to their full exercise regime..  however i see that trans men seem to hold off for a lot longer... is there really a difference waiting a few extra months in terms of scarring?

After a month I went back to sleeping with my arms stretched out above my head and all that stuff..

what should or shouldn't i be doing? I mean - the way i see it.. a scar is a scar - there will be no hiding the fact that i have scars.. so whether it's a 2mm wide or 4 mm wide isn't a huge deal to me, but i also don't want massive scarring either..

[RagingShadow]

did you have double incision or keyhole? i think that has a lot to do with it. most guys i hear from have DI and understandably have more scar issues. i think that it just seems that we hold off longer because a) we tend to go around shirtless more than women who had mastectomies do and b) the majority seem to have DI and this means the "survey" isn't random/representative or whatever the term is. i had keyhole so my scars were going to be minimal no matter what I did.

but anyways, you should be ok if your doc cleared you, but maybe another 2 weeks wouldn't hurt, just to be safe

[aleon515]

Women don't go topless (normally), are not likely to do weights afterwards, and don't have their nipples revised. There are usually no concerns re: stretching the scars.

If you did yoga or pilates afterward there wouldn't be any concerns to "normal exercise". I am guessing a female body builder would have to wait too.

--Jay Jay

[Tad]

i had DI... need to get revision done on it, though doubtful I'll be able to get it done due to healthcare system.. anyhow i donno, females i know are way more self conscious about scars, so i have a hard time believing they would find stretching at all acceptable (google seems to agree that females are super self conscious about mast scars - but still get active rather fast). But i don't lift weights much, just daily life lifting of items.. I have destroyed knee so I'm pretty much stuck to swimming, cycling around the block and walking for the next year. Not like I can do crazy things anyhow.

I just found it odd that the plastic surgeon i saw said anything goes after a month.. and the difference for what i see here.

[Make_It_Good]

To me it just sounds like your surgeon was very lax with what precautions to take (although so was my surgeon, but I still waited 4 months before going to the gym).

Doing things too early can really have an effect, you said

... is there really a difference waiting a few extra months in terms of scarring?

.. so whether it's a 2mm wide or 4 mm wide isn't a huge deal to me, but i also don't want massive scarring either..

Yes, it does make a big difference, or atleast it did to me. It turned out the question wasnt whether the scar is 2mm, or 4mm would it make a difference, but instead 2mm or 18mm, (as the widest parts of my scars have ended up. I just measured). I wish Id taken things even more slowly, however with the skin stretched over the flat surface of my rib, I feel that any movement wouldve caused even some stretching. But hey, you cant be too careful.

[Tad]

our surgeons are hack jobs here, so the results are bad anyways. Like i said, i'll need revisions if i can get them, if not i'll probably never take off my shirt in public anyways. I'm just happy to be flat. My scar has stretched to 3-4 mm on my left side - which i dont use for anything really.. i don't even sleep with that arm up. On the side of my body i do use, and often have my arm above my head.. scar has not stretched at all.. seems more random then anything.

[supremecatoverlord]

our surgeons are hack jobs here, so the results are bad anyways.

Wow, man. That really sucks. =/

[Devlyn]

Let's respect TOS rule # 11 and keep the foul language off the site, please. Thank you, Devlyn