Warning - the first pic is a little graphic; not too bad, but it's still healing.
---------------------
I'm on the mend from top surgery, so I thought I'd post. Gives me something to do :D. Surgery was this past Thursday with Dr. Medalie in Cleveland. I have to stay in town 'til Tuesday (when the drains come out), so I'm staying at an extended stay hotel with my mom, who is graciously taking care of my useless self, lol. I've regained some of the range of motion in my arms in the past couple days, but definitely not 100%. It's amazing how hard some things become (putting on a button-up shirt, shoes, a seatbelt, getting dishes out of a too-high cupboard) when you don't have full use of your arms.
I had the periareolar technique done, but I haven't seen my chest yet. I'm getting anxious/excited to see it. My chest feels alright. The vicodin works wonders for pain. The worst day for pain was the day after surgery when all the local anesthetic had worn off. The worst day period was the day of surgery--general anesthesia makes me nauseous like none other.
Dunno what else to say, other than the nurses that took care of me after surgery were awesome. They were very attentive and not at all 'weirded out' by me--which makes sense, given how many guys have already had top surgery with Dr. Medalie, but it was still nice that things never felt awkward. The Dr. himself is very professional and down-to-business. I was a little worried about having surgery on a Thursday--if something goes wrong during the weekend, what do I do? Go to the ER (not exactly comfortable with that)? Fortunately, Dr. Medalie provides his number and requests that patients call him if anything seems wrong, so that put my mind at ease. Everything seems to be going good so far, save for some swelling that I did go see him about to check that a hematoma wasn't forming (it wasn't).
Finally, I've got a question for those who have had top surgery: how long after surgery were you able to stop taking painkillers?
------------UPDATE--------------
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi859.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab160%2Filleayr%2FChestcloseup-5dayspostop.jpg&hash=265d70e1821b653f387be4288b359b281709ead6)
5 days post-op & freshly showered (the day I got my drains out)
The lines along my pectoral line aren't incisions, they're just the remnants of the purple marker the surgeon used on me. The 'pleating' is due to excess skin, courtesy of my unusually large pre-op areolae size. It's apparently supposed to even out as I heal (hope so). The contouring is great; no extra pouches of skin/tissue. It's all very flat, but not concave. I can see my (admittedly small) pectoral muscles twitch. I'm not even gonna try flexing yet.
------------UPDATE 5-27-10--------------
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi859.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab160%2Filleayr%2FChest-4MonthsPostop.jpg&hash=7d7b9c78d8897deb350fa1b178af5dc39a98b4d1)
About 4 months post-op
The healing is coming along, slowly. Most of the pleats have smoothed out when I'm standing straight, but become more visible if I lean over or slouch. My skin tends to ripple along the stretch marks (they're definitely present, but are light and difficult to see in photos) that I had prior to surgery. There's some scarring around the areolae (see the darker pink at the border). No sensation in the nipples/areolae, though I didn't have sensation before surgery, so no big. There's tactile sensation in the left side of my chest, but the right side still has a large numb area above the areola that's roughly 4" in diameter--my right side was larger and more tissue was removed in that area via liposuction. I still occasionally get sharp pains, usually after carrying something heavy and usually on my right side.
Not complainin' here, just wanted to be factual for anybody considering a peri. The healing takes time and liposuction is a *insert expletive here*. But all-in-all I think the outcome has been pretty good.
Congratulations! :D
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Eryk. I am so happy for you, Hon. ~Big hugs~ Sorry didn't might to hurt you. :icon_chick: :icon_bunch:
Heal well and heal quickly,
Janet
congrats you lucky man
Congrats! Can't wait to see pics!
Far as painkillers, I really didn't need them, I don't think. Stopped taking them after a few days. I had DI though, so YMMV.
Had DI and stopped taking them (except one at night) after the day of surgery. Took one at night to help me sleep, I have a hard time sleeping on my back, for about 3 days.
Congratulations. I have a friend who would like Peri and is a Large B small C do you know it that is possible with Medalie?
