Top Surgery Recovery Updates (a place for all members to update after surgery)

[Bimmer Guy]

Garramone only has you use the antibiotic ointment for three weeks following reveal.  Meaning it is used on weeks 2, 3, and 4 and then you stop.  Do what your surgeon says.  It's an simple question, so their front desk may be able to tell you.

[amd]

Left side
It's hard to see, but I "spit" a couple dissolvable stitches under my left armpit. You can kinda see the little holes in the incision line this caused, healing up. It did widen the scar there a little bit.



Right side
This is where there's a little bulge still in my armpit. Garramone said it might be lymphatic tissue or a lymph node, which he leaves alone. I am gonna keep an eye on it and see how it heals or changes over time, if at all.



Here are some pix from 7.5 weeks postop DI with free nipple grafts by Garramone.

[Bimmer Guy]

Thanks for the updated, pictures, amd.  You are really looking good!  Your areolas/nipples look perfect.  I have one nipple bigger than the other (areolas match).  There isn't a big difference, but it is something I see.

[Banf]

May as well stick my updates in here - and some advice!

Keep that post-op tape on as long as humanly possible! There's a massive difference between my scars at the front (where you can see the tape stayed on longer), and at the sides (where I pulled it off earlier since it appeared to be coming loose, and was annoying me). At the front it's very hard to see the scars unless you're looking for them - they blend into my normal skin colour well. The scars at the sides are quite a bit darker and wider, however, and are visible from a distance.

This was my chest 1.5 - 3 weeks after surgery:


And 3 years later:

The flash is pretty un-natural, but I wanted to take a really clear picture.

I admittedly didn't use any anti-scar cream beyond a few weeks post-op.

[Bimmer Guy]

Banf, you look great, thanks so much for posting!  Anything you learned when it came to scar treatment (or lack there of), that you could share with us?  Also, who was your surgeon?

[Banf]

Thanks! Well I had the absolute best intentions of using all the scar stuff in the world for ages, but I turned out to be just really lazy with the stuff.
I bought this and applied it for a while, but I don't think I finished the tube in the end. Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't.. Can't tell with these things!
I went to Garramone, I thought you might recognize a clone

I wrote some more stuff about my op back here: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,99118.msg755112.html#msg755112
And to answer Ender's question which I didn't respond to at the time! Well my nerves are all back in tip-top shape now, appropriate sensation everywhere. So no lasting damage from either DI or the lipo.

[Bimmer Guy]

Thanks! Well I had the absolute best intentions of using all the scar stuff in the world for ages, but I turned out to be just really lazy with the stuff.
I bought this and applied it for a while, but I don't think I finished the tube in the end. Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't.. Can't tell with these things!
I went to Garramone, I thought you might recognize a clone

I wrote some more stuff about my op back here: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,99118.msg755112.html#msg755112
And to answer Ender's question which I didn't respond to at the time! Well my nerves are all back in tip-top shape now, appropriate sensation everywhere. So no lasting damage from either DI or the lipo.

Hello, fellow clone!

Kelo cote is the best..anything silicone is good.

It was good to read about mansculpture.  At the time of my top surgery I didn't need any, but have gained since then (about 12-15 lbs).  10 of those lbs came on when I started testosterone 7 weeks ago and I definitely have love handles now.  

Some of it is naturally occurring muscle too (which is crazy how your muscles plump up like that without working out!), but the fat is there as well.  Hopefully, I can just work it off.  It was great to link to the other thread and see that you still have your pictures up.  Very helpful!

[aleon515]

I definitely recognized a clone brother.   You look wonderful!!
Should be posting next week. I am officially and exactly 1 year post-op today.


--Jay

[Bimmer Guy]

I definitely recognized a clone brother.   You look wonderful!!
Should be posting next week. I am officially and exactly 1 year post-op today.


--Jay

Yay!  Congrats Mr. aleon!  Looks like you and I both had our surgeries on a Thursday. 

[aleon515]

Haven't posted a one year post-op yet so here goes.
The scars did get a little thicker. Too bad. Also have a rash (or maybe just acne but kind of seems more like a rash in that it itches).



--Jay

[devention]

Lookin good, Jay!

[Ayden]

Looks great clone brother! I hope my scars look even half as good!

[Bimmer Guy]

Haven't posted a one year post-op yet so here goes.
The scars did get a little thicker. Too bad. Also have a rash (or maybe just acne but kind of seems more like a rash in that it itches).



--Jay

Jay, looking great my friend!  Thanks for posting!

[amd]

Jay, looking good! And it looks like the scars are fading nicely, even if they stretched a little bit. Are you still working out your chest? The pecs look more defined.

[aleon515]

Jay, looking good! And it looks like the scars are fading nicely, even if they stretched a little bit. Are you still working out your chest? The pecs look more defined.

Thanks for all your nice comments. Yes, Dr G does a fantastic job with his clone army. LOL
I can't lift and so on right now due to sore wrists. I'm giving myself 6 weeks off (which means two more weeks, I think).

--Jay

[Bimmer Guy]

Jay, looking good! And it looks like the scars are fading nicely, even if they stretched a little bit. Are you still working out your chest? The pecs look more defined.

I agree.   

[Jeatyn]

Looks like everyone is doing well in here ^_^

11 month update

Several different angles, I need some opinions.








In a few weeks I'll be seeing my surgeon again to discuss revisions.

I've been doing my best with working out, but I have been recovering from hysto so it's been a little slower than I would have liked.

I have built up some chest muscle though, and I swear, the more muscle I get, the more pronounced my dog ears look. I have a weird concave thing going on. My pecs are filling out at the top, there's no left over tissue there. There is more towards the middle of my chest, on my left side in particular - which I would assume would get removed with lipo.

How are dog ears corrected? Do they have to full on slice them off and redo the stitches? I've never seen any post op pictures that have the poofy bits in the middle of the chest like mine does either.

I feel like if I want this stuff fixed it's going to be like getting full on top surgery all over again. Slicing and dicing both edges of my incisions to tidy them up, and my nipples slicing off to make them shorter. I don't want to go through that again. A little bit of lipo, fine, but a whole other surgery just makes me think it isn't worth it.

So, yeah, I dunno what to do.

[Alexthecat]

You have it free right? I'd do the dog ears then worry about the nipples later on if you still feel ucky about them. Nipples look fine to me.

[Jeatyn]

yah I get it for free on the NHS. I'm not sure if there's some sort of deadline, like if the funding won't be available if I ask to wait or don't want everything done in one go.

My nipples do look permanently erect and really visible if I'm just wearing a t-shirt but I'm not too bothered. I'm not too bothered about any of it, if I had to pay for it I'd 100% say no thanks and leave it how it is. With it being free though I'm sorta like "why not?" - but the answer to "why not?" becomes "because I don't want to recover from another surgery" if I need more than just lipo.

[mm]

Jeatyn, you look good with your arms down at your side.  I can see what you are talking about with your arm up.  Do you expect your nipples will relax in time or will stay erect?  How has your hysto slowed you down?