Let's get this thread back on track and do our best to keep it on track in the future. We want to keep it to a place where guys don't have to read through a bunch of unrelated posts when they are healing and looking for tips (yeah, I know I contributed to the derail myself! So, this is a reminder to myself as well.
). I know I can't tell people what to post and where (please don't read this as me trying to be a moderator), but the reason it is a sticky is so it stays focused and doesn't get lost, kind of like the passing thread.
8 MONTHS 2 WEEKS AND 5 DAYS UPDATEHi, guys. I am writing this 2 weeks after the above date, but the below picture was taken at the above date, so I figured I would back date.
Surgery Date: 10/10/13
Surgery: Double Incision with free nipple grafts
Surgeon: Garramone
Scar Treatment: Scar Away Strips/Scar Away Gel. Used 24 hours a day, every day (3 weeks - 6 months). Kelo-Cote (6 months - present)
On Testosterone: No
Currently Strength Training: No
My last update was at 6 months (page 21, post #413). At this time I spoke about my hypertrophic scarring. I won't go back into that, as you can see the photos and information on that post, and prior posts.
Since that time, I have been using Kelo-cote which is "intended for the management of old and new hypertrophic and keloid scars..." I have not been massaging because my experience with massaging was a widening of the scars. I am sure this is was not the case (as I have not seen any research saying that does widen scars), but it is "just in my head". Regardless, I have not been massaging.
I have not gotten cortisone shots became I know for certain that the scars widen when you do that (logical, the skin has to fall to the sides). My theory (based on my own hope...I have read no research claiming this), is that if I let the raised scars deflate naturally, there won't be a widening effect, but instead will just sort of subside in place. Thus far, I have seen this come to pass (except in one spot, but I had been furiously massaging that area at the time of widening). This is one reason I continue to plan to not get cortisone shots.
So since last update, the hypertrophic scars are less "angry" so to speak and less hard. They are slightly deflating. They are not getting any wider as they subside in height. They continue to get a bit lighter and are light pink. This is significant, as most hypertrophics stay red/purple (but, mine were never purple), for at least a year. I truly believe that the Kelo cote has made a big difference. It has also made a significant difference in flattening out the vertical scar on my stomach from another surgery, and also the color of another scar on the top of my chest. These scars are 4 years old and were quite "bumpy" so to speak. The change is incredible. I REALLY wish I had taken before pictures of these scars. I will say that for these old scars the Scar Away gel/strips was already flattening them, and I do believe that the Scar Away gel/strips is what kept my incisions from getting as red/purple as you see with most hypertrophic scars.
In my last update I talked about contacting Garramone for consult about the cortisone shots. I emailed him on a Sunday and never heard back. I didn't follow up, mainly because I met Kathy Rumer, MD at a trans conference (not, not Philly's) and let her look at my chest. She said that I should wait for a year and then come see her. I figured Garramone would say the same. Additionally, I didn't plan on shots, anyway (there is a risk of cortisone flattening the scar too much, creating an indentation, of sorts).
The last month or so I started thinking more about scar revision and decided even with the cost of travel, I would prefer that Garramone would do this work. Knowing that there is a very high probability that the incisions would become hypertrophic again (some people just tend to get them after surgery, especially in the chest area), I thought we could at least talk about it. Well, he said a couple of things:
1) They pretty much always come back and he doesn't think the surgery is worth it, but he would be willing to do it
2) I should wait a year from date of surgery to see how much better they get before making a decision
3) I should wait a year from date of surgery to see how much better they get before doing cortisone shots (I'm glad I went with my instincts to wait).
4) He would do the scar revision for FREE! Now this one I didn't expect!
I didn't expect the free scar revision (which includes removing the entire old scar and restitching), because my scarring has nothing to do with his work. It is just how my body heals. So, I thought this was pretty cool. I did mention to him that I read (in one article) that sometimes if a person gets cortisone shots every two weeks after surgery, that hypertrophic scars may not form again, but he didn't think this was really accurate.
So, my plan is to wait a year to do the cortisone shots. I am guessing I will never get scar reduction surgery. Honestly, it will just be too stressful and disappointing if it doesn't work and who knows if it will be worse? Plus, I will have to start ALL OVER with hypertrophic scars again.
I also contacted Garramone because I did not like that the sides of the chest continues to have a bit of extra skin that kind of pops out to the sides. It isn't something I see on bio males. I knew that they were not "dog ears", nor did I think they were "back fat". I wondered if a bit of lipo suction was in ordered. Anyway, I sent him the picture below. I put my arms and upper back into a position that highlighted the problem as much as possible. Meaning, it actually doesn't look this bad when standing naturally (note my 6 months picture...the swelling on the left side did go down since that picture, as I said I hoped it would).
I have seen the look of this on many other guys (different surgeons), some a lot worse, but I have never seen them talk about it. Garramone acknowledged what I was seeing was correct and this is his explanation:
He said that I was indeed seeing things correctly, and that this does happen to individuals who have top surgery. What happens is that our side incision scars stop the fat from dropping down naturally like a bio male. He said that surgeons do the best they can to take out the right amount of fat, but you can only tell so well during surgery how much to take. He says that if you take too much out, you run the risk of creating a indentation on the sides of the chest that look weird. That of course looks weirder than having a little extra fat there.
He said that he thought mine looked pretty good (again, I positioned my body to accentuate the fat as much as I could for picture). He said that typically what is seen as a poor result is if the skin flops over. As you can see, mine does not, even when I hold my body in a certain position to make it as obvious as possible.
Really, I noticed it the most when I am leaning back in a chair. The fat flattens to the sides and it looks funny if I look over at my armpits.
Garramone said he would do a free revision on this, using lipo. Just like the scar reduction, he said I should wait a year just to make sure none of it is swelling. He said I should massage the sides too, to try to break down any of the scar tissue that could be impacting the issue.
Anyway, below is the picture with the fat accentuated. I don't have another picture to post, sorry. Pretty much though my chest looks the same as the 6 month pic, except the scars are a bit lighter.
P.S. If the other guys who had surgery could post updates, that would be great.
