Top Surgery Concerns

[fatalerror]

I'm terrified that I'll lose erotic sensation in my chest. I'd rather bind my whole life than lose that.

Also afraid I won't ever be able to afford the $10,000+ for inverted t technique.

[aleon515]

I don't think Dr G is going to retire anytime soon.  You guys can relax. He's very much a workaholic with a crazy schedule (500 surgeries a year, I believe. 5 a day sometimes.) The other thing is there are excellent surgeons out there. I believe Dr Medalie, Dr Fisher, etc are really fantastic. I am not that gung ho on Dr Crane re top surgery (think he does the best metas out there totally though.)

I don't know that inverted T is always $10K might check that out. I think there is a guy in Chicago who is maybe best at this one (not a bad option otherwise). If you'd rather bind than lose sensation you had better work on the extra few thousand you might need. (I think you might be talking an extra year of savign money to put it in perspective). If you feel this strongly, you need to go for the inverted T. You also should not have any reduction of the nipple or areola. The reason I say this is that it quite possible to lose sensation with the reduction of size. I know some guys who had peris who are mostly numb after surgery. You are most likely to lose sensation with nipple grafts. I'd actually say that loss of sensation is normal. I have heard of guys having gettign (or even gaining sensation). What I think happens is their brains are giving them the sensation (being the most powerful sex organ).
Surgeons performing inverted T http://www.topsurgery.net/procedures/inverted-t-anchor-top-surgery.htm
I think Dr Steinwald is the one who developed it and might be my first choice. His results look excellent, imo, though most of them are early on the page.


--Jay

[FTMKyle]

Hmm, my biggest fear was getting sick right before my surgery. Especially so since one of my coworkers ended up getting sick two weeks before my surgery, and I thought I was going to get sick too. So I started taking airborne despite hating the taste of the stuff, and I have doubts it does little more than overdose you on vitamins. Then the nurse told me not to take any sort of vitamin supplement, so I had to will myself not to get sick.

Luckily, I never did catch what my coworker had, or I was so good at willing myself to stay healthy that I never had symptoms. But I don't get sick too often, so all is good.   

[Ayden]

I was worried about nipple rejection, loss of feeling and traveling after. Turns out all three were nothing to worry about. I got both nipples, my chest is fine and I love it (Dr. G was surprised by the level of feeling I had post op) and while I was tired when I got home, it wasn't a bad trip overall.

[Bimmer Guy]

I don't think Dr G is going to retire anytime soon.  You guys can relax. He's very much a workaholic with a crazy schedule (500 surgeries a year, I believe. 5 a day sometimes.) The other thing is there are excellent surgeons out there. I believe Dr Medalie, Dr Fisher, etc are really fantastic. I am not that gung ho on Dr Crane re top surgery (think he does the best metas out there totally though.)

I don't know that inverted T is always $10K might check that out. I think there is a guy in Chicago who is maybe best at this one (not a bad option otherwise). If you'd rather bind than lose sensation you had better work on the extra few thousand you might need. (I think you might be talking an extra year of savign money to put it in perspective). If you feel this strongly, you need to go for the inverted T. You also should not have any reduction of the nipple or areola. The reason I say this is that it quite possible to lose sensation with the reduction of size. I know some guys who had peris who are mostly numb after surgery. You are most likely to lose sensation with nipple grafts. I'd actually say that loss of sensation is normal. I have heard of guys having gettign (or even gaining sensation). What I think happens is their brains are giving them the sensation (being the most powerful sex organ).
Surgeons performing inverted T http://www.topsurgery.net/procedures/inverted-t-anchor-top-surgery.htm
I think Dr Steinwald is the one who developed it and might be my first choice. His results look excellent, imo, though most of them are early on the page.


--Jay

The inverted T has been around for eons.  It is a common female breast reduction surgery technique.

[aleon515]

That's true but I suppose applied to FTM top surgery. Yet another reason this is not an extremely expensive procedure that is beyond what someone who can afford surgery can get.

