Thus may seem like a stupid question; but why is it that after top surgery your breasts don't grow back if you're pre T? With the normal female levels of estrogen in your body it would make sense if your body grew them back. I assume it's to do with an individual having the procedure done after female puberty has taken place.

Hey Elis,

They don't grow back due to the kinds of tissue that are taken out AFAIK. They take glands and tissue, and breasts can't sprout from nowhere They need like cells in order to form, so with those gone, you shouldn't have to worry about them coming back unless you are exposed to a high level of feminizing hormones.

With top surgery, the surgeon takes out almost all of the existing breast tissue. There's no reason for the tissue to grow back if the person is done with puberty. Think of it this way: the body doesn't know that the breast tissue is gone. It grew the tissue during puberty, and now its job is done.

But most surgeons leave a certain amount of tissue still in. They don't want you to be completely flat since that wouldn't look normal. So in certain instances people can and do experience some growth. Such as during pregnancy, when the breast tissue expands. Other kinds of hormonal wackiness could also cause some new growth after surgery in rare cases.

Also, off-topic a bit, because not all breast tissue is taken out, we do still have a risk of breast cancer. Much lowered, but comparable to the risk a cis man would have.

You can also specifically ask your surgeon to take as much out as possible. I told mine I wanted to be completely flat.

Ok thanks guys . I hadn't thought about the tissue they take away during surgery; that makes sense. A bit off topic; but Max; why do you want to be completely flat? Most men that I've seen aren't and have some raised muscle there. Or are you so completely dysphoric you just want it completely gone?

Quote from: FTMax on March 01, 2016, 02:13:31 PM
You can also specifically ask your surgeon to take as much out as possible. I told mine I wanted to be completely flat.

Did you like the results, Max?  I have mild pectorus excavatum so no matter what they do I will have a small dip in my chest from my bone structure being off.  I am worried that if they leave any tissue it will look like I have cleavage.  I already look like I have cleavage if I push my breasts together despite barely being a B cup because of the dipped chest.  On the bright side I can bind easily because the tissue can sort of be pressed into the dip.  But I worry how it will affect my top surgery and would prefer as little tissue left as possible.

Quote from: Elis on March 01, 2016, 02:21:16 PM
Ok thanks guys . I hadn't thought about the tissue they take away during surgery; that makes sense. A bit off topic; but Max; why do you want to be completely flat? Most men that I've seen aren't and have some raised muscle there. Or are you so completely dysphoric you just want it completely gone?

Obviously I can't speak for Max, but you still have pec muscles there and can still bulk up your pectoral muscles themselves if you want a more defined chest.  So breast tissue or no breast tissue, I wouldn't think you'd have to be pre-pubescent boy flat there if you didn't want to be.

With breast growth there is something else to consider. The tissue has a maximum size it will develop to and additional exposure to estrogen will not result in additional growth. Many MTF opt for breast augmentation to provide what nature and estrogen didn't. Close to 30 years of estrogen exposure never caused me to grow to more than a A+ cup size. By your early 20's, you have seen about all the development possible even if you were to return to estrogen.

Quote from: Elis on March 01, 2016, 02:21:16 PM
Ok thanks guys . I hadn't thought about the tissue they take away during surgery; that makes sense. A bit off topic; but Max; why do you want to be completely flat? Most men that I've seen aren't and have some raised muscle there. Or are you so completely dysphoric you just want it completely gone?

I had a few reasons for asking, and my surgeon said it was not an uncommon request.

(1) Completely remove the remaining cancer risk. It runs in my family. Every female I can think of has had it at some point in their life, and that's not something I want to ever go through if I can avoid it.

(2) On the off chance that someone finds my face feminine, they are either going to wait for me to talk or look at my chest for cues on what I am. I figured flat was the best option to avoid misgendering, especially at the time since I was having to shave my face for work every day and without facial hair I am a small child.

Plus now if I ever decide I want to work out my chest, it'll be readily apparent if I'm actually making any progress or not Thus far, I have not been inclined. I really like how flat it is.

I'm 100% happy with my results. I have a few pics in the top surgery recovery thread, but this is probably the best angle to see how flat it actually is:

Quote from: FtMitch on March 01, 2016, 02:23:56 PM
Did you like the results, Max?  I have mild pectorus excavatum so no matter what they do I will have a small dip in my chest from my bone structure being off.  I am worried that if they leave any tissue it will look like I have cleavage.  I already look like I have cleavage if I push my breasts together despite barely being a B cup because of the dipped chest.  On the bright side I can bind easily because the tissue can sort of be pressed into the dip.  But I worry how it will affect my top surgery and would prefer as little tissue left as possible.

I actually have the opposite problem, pectus carinatum. I was thinking of asking Medalie to take as much as possible out, because having my sternum push out gives me a uniboob look no matter my breast size (my brother has it as well, so that gave me some idea of how I'll be looking post-op) but I feel like the surgeon's gonna know what will look best per person. I trust my surgeon--he does a lot more of these than I do, y'know? ^__^