Cheers, Myles
Thanks guys & gals ~hugs Janet back~ (e-hugs are OK) ;D
Geez, Nero and Myles, you guys are making me feel like a wuss :P ;). I've been popping the pain pills on a regular schedule since surgery. I like feeling like I've not been walloped in the chest. The areas where he did liposuction are an interesting kind of sore.
Myles: as far as your friend, Medalie would be the best judge of that. He will look at e-mailed pictures as an initial evaluation, but at a B/C, I think that would be on the borderline. The deciding factor might be skin elasticity, which can only be judged by feel (aka an in-person consult). Even at my small size (not even an A by the time of surgery), Medalie expressed some reservations about doing a peri: I had excess skin. My chest never grew very big, but I still developed stretch marks. My skin is just not elastic. We went over the pros and cons: a peri would likely result in more scalloping--and larger areola once that evens out--due to the excess skin; a DI would result in better nipple size, but would have the scars. I scar terribly and probably will never be able to grow chest hair to help cover them. So I made the call, and I can live with the results (larger-than-usual areola), though time will tell how it all pans out.
Don't feel bad, peri may cause different discomfort.
Congrats.
QuoteI've got a question for those who have had top surgery: how long after surgery were you able to stop taking painkillers?
took the prescription kind for only 2 days then reg tylenol.
Congratz!
I was only on Co-codamol for about a week after surgery, and to be honest once the drains where out I didn't need it. My Dr said if I was in pain to take paracetamol... didn't! :D
Congrats matey! Its a brilliant feeling!!! Looking forward to the pics!
Jay
About a week and then as needed. If you drove, you'll likely want them for the ride home. If you flew, definitely!!! My chest was on fire by the time the plane landed and I really didn't do anything or lift anything and I was still wearing the binder.
Congrats on your surgery! I, too, didn't see mine for about a week, either. I was instructed NOT to remove the binder under any circumstances, so I didn't. No complications.
Jay
Congratulations, Eryk! You'll have to show us all your gorgeous pecs once you've healed up. ;)
And what Nero said is likely true. Peri probably doesn't sever as many of the nerves as DI does, so they're all in there screaming away. Sort of like how a deep cut often doesn't hurt as much as that measly little paper cut that stings like mo-fo. Take as many pain killers as you need, and get your rest. Heal well, my friend.
I hear when people get lipo it hurts like a mofo. And peri has a lot more lipo than a DI.
Congrats on the surgery! Looking forward to pics. :D
Congratulations Eryk! :icon_joy: It's good your Mom's there to help look after you. I hope you heal well and look forward to pix!
Good point made about the peri leaving more nerves intact, allowing one to feel more. That's one of the benefits of a peri (after healing), but I guess I didn't fully process that it would mean more pain while healing. I was thinking that DI would hurt more because more stuff gets moved around, but you guys are right about the nerves.
I was able to stop the painkillers a day after I got the drains removed. I heeded Jay's advice about popping pain pills for the drive home. Some of those roads were in bad shape. My chest felt every bump of the 14-hour drive home (travel time got extended due to a snowstorm), but the compression vest helped a lot. Advice for anyone driving a long way to surgery: if you have a choice of cars (family, friends, whatever), pick the one that has the best suspension & shocks!
Looking really good Eryk. 8)
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery. :)
Looks like you got a really good surgeon.
That'll heal up fine. The picture isn't too graphic at all.
Really pleased for you.
Quote from: spacial on January 30, 2010, 06:20:07 PM
Looks like you got a really good surgeon.
I'm inclined to agree ;D
Fun bit of trivia: in addition to med school, he apparently also attended art school. I wish I would've asked him if he studied the human figure. Being a plastic surgeon, it would make a good deal of sense.
Good job man. I think they will heal up great.
Quote from: Kvall on January 30, 2010, 08:46:30 PM
After a while you can also start working out, which Medalie told me can assist in stretching the skin post-op. So that could help.
Yeah, I was thinking working out might help in that regard. (And some pecs would be nice :P). I'll give it a shot once I'm healed up.
I take it you've either had a peri with Dr. Medalie or are looking into it?
