Susan's Place Transgender Resources

How long does the process take? Days? And how long are you supposed to stay in the hospital, does anyone (family members/friends) need to be with you?

I was released 10 min after I came out of anaesthetic. You do need someone with you. You can't lift your arms or, erm, wipe your butt for a few days. Although fortunately post-surgery bung-up makes the latter less of a problem. It's a pretty easy surgery otherwise. I was walking around San Fran for 2 hours the next day. They don't cut into any muscle, so it's just a bit of skin.

BTW, went into surgery for prep at 6:30 AM, was back at my hotel by 11:00 AM, same day.

Dennis

yep same w/me.  u dont stay in the hospital for days. just hrs.  I stayed for 5 hrs tops.  my bro was w/me so the drove me back to his apt.  they give u a binder that ur supposed to wear for 2 wks. it didnt hurt to much.  almost nothin. the pain gets alot better when they take out the drains.  I went back to my normal stuff two months after surgery.  can do everything now, bench press, weight lifting. carryin stuff.  no problem.  its gonna be five months so everthing is cool :) :) :)

 i'd like to ask you guys, chris and dennis - is it true you must sleep on your back after the surgery? if so, how long?

yep u gotta sleep on ur back until they take out the drains.  five days.  it kinda hurts when they take the damn drains b/c they gotta make small cuts on the side of ur chest.

Thank you guys for the helpful info.  I thought it was a much complicated process...but when you have to come back after a week or so to the surgeon to take the drains/stitches off, do you have to be in anesthesia mode?

Quote from: Nero on December 12, 2007, 01:48:16 AM
i'd like to ask you guys, chris and dennis - is it true you must sleep on your back after the surgery? if so, how long?

That was the worst part for me. I had to sleep on my back for a couple of weeks because it wasn't comfortable, even after the stitches and drains were out. And I don't sleep well on my back. And my cat takes sleeping on my back as an invitation to sleep on my chest, so I had to keep waking up and pushing the cat off my chest.

And Oto, getting stitches and drains out is just an in office procedure. Minor discomfort.

Dennis

Quotewipe your butt for a few days

is this true?  That's embarrassing, someone mentioned that at the conference.

and sleeping on your back, i've got cats too.  That's something i've been thinking about.

Quote from: J.T. on December 12, 2007, 04:04:27 PM

Quotewipe your butt for a few days

is this true?  That's embarrassing, someone mentioned that at the conference.

and sleeping on your back, i've got cats too.  That's something i've been thinking about.

Yeah, but fortunately the anaesthetic makes it unlikely that you'll need to. However, people keep advising guys to take laxatives after surgery because of that effect and that's certainly something you want to think about - whether you want to wait a few days before taking them.

Dennis

don't know when or if this will ever happen for me, but if so, i know it'll be a lot of sleepless nights. i sleep on my belly (that's the comfiest) or side. (the dog or cat sometimes sleeps on my back).

Me too. I sleep best on my belly and sometimes on my side. Never on my back. I felt like I was drifting in and out of sleep and never actually getting a good night's sleep until I could roll over onto my side.

Dennis

I've just seen some liposuction photos at transster and maybe I am thinking of getting a liposuction because it looks just as flat...or am I wrong?  Has anyone had it in here?

Quote from: OtokoSuki on December 15, 2007, 08:01:46 PM
I've just seen some liposuction photos at transster and maybe I am thinking of getting a liposuction because it looks just as flat...or am I wrong?  Has anyone had it in here?

no but when you have ur doc's consultation.  he'll tell u if u can have lipo.  not every dude can.  only if ur kinda flat chested :) :) :)

Sorry but I have no idea how big mine are, how do you find out?  Never appeared to a doctor before in my life yet.

send pic to surgeons you're considering. they can tell what procedure you'll need.

Yeah, it's not just size, it's where they sit. The smaller and perkier, the better for peri (which I think is what you mean by liposuction). The more they hang down or the larger they are, the better DI is for you. Peri often requires a number of revisions before it looks like a male chest. DI has scars, but doesn't usually require revisions unless you're overweight.

As far as size, if you wear a bra, B cup or smaller is usually the outer limit for peri, although it still depends on hang. If you don't wear a bra, odds are you're not bigger than a B cup anyway.

Dennis

I suppose it depends on band too, a 32D is very small compared to a 38D.

Quote from: Keira on December 19, 2007, 03:33:36 AM

I suppose it depends on band too, a 32D is very small compared to a 38D.

I think, although I'm not a bra expert (but I can undo them really fast....oh, I digress  >:D), that band size is just how big your frame is. It's the amount of breast tissue that's important to the decision of whether a peri is possible.

Dennis

Thank you for all your replies everyone, which one do you think would help decrease its size more: Losing weight or working out solely on that area?

Dennis band size affects cup voilume. Don't know why this is not publicized more,
no wonder no one is able to find a bra the right size.

Quote from: OtokoSuki on December 19, 2007, 09:25:05 AM
Thank you for all your replies everyone, which one do you think would help decrease its size more: Losing weight or working out solely on that area?

Losing weight will help some. Working out will build a solid muscle structure underneath and is also good. Not much you can do about it overall though. Even if you lose weight and lose some size, you'll usually then have breasts that hang more, making DI more likely.

Personally, I'm happy I had DI. My scars aren't particularly visible and my friend who had peri keeps having to go back for revisions and still doesn't feel comfortable taking his shirt off in public after three years.

Dennis

I realize that this is an old thread, but it is new to me.
I'm going to jump in with a couple of questions, if I may.

My son, FTM, has started HRT this past summer and testosterone injections at Christmas.
He's moving to San Fran this week.
I asked when he was getting his breasts removed and the answer was 'not for a few months'

Do you suspect that there is a medical reason he is waiting? In other words, does he need to start on hormones for a length of time before the breast removal, or is the kid probably just saving his money and needs that much time?

If it is a money thing; his parents are here to help out with that.
But we don't want to say 'here is the cash, you can get it done' without really knowing what the deal is.  We're afraid that we may inadvertantly push him before he is ready if we do that.
(altho I think that he is well beyond 'ready')

Are we talking $5000, $20,000 - somewhere in the middle?

Thanks for any info

Clueless

I was out and walking around until the numbing agent they injected me with wore out. Then I went to bed. I normally sleep on my back but the pain was a very good reminder not to do it. In terms of stitches and drains, I wouldn't recommend getting stitches instead most surgeons use steristrips which are much better if you are going to behave yourself and not try to lift your arms. Drains are mildly painful to remove but it is over in a second and no they don't use any numbing agents for this. Make absolutely sure to wear the post surgical binder the consequences are not pretty. I developed a seuroma that took about 6 weeks of daily draining to resolve because my surgeon didn't think it was needed to bind post op, well that and my home care nurse removed one of my drains on the third day. It had become blocked and she didn't recognize it and pulled the drain. Best of luck
->-bleeped-<-boy

Thanks ->-bleeped-<-boy, both for this post and the other in a similar thread.
Good info, insightful stuff.
Much appreciated sir!

Clueless