So I had top surgery on Sept. 19th (Almost 3 weeks post op) and I know there can be some swelling after surgery but I am becoming more and more concerned that this is left over breast tissue and not just swelling. I feel as though my chest now just looks like I have slightly smaller boobs instead of pecs. How long until all swelling would be gone? I'm really struggling to feel good about my chest and I am feeling more dysphoric post op than I felt pre op.


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I thought about the same thing, and I am a month post-op. I uploaded a pic to the recovery thread, you can check it out if it's similar to yours.  I don't think mine would be swelling anymore :/

Quote from: Jared on October 09, 2017, 10:23:32 AM
I thought about the same thing, and I am a month post-op. I uploaded a pic to the recovery thread, you can check it out if it's similar to yours.  I don't think mine would be swelling anymore :/

My chest turned out similar to yours. I talked to my surgeon about it at my last check up and he said swelling would continue to go down until 6 months post op. But I don't really think THAT much swelling could go down. Very frustrated and disappointed with my results.


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Similar situation here; although I'm not sure if it's all in my head due to always having general insecurities about how my body looks. Plus I'm not used to walking around with just a shirt on with nothing under it; so get a bit self conscious thinking about if people are staring or not. You can see my pics as well on the recovery thread. It would be good to see yours.

I think it does take a few months for swelling to go down completely.  It takes a year after surgery anyway to see the finished result. What helps is to keep reminding myself that other trans guys have had good results from this surgeon so I should be no different and the fact is my chest is an improvement to how it was and I'm happy how it looks otherwise.

These are my results. I'm pretty sure this isn't all swelling. I'm just mentally preparing myself to need a revision. I'm not even sure if I'm going to be able to not wear a binder because like you said the couple of times I have gone out I just feel like everyone is staring at my chest but I'm not sure if I'm just being crazy insecure as usual.




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Yep, looks similar to mine. But I don't think you need a binder at all anymore, there are male chests like yours, and nobody looks twice. I understand you would like to get it fixed, but in the meantime you should be allright with just a shirt on.

Quote from: Jared on October 11, 2017, 12:35:53 PM
Yep, looks similar to mine. But I don't think you need a binder at all anymore, there are male chests like yours, and nobody looks twice. I understand you would like to get it fixed, but in the meantime you should be allright with just a shirt on.

Thanks for the response! Feeling a little better now. Haha


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Looks flat enough; I think you'll look more conspicuous wearing a binder. I'm starting to learn nobody takes much notice of men's chests unlike people who appear female. Lumps are just assumed to be pecs.

Quote from: Elis on October 11, 2017, 02:19:12 PM
Looks flat enough; I think you'll look more conspicuous wearing a binder. I'm starting to learn nobody takes much notice of men's chests unlike people who appear female. Lumps are just assumed to be pecs.

Yeah. I mean when I went to the store in just a T-shirt I really felt like everyone was staring at my chest but it could also be that I'm not used to being in public without a binder sooo 🤷🏼‍♀️


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Once I started/am starting to realise I'm now free of wearing a binder and can amazingly stretch my shoulders back whenever I feel like it; im starting to not care if people do stare; will happen for you too

Quote from: Elis on October 11, 2017, 02:37:35 PM
Once I started/am starting to realise I'm now free of wearing a binder and can amazingly stretch my shoulders back whenever I feel like it