Quote from: Kvall on January 31, 2010, 03:14:27 PM
I'm looking into it. He said he thought I would be more on the DI side, but he wouldn't be sure until he saw me in person and peri was a possibility. I also have somewhat large areolas, so it's good to see that he can reduce the size a lot on a peri; hope the pleating from that goes down.
For a better idea of what my areolae were before surgery--they were somewhere between 2-2.5" in diameter. It's like the rest of my skin was resistant to stretching to accommodate what little growth I had, so the areolae just got huge and puffed out. Ridiculous, but happily he was able to re-size them.
Looking good! :)
Jay
the scars underneath are really great ;D real small the pleating is really odd looking but hopefully it will even out as it heals ;)
Ah! I am also considering Dr. Medalie, since I only live an hour from Cleveland. How would you rate him and his staff, and your outcome, compared to what you've heard of other surgeons?
Quote from: zombiesarepeaceful on February 02, 2010, 03:22:57 PM
Ah! I am also considering Dr. Medalie, since I only live an hour from Cleveland. How would you rate him and his staff, and your outcome, compared to what you've heard of other surgeons?
I would rate both him and the staff highly. Absolutely no complaints with the level of care or professionalism. The nurses in recovery are exceptionally nice and familiar with FtMs. As for the outcome, I chose Dr. Medalie for his skill with the peri-areolar technique. I based that on the post-op pictures I have seen (try TransBucket, if you haven't given it a look already). From the photos, he's very good at achieving a natural contour and does a good job with nipple/areolae placement (though for a peri, the condition of the pre-op chest can make it difficult). I was also considering Dr. Beverly Fischer in Maryland for her skill with the peri-areolar technique, but she was further away and cost more.
As far as comparing him to other surgeons, I'd say he ranks among the other highly-regarded surgeons in the U.S. who perform FtM top surgery: Dr. Brownstein in California, Dr. Fischer in Maryland, Dr. Garramone in Florida. If you're only an hour from Cleveland, definitely look at TransBucket to see if you personally like his results (he does both peri and DI), but I would call it kind of an easy decision if you're living that close to a good surgeon.
Wow, you look absolutely amazing. Congratulations.
grats! looks scary
Congrats, very nice. I can't believe how good you look already! I'm and A something I think and naturally don't want any extra scarring than necessary but I thought you had to have a revision with Peri to adjust nipple/areola size. You look all squared away, again, congrats.
Quote from: H205 on February 16, 2010, 12:03:18 AM
Congrats, very nice. I can't believe how good you look already! I'm and A something I think and naturally don't want any extra scarring than necessary but I thought you had to have a revision with Peri to adjust nipple/areola size. You look all squared away, again, congrats.
Thanks. I should post an update pic when it gets to be 1 month post-op. My chest is looking a lot better--less like a giant wound and more like, well, my own flesh.
Yeah, if you're an A, you'd be a candidate for a peri, provided you don't have any sagging. Revisions with peris typically happen when a person is borderline (B or so) or has excess skin and sagging. As for the resized areola, I'd say that most surgeons will be able to resize the areola on the first go, since the incision is around the areola anyways. A revision might be necessary if they stretch out too much while they heal (mine have stretched out some), but the caveat is that they might stretch out again after the revision. Most surgeons will not touch the nipple during the first surgery, preferring to resize afterwards in a revision. Apparently resizing the nipple during the first surgery has a greater chance of compromising its blood supply, resulting in... nipple death, I guess. I asked Medalie if he could trim my nipples in the first go (they were exceptionally large), and he said he usually doesn't do this (for reasons previously mentioned). But he said he would do it if my blood supply was good; apparently it was, 'cuz he trimmed them and they've healed fine.
Looks great, Eryk.
I scar absurdly easily, too. So I'm seven and a half months post-op (DI) and my incisions are still very pink. But the puckering along the incisions has mostly smoothed out, so I think your areola puckers will go away.
Congrats
Note: just added a 4-month update & photo. Apparently editing doesn't bring a post up to the top, so... *bump*
Looks pretty damn good for four months.