So I'm having surgery in a little less than a month now. My surgeon was pretty booked, so my pre-op is actually the Friday before my surgery on the nearest following Monday. I just have a few questions, I guess: 1) What happens at pre-op, typically, or what were your experiences with it at the least? 2) Did your doctor have you start doing something (eg stop taking T) a few weeks in advance, or do you think there's any harm in having the pre-op so close to the operation itself?

Thanks in advance guys!

I feel bad bumping this, but I really couldn't find any information online about top surgery pre-op and I'd really like to know. I'm guessing I just posted when everyone was asleep, or something, but I apologise if bumping is against the forum rules. If so, feel free to shun me, mods! 

my pre-op was the same day of my surgery. my surgeon came in and looked at my chest and explained what procedure she will be doing and marked up my chest. i traveled for my surgery so everything was kind of in one go i guess you could say. before my appointment and surgery i had blood work done to make sure everything was alright basically and had to fill out a sheet that contained info about myself, my health, etc. but again, i traveled for my surgery so this was all months before. my doctor didn't have me stop taking T but some do, you'd have to ask the surgeon. with MTF they get you to stop taking your hormones because it can cause blood clots i believe. all it does is really prepare you for your surgery.

Thanks for the info! My endo ran bloodwork before she referred me, but that's been a few months, so I'm guessing they'll have some tests run before just to be sure. My surgeon is only maybe an hour's drive away (if traffic's bad), nothing serious in terms of travel. I tried contacting her through my HCP's messaging center and asking if there was anything she wanted me to do a couple weeks before the surgery, but she hasn't responded back to me in over a week and a half, so there's not much I can do.

Again, thank you! I guess now the hardest part will be the wait... as it gets closer, the days seem to be getting longer! 

It really depends on what your surgeon requires. Mine required a few different blood tests and a physical done with the results sent to her a minimum of a week in advance. My pre-op appointment was 3 weeks in advance of surgery. They gave me an extensive list of medications, supplements, etc. that I was not allowed to take through my surgery date (including stopping T for two weeks before the date). They also gave me the paperwork to take to my doctor for labs and the physical. I got those done the following week and they were sent straight to the office. They also gave me my prescriptions that day, which was nice because I could use GoodRx and see where things were cheapest.

I don't remember where you're getting your surgery done, but if it's a standalone plastic surgeon, you'll probably need to do a little bit of running around to get them what they want. If it's a hospital or part of a medical group, they may just send you down the hall to get tests done that day. I'd call them and see. Everybody has different requirements and different preferences for what you're allowed or not allowed to do pre-op.

Yeah I guess I'm kind of a special circumstance, since I'm getting my surgery done through Kaiser Permanente; all their doctors, surgeons, specialists, etc. are all in-house and part of one of their multi-purpose facilities, so there wouldn't be a lot of running around like you had to go through. I guess I'll try calling my surgeon's department and see if there's any way I could actually get hold of her, or if they know generally what kind of things she'd want me to do a few weeks ahead of time. Any labs I've ever gotten done through Kaiser are generally up on their website for mine and the requesting doctor's viewing within the next 24 hours, and sometimes even same-day. They're pretty speedy, it still astounds me sometimes.

Yeah, so you'll probably be fine! I'd just see if they want you to come off T at all. My surgeon was adamant about it. It seems like a 75/25 split between all the major surgeons in favor of stopping T for at least some period of time pre-op.

Come to think of it, I think I'm fine not calling the doctor, but I guess I will anyways just in case. My next shot is Sunday the 12, so by the time of my pre-op on the 24th, I'll be ready to take my next shot again that upcoming Sunday, which means I'll have been off T for 2 weeks already. Was that what your surgeon required, just that you haven't injected/applied any testosterone in a 2-week window?

Her ideal was to drop to a half dose at 4 weeks and stop altogether at 2 weeks out. I wasn't comfortable with that, so she told me to just stop at 2 weeks.

What she didn't tell me was that I couldn't resume until a week after surgery. I was so anxious the entire time I was off. Don't get me wrong, it was worth it. Nothing bad happened. I was just worried about shark week the whole time.

Hey Andrew, it seems like you've gotten your questions at least partially answered but I figured I'd chime in with my information since I also went through Kaiser (just had surgery two days ago).

I had my pre-op appointment with my top surgeon about three weeks ago. Basically, I had to undress (top half only, they gave me a gown to cover up with) and have the surgeon take a look at my chest as well as take some pictures. He didn't need to touch me or anything, which I was grateful for. We talked a little bit afterwards, I had to sign some papers (so they could keep the pictures on file), and I was given a sheet to fill out to use during the perioperative phone appointment. After that I was allowed to get dressed and head home. Overall, it was nerve wracking and unpleasant but not a terribly long appointment, so I managed alright.

As for the phone appointment, they'll ask you all the standard health questions to make sure you're ready for surgery. You'll answer these exact questions about thirty more times throughout the whole process so make sure you know the answers. 

