top surgery botched. i'm devastated

[Mister]

I'm sure Brownstein would give you his opinion.  He does free consults via emailed photos all the time.  Might want to wait a bit for your chest to settle down, but give it a shot.

[Benjamin]

I'm sure Brownstein would give you his opinion.  He does free consults via emailed photos all the time.  Might want to wait a bit for your chest to settle down, but give it a shot.

Thanks... I will. 

Waiting for things to settle down is the hardest part.  I know it's necessary, but... not easy.  As we all can relate to, I've already waited so long for this surgery and was so looking forward to entering this spring and summer with no bras/binding/layers, etc. 

[Naturally Blonde]

I can't make a comment as I don't know much about Female to Male surgery..

[Aiden]

I'm sorry my friend.  I hope you can get it sorted out.   

[Jamie-o]

Just wanted to add my condolences.  Really wish I could help you out in some way.  It makes me angry that you're having to go through this. 

[Benjamin]

Thanks.  It's been around 2 weeks since I started this topic.  My chest does not look any better. 

However, last week my surgeon and I had a frank discussion about it (a calm discussion -- not a "heated" one).  I'm now cautiously optimistic after hearing his explanation of the revisions he wants to make. 

At the very least, I was relieved to know he could, yes, see how bad things look!  I had been wondering about that!

Some of the revisions (resizing the nipple/areola) were ones that we had already discussed and had agreed upon before my first surgery.  So I had already been sorta OK with how ugly they are at the moment.  But time will tell how the rest of it turns out. 

Revision is scheduled for April.  I'll hope for the best, but I'm still nervous.

In the meantime, I still cringe everytime I look at myself. 

[RebeccaFog]

Is binding a good idea?  There is still swelling.

[Miniar]

I'm sorry he made such a mess. If it were me I would have asked for a refund and/or even called my lovely lawyer friend. I'm not sure if that'd be a good solution for you but my gut reaction is that you don't have to take the botched work and accept it as what you got for the money spent.

[Kayden]

Ug.  I'm sure the wait will be terrible just like waiting before, except now you feel like you should be able to get away with post-op things that you can't.  I'm sorry.   So lame.

I hope your revisions take care of everything and that they go much better than the original surgery.

[Benjamin]

Is binding a good idea?  There is still swelling.

Good question.  I don't bind all the time.  Only when I wear something in public that happens to accentuate the problem.  And the swelling isn't true swelling.  Not sure how to explain this in writing, but... it's like hard skin/scar/something-or-other type stuff.  Not "injury"' type swelling. 

The surgeon has told me to massage the area (deep kneading) to try to break up the scar tissue.  So far, it does seem to be breaking things up a bit -- softening the area.  I would assume the softer the tissue, the more likely to get good results with a revision.

I'm sorry he made such a mess. If it were me I would have asked for a refund and/or even called my lovely lawyer friend. I'm not sure if that'd be a good solution for you but my gut reaction is that you don't have to take the botched work and accept it as what you got for the money spent.

My lawyer friend has recommended a good lawyer -- for if I end up asking for a refund, and if the surgeon refuses.   

I agree, I will not accept a bad outcome.  But I think I need, for now, to let my surgeon do the fixes he has in mind, and then see where to go from there.

Bummer thing, though, is I ask myself:  What if he fixes it enough to be acceptable, but not enough for my chest to look as good as it could have had I gone to someone like Brownstein. 

Ug.  I'm sure the wait will be terrible just like waiting before, except now you feel like you should be able to get away with post-op things that you can't.  I'm sorry.   So lame.

I hope your revisions take care of everything and that they go much better than the original surgery.

Thank you, Kayden, as well as everyone else who's offered their support and advice. 

[Mister]

I agree, I will not accept a bad outcome.  But I think I need, for now, to let my surgeon do the fixes he has in mind, and then see where to go from there.

Bummer thing, though, is I ask myself:  What if he fixes it enough to be acceptable, but not enough for my chest to look as good as it could have had I gone to someone like Brownstein. 

Maybe it would be a good idea to take photos, email them around to a bunch of surgeons and compare what they think should be done v. your original surgeon?  Nothing wrong with being able to make empowered, informed decisions.

[Benjamin]

Maybe it would be a good idea to take photos, email them around to a bunch of surgeons and compare what they think should be done v. your original surgeon?  Nothing wrong with being able to make empowered, informed decisions.

I agree.  I've been thinking about doing that.   

[sneakersjay]

Sorry to hear that.  But I'd definitely take pics, and definitely wait 6 mos to a year before revisions, just to see what's what.  Even Dr. Brownstein advises waiting that long before he likes to do revisions.

Has this surgeon done regular gynecomastia surgeries?  I've seen some before/afters and frankly I like FTM surgeon's outcomes better, even though there are no scars on the guys.

Hang in there.

Jay

[Benjamin]

Sorry to hear that.  But I'd definitely take pics, and definitely wait 6 mos to a year before revisions, just to see what's what.  Even Dr. Brownstein advises waiting that long before he likes to do revisions.

Has this surgeon done regular gynecomastia surgeries?  I've seen some before/afters and frankly I like FTM surgeon's outcomes better, even though there are no scars on the guys.

Hang in there.

Jay

Thank you, Jay. 

