Top surgery planning is officially underway!
I live in Oregon, so the closest surgeon (covered by my insurance) is definitely Dr. Nguyen, but I have talked to one of his clients and read online reviews that were not positive. I am not interested in the pedicle procedure he uses (I have absolutely no need/desire for retaining nipple sensation), so I am beginning to research other top surgeons on the west side of the USA.
There are a few Washington and California surgeons I am looking into... does anyone have experience with any of the following doctors:
Dr. Robert Foster (San Francisco, CA)
Dr. David Kahn (Palo Alto, CA)
Dr. Ben Childers (Riverside, CA)
Dr. Karen Vaniver (Seattle, WA)
Dr. Christine Nygaard (Seattle, WA)
Thanks!
I used Dr. Karen Vaniver. She was the only one in the area that was even willing to consider talking to me, because of my disability. Everyone else I contacted either never replied, or politely suggested I was not a good candidate for it.
She was fantastic, in terms of how she handled me during office visits and her willingness to do what it took to make the process as easy as possible for me. I had the double-incision with nipple graft. I'm just about a year post-op now and I'm mostly very very happy with the results. The nipples look a bit odd, not sure those will ever pass for cis-guy nipples. But the scars are very small and might even fade to unnoticeable in another year (I'm hopeful!). I do have moderate sensation in my nipples, enough for erotic sensation even, but not like I had before. There were no complications, nothing went wrong, I healed up well enough though it was slow going. She was very attentive with post-surgery care, which I really appreciated. Her office manager was awesome too, very friendly and encouraging, very respectful. Which, given my being obviously disabled in ways that make most even otherwise wonderful people treat me like a retard, was more than I ever expected.
I did have insurance problems after the surgery, and trying to get those resolved was a pain. I'm still not completely sure if they are resolved or not. But that was the only negative and really it was only communication difficulties from her office, the rest was my stupid insurance. I would highly recommend her.
That said, I'm not entirely sure she is still doing this kind of surgery. I do know that another surgeon took over her private practice and she moved to another clinic (or a hospital?) in the Seattle area, but I don't know the details.
Feel free to pm me if you have questions.
Pixie: Vitamin E oil is supposed to help fade out scars.
Ridley: good luck!
What about Dr. Mangubat? He's in Seattle, and the results seem pretty good. You can see some of his work and reviews here: http://www.labelleviecosmetic.com/transgender-chest-reconstruction.shtml
Unfortunately, Dr. Mangubat isn't covered by my insurance, so he's on my Plan B list at the moment. Which is sad... because I've heard good things!
Quote from: lionheart on January 04, 2015, 11:38:47 AM
What about Dr. Mangubat? He's in Seattle, and the results seem pretty good. You can see some of his work and reviews here: http://www.labelleviecosmetic.com/transgender-chest-reconstruction.shtml
wow I feel like a huge idiot for never knowing about this guy. I drive by his office all the time. He even has good yelp reviews from trans guys who are happy with their results.
Dr Crane's office takes insurance. I don't think you actually would go to Dr Crane, as my understanding is that he pretty much is doing the lower surgery now. But I believe there is a doctor in that office.
You can google CraneBrownstein or the other way.
Mangubat is an excellent surgeon, would choose him over Crane.
--Jay
Quote from: aleon515 on January 16, 2015, 12:41:02 PM
Dr Crane's office takes insurance. I don't think you actually would go to Dr Crane, as my understanding is that he pretty much is doing the lower surgery now. But I believe there is a doctor in that office.
You can google CraneBrownstein or the other way.
Mangubat is an excellent surgeon, would choose him over Crane.
--Jay
If Dr. Crane isn't doing top surgeries anymore, then it's probably Dr. Satterwhite. They're still in the same office though.
Well not 100% sure here, but I'm getting the idea, as he is getting so many requests. But yes, I have heard of Satterwhite (nothing about him or his work though).
--Jay
Quote from: lionheart on January 16, 2015, 04:59:51 PM
If Dr. Crane isn't doing top surgeries anymore, then it's probably Dr. Satterwhite. They're still in the same office though.