As for T, my endo had me do labs a couple weeks ago to check my levels, but I wasn't instructed to stop doing my injections. I was given a list of other medications not to take at the pre-op appointment, but none of them applied to me in particular.

On the day of surgery, I met with my two surgeons again and the whole anesthesia team and nurses. My top surgeon marked up my chest (now I understand why they're called sharpies, but hey, at least it distracted me from the discomfort of being half naked again) and covered me back up, and shortly thereafter I was wheeled into the operating room and knocked out.

I hope that helps you out a bit! If there's any other questions I can answer for you, don't hesitate to ask!

Thank you Dante, this helps a lot! It's nice to have an understanding of what I'll experience before going into it, it helps me collect my thoughts and it also helps me prep my mom, who's going through most of this with me, including attending the pre-op; the surgeon recommended it.

Just out of curiosity, are with with Cali Kaiser or Oregon? I know they operate similarly, in any case, was just curious.

Quote from: AndrewB on July 08, 2015, 03:45:39 PM
Thank you Dante, this helps a lot! It's nice to have an understanding of what I'll experience before going into it, it helps me collect my thoughts and it also helps me prep my mom, who's going through most of this with me, including attending the pre-op; the surgeon recommended it.

Just out of curiosity, are with with Cali Kaiser or Oregon? I know they operate similarly, in any case, was just curious.

Yeah, I always find that knowing what to expect is the best way to relieve anxiety.

And I'm with Cali; all my stuff was done in SF/Oakland.

I'll quote you some of the pre-op instructions I was given. Of course, follow your own doctors' advice.

"DO NOT take Vit E, multi-vitamins, ASA, fish oil, flax seed, ibuprofen, naproxine, Metabolife, fat burners, herbal medicines, alcohol, or cough medicines at least 10 days prior to surgery. These can be taken again 3 days after surgery. (Interesting that there was no specific mention of caffeine since that is usually a major ingredient in fat burners.)

Tylenol may be taken anytime.

Take last dose/shot of testosterone 7 days prior to surgery and resume 3 days after." (I thought shots were usually further apart than this? IDK, I'm not on T.)

I tend to have a lot of joint pain from old injuries. I asked my GP if it was OK to use topical Diclofenac (Voltarin) and he that's fine. Again, check with the advice of your own doctors.

17 days to my top surgery!

Quote from: genderirrelevant on July 21, 2015, 08:21:44 AM
I'll quote you some of the pre-op instructions I was given. Of course, follow your own doctors' advice.

"DO NOT take Vit E, multi-vitamins, ASA, fish oil, flax seed, ibuprofen, naproxine, Metabolife, fat burners, herbal medicines, alcohol, or cough medicines at least 10 days prior to surgery. These can be taken again 3 days after surgery. (Interesting that there was no specific mention of caffeine since that is usually a major ingredient in fat burners.)

Tylenol may be taken anytime.

Take last dose/shot of testosterone 7 days prior to surgery and resume 3 days after." (I thought shots were usually further apart than this? IDK, I'm not on T.)

I tend to have a lot of joint pain from old injuries. I asked my GP if it was OK to use topical Diclofenac (Voltarin) and he that's fine. Again, check with the advice of your own doctors.

17 days to my top surgery!

Hey, we're both getting pretty close! I'm actually glad I stopped taking my dietary supplements (fish oil, vitamin D, and a multi-vitamin) at the 2 week mark, along with ibuprofen—it's been hard, as I've gotten a couple of award-winning headaches in the past week, but I know it'll only improve my results. The only thing that my surgeon told me differently on, once I was able to make contact with her, was that I could in fact take my T shot, even the one just 24 hours before my surgery (mine are every 2 weeks). I guess that one's just left up to surgeon's choice.

Thanks for the specific instructions, I'll make sure to continue staying away from the rest of that stuff in the few days I have left, luckily I haven't been taking any of it recently anyhow.

At my pre-op they brought me into a room and basically went over everything that was going to happen with the surgery. They told me about the drains I would have and gave me some papers to fill out before surgery. They talked about what things I could take and what I couldn't (everyone else already seemed to have posted what my list entailed) They had me sign a paper saying I wasn't going to be smoking because smoking will totally jack up your healing. I was allowed to use my vaporizer but after 2 weeks I had to cut everything off (which I did)
I was told to stop taking my Testosterone 2 weeks before my surgery. I took half of my dose the week prior to the two weeks because I wasn't going to be able to take it for about a week during recovery. Also any supplements or dietary pills you may take if you're working out you need to cut off at 2 weeks. Oh and of course the most important thing they wanted from me was the rest of my payment for my surgery :p

As long as you keep yourself educated (which I don't doubt you are doing) on what you should and shouldn't be doing you will be fine to have your pre-op a little before surgery. I just recommend making sure you have everything you need to keep yourself comfortable and happy during recovery The surgery is the easy part. I'm excited to see how everything turns out for you.