I don't know whether my surgeon regularly performs gynocomastia surgery.  (But, I hear ya -- I think FTM surgery looks better!)  Are you asking because you're wondering if my surgeon took that approach as opposed to how someone like Brownstein approaches FTMs?  If that's what you're wondering; I have wondered about that, too. 

Thanks for reinforcing the benefit of holding off on revisions.  The appearance of my chest seems to change by the week -- especially as I get back to my weight lifting and running routine.  I can see first hand now why holding off for 6-12 months makes sense.

How does your chest look nowadays?  Are you pleased so far?  Do you think you'll look good enough to go shirtless by summertime?  (Staying out of sunlight, of course.)

[sneakersjay]

Thank you, Jay. 

I don't know whether my surgeon regularly performs gynocomastia surgery.  (But, I hear ya -- I think FTM surgery looks better!)  Are you asking because you're wondering if my surgeon took that approach as opposed to how someone like Brownstein approaches FTMs?  If that's what you're wondering; I have wondered about that, too. 

Thanks for reinforcing the benefit of holding off on revisions.  The appearance of my chest seems to change by the week -- especially as I get back to my weight lifting and running routine.  I can see first hand now why holding off for 6-12 months makes sense.

How does your chest look nowadays?  Are you pleased so far?  Do you think you'll look good enough to go shirtless by summertime?  (Staying out of sunlight, of course.)

I was just curious if he had done the traditional male chests before deciding to try branching out to ftms.  I have no idea how they do it in bio-males; the pics I've seen have had no scars, but don't look like ftm keyholes or peri's either.

I'm happy with my chest, seeing how I'm just over 2 months out.  My scars aren't nice arcs like I see in most of Brownstein's post-op pics, and there is still some puffiness here and there, and firm knots in other places.  I'm very happy with my nipples -- I hated mine before as they were always noticeable even with a padded bra; now they're nice and flat, and best of all still have sensation.  I know that's rare, but mine were extremely sensitive before.  Now it feels just right.

I think by summertime I'll be good; my scars are still fairly red, and definitely won't be going shirtless.  But those should fade with time, I hope.  Either that or I hope I grow some chest hair!

Jay

[Benjamin]

I was just curious if he had done the traditional male chests before deciding to try branching out to ftms.

Good point.  I'm not sure about that, but I know he's done around 6 other FTMs.

I'm happy with my chest, seeing how I'm just over 2 months out.  My scars aren't nice arcs like I see in most of Brownstein's post-op pics, and there is still some puffiness here and there, and firm knots in other places. 

That's cool you're happy over all.   

Did Brownstein tell you to deeply massage the knots?  I've been doing so 2 or 3 times daily; it's helping a lot. 

Sorry your scars aren't as quite as nice as you've seen on Brownstein's other patients.  Are they uneven? 

I've gotta give my surgeon credit where it's due:  The incisions are incredibly even and nicely contored.  They're fading quickly. 

I'm very happy with my nipples -- I hated mine before as they were always noticeable even with a padded bra; now they're nice and flat, and best of all still have sensation.  I know that's rare, but mine were extremely sensitive before.  Now it feels just right.

Wow... very cool!  Must feel great!

I think by summertime I'll be good; my scars are still fairly red, and definitely won't be going shirtless.  But those should fade with time, I hope.  Either that or I hope I grow some chest hair!

Or maybe both! 

Ben

[J.T.]

I have to say, when i first looked at my chest once i got home... it looked worse than the first day i got to see it.  I'm gonna give mine six months before i have a final verdict whether i'm disappointed or not but yours sounds far more extreme.

I went to Brownstein too, and had a Hematoma so i don't know if my hard parts are due to that, or the fact that my nipples seem to be at different levels and sizes.

I think something we all have to come to terms with is that it isn't going to be perfect.  We want it to be, but if life was perfect we would have been born with the right body to begin with.

At this point i don't see myself ever going topless.

However, i am still happy with Brownstein as my surgeon.

[Dennis]

Take a look at guys on the beach. There are weird patches of chest hair on some guys, some guys have B cup boobs. Way too many guys have 8 month gestation guts. They're topless on the beach. Scars shouldn't stop you. Really, nobody notices. My scars get visible if I move my arms up, and I have a weird skin adhesion that makes my, um I think it's my right pec, I forget cause I don't really care about it, but anyway, makes it look odd.

I've taken my shirt off everywhere (well, not in court, but, everywhere other guys will), and never had a second glance, a remark, or a comment about the scars. No body is perfect. And nobody will comment on the imperfections unless they're totally weird, in which case a nasty and sarcastic comment back will stop them. The only person who's ever asked about my scars was an acupuncturist and I just told him I'd had a hormone imbalance and had to have gynecomastia surgery. He accepted that without question. Then the next appointment, he noticed that my nipples had been moved and said "wow, that must have been one hell of a problem. Glad they could sort it out for you."

I'm a Brownstein boy btw, and I do have the scars that arc under the pecs, which is why they don't show much most of the time, but you can still see them close up. And if Brownstein has a flaw, it's removing too much tissue. Takes a while to build up the muscle cause he takes out ALL the fat and if you have fat elsewhere on your body, that makes it look weird.

Dennis

[J.T.]

Dennis, you're the man.

yeah i look down and all i see is belly now.  Like i said, giving it six months.

[Jay]

I am looking forward to six months from monday then! Hopefully mine will be properly settled then. will be 3rd September 2009

w00t.

We all heal differently though..

Jay