--Jay

The inverted T has been around for eons.  It is a common female breast reduction surgery technique.

[Bimmer Guy]

That's true but I suppose applied to FTM top surgery. Yet another reason this is not an extremely expensive procedure that is beyond what someone who can afford surgery can get.

--Jay

Right (newer in that it is now being applied to top surgeries).  Got ya now!  That is why I nixed the idea of that surgery techniques immediately.  I see breast reduction every time I look at it.  I mean, I know it is a FTM chest, and I can SEE that it is a flat chest, but every time I see a inverted T top surgery picture, I see it through a filter of the many breast reduction pictures I have in my head. 

[aleon515]

If nipple sensation were a huge deal to me, it would have been my choice. It really was not, i was so dysphoric I really didn't want anyone to touch my chest anyway. I had free nipple grafts. I do have sensation, but not at all erotic. I can feel they are there. What is strange is this: If you asked me to touch the tip of my nose in one movement I could do it. Not so with my nipples. I don't exactly know where they are. I think this is not touch but something like proprioceptive input that is lacking.

--Jay

Right (newer in that it is now being applied to top surgeries).  Got ya now!  That is why I nixed the idea of that surgery techniques immediately.  I see breast reduction every time I look at it.  I mean, I know it is a FTM chest, and I can SEE that it is a flat chest, but every time I see a inverted T top surgery picture, I see it through a filter of the many breast reduction pictures I have in my head.

[sbx]

I'm terrified that I'll lose erotic sensation in my chest. I'd rather bind my whole life than lose that.

Also afraid I won't ever be able to afford the $10,000+ for inverted t technique.

Have you consulted with any other less expensive surgeons about possibly doing that technique? Dr Medalie has video on youtube explaining top surgery techniques where he mentions that he can make a T incision, but it's probably best at that point to do DI. I also saw someone on tumblr (can't remember their name) who had surgery with Fischer, and they basically had the peri technique done but she made horizontal incision coming out from their nipples to remove excess tissue. Just something to think about if you haven't. The idea of never getting top surgery distresses me, so I hope you find a solution that works for you.

[devention]

Will you get getting your surgery before the next insurance renewal?  Personally, I would jump on it just in case your company removes trans related care for the next round.  I have never heard of that happening, though.  I think that more states will also be requiring all insurance companies to have trans related care.

I think my insurance gets renewed in January, and I won't be able to get insurance to cover until next June at the earliest, because it requires 1 year on T and 1 year RLE. So I probably would be SOL until next September. I'm aiming for between the end of my fall semester and new years for the actual surgery, but it depends on if I'm taking only online classes that semester.
This stuff is so complicated.
My other major fear is that the hospital that the surgeon performs in burns down our something. It'd be just my luck ;-;

[pianoforte]

I'm worried that to get the results I want, I'll have to first get a breast reduction and then peri.

I'm worried I'll die on the operating table from some undiagnosed anesthesia sensitivity.

PS. Thanks Jay for all the great information you've been contributing.

[aleon515]

No problem buddy.
I think the fears re: dying on the operating table are pretty exaggerated but very common, if not almost universal. I know someone who asked the anesthesiologist what they did if someone stopped breathing. He found it pretty comforting. I didn't ask. I didn't care for the guy as he talked down to me, but I figured that Dr G would have an excellent one. So who cares if he was annoying. But found when the actual surgery came up that I was not scared in the slightest. I thought this was odd. I think perhaps it's just fears of being out of control and not really fear of death.

--Jay

I'm worried that to get the results I want, I'll have to first get a breast reduction and then peri.

I'm worried I'll die on the operating table from some undiagnosed anesthesia sensitivity.

PS. Thanks Jay for all the great information you've been contributing.

[David27]

I was worried about getting sick before surgery as it was around finals week and I usually get sick then even if I'm unstressed. Also anesthesia because it is hard to get a breathing tube in me. However, I talked to the anesthesiologist before surgery, which helped as I was able to explain my situation.