Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I have a question about the incision placement for both sides of the chest.  I wasn't expecting a perfect chest but one side's alignment is OBVIOUSLY LOWER than the other one hence the nipple is also a bit lower....Now if I were to look at each side by themselves it looks ok but overall its not.

THIS itself has been eating my days off because my mental state gets affected very easily anyway and I don't know how or even IF I should bring it up to the surgeon...  I saw other patient's results and theirs isn't like this at all.  I hope you guys can picture what I am talking about with the incision area's lowest point being lower than the other.  I cannot post pictures due to my privacy so I made a quick sketch to express it. There is at least half an inch of a difference from below.
I am assuming that one side was actually STARTED or ENDED (since I don't know where they begin with the cutting;sides or the front as I don't know how surgery is done)  from a bit below (compared to the other) to begin with because the point is also lower as opposed to the other.

Has anyone experienced this with their top surgery? And is there any way to fix this? I was thinking maybe overtime as the scars lighten up and somewhat fade I would be "ok" with it but it doesn't change the fact that the nipple's placement...  Perhaps that area could be lifted? 

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi57.tinypic.com%2F2dv8swh.jpg&hash=03427c79b76e9e182b09f2d3d508e24b792ef8bc)

People aren't perfectly symmetrical. A small difference is rarely even noted.

In my YouTube research I've seen a number of people with assymetric chests. If it bothers you then bring it up with the surgeon but they might say it's within normal range.

Good luck!

The other thing you could have a small amount of swelling. I was off a little and then after about 8 months it seemed lined up. I would not be concerned at all before a year.
Also others are right re: being a little off naturally.

--Jay

I think symmetrical is actually less common; the pic your showed looks perfectly normal to me. You can definitely discuss your concerns with your surgeon.

Quote from: aleon515 on March 08, 2015, 10:38:38 PM
The other thing you could have a small amount of swelling. I was off a little and then after about 8 months it seemed lined up. I would not be concerned at all before a year.
Also others are right re: being a little off naturally.

--Jay

Jay, I really WISHED THIS  could be the case with me because I do have swelling and bad bruises.  So is being off also common with cis-male chests or just with this surgery?

----
I don't feel right making a brand new topic for every single problem I have but even if I discount the incision placement I am actually really upset  about something else. It looks like I have... pectorial muscles.... when I specifically told them that I wanted to be FLAT AND NOT CONTOURED.... This is actually a dysphoria in itself because I don't even feel comfortable wearing a fitting shirt let alone a somewhat tight one.  By the way, I have the swelling on one side so I am of course looking at the normal side and it definitely looks like I have pecs.....

Hey Makipu,

It looks like from your posts you had surgery within the last few weeks?

Definitely too early to be judging results! Your chest will change over the next few months, which is why revisions aren't even considered for at least a year.

I'm not suggesting you think about revisions! Just pointing out that for now you need to focus on rest and recovery rather than analysing your result.

In addition, there is a psychological element to recovery and how you see your new chest. Guys are all shapes and sizes and it does take time to adjust to the fact that you have a male contour. Not breasts! but still a natural contour.

Difficult to say much more without pictures but all the best for your recovery.

Lost.cowboy, I know that it's too early but I doubt the actual shape will change (even if I were to lose weight and I am already normal weight) The thing is, I DON'T want that contour....even though it's how a natural male chest is supposed to look like.  It just doesn't fit my kid-sized body.  I always longed for the prepubescent chest that puberty took away from me.
It's not like I thought of them as breasts for a second but this dysphoria just occured upon seeing my chest with a simple fitting tshirt. 
I don't know if it's because I am a non binary person or maybe not because I even don't like pecs in other men. It's a similar feeling like how I hate facial hair but I can't fix this like how I can shave off my face...

In a year you can go back to the surgeon and get stuff sucked out if you really want to.

makipu, everyone has pectoral muscles, both males and females.  If you have no breasts and you are naturally muscular, than they are going to stand out more.  Kids don't have tesotsterone/hormones floating around to the same degree as adults.  You will have less muscle if you stop T (I think you are on it right now?).

I am not sure you will ever be able to have that prepubescent chest again, but maybe someone who knows more than me will chime in.

No, I stopped T months ago and I never thought I was naturally muscular because no matter how much I worked my arms out in the past I could barely gain any so I don't know.
Do I have to be in general anesthesia or can it be local to get them sucked out?

That's a question for the surgeon and if he sees anything that can still be removed.

Quote from: makipu on March 10, 2015, 11:25:03 AM
Do I have to be in general anesthesia or can it be local to get them sucked out?

You'll have to discuss that with your surgeon but usually when I've heard of people getting revisions it's under a local.

If you look at your body in the mirror, you will find many small imprfections. Absolute symmetry from one side to the other is absolutely impossibly in the real world. From your drawings, it looks like a fairly minor imperfection. If you are concerned that the scarring is noticable enough to cause others to take notice, you might want to talk to the doctor about non-surgical things that can help. How to reduce the visiblity of your scars, or exercises that you can do to help fill out your muscles, since they are usually a little more even under the skin and the contour might help fudge the scar lines and make it harder to tell where they fall.

In any case, good luck and glad you managed to get your top surgery done.

Apparently they don't see anything I see when it's very obvious.  It could be that they don't want to deal with anything more than they don't have to.
It was even ridiculous for me to even continue mentioning anything regarding this problem to them.

I don't want to be a jerk but I think you need to work on accepting yourself and being happy with what life gives you that is out of your control and unchangeable.

What life gave me was the female genitalia which will forever cause me to be a freak of nature.  What I wanted was made very clear from the beginning but I will be patient for the swelling to heal. I am not a muscular person especially since I don't work out doing heavy lifting so it's hard to believe I had them from the beginning. 

Speaking of happiness, I can never be truly  happy because of the freaky female parts I carry that disgusts me to a level I can't explain in words, but I at least wanted to be comfortable and in peace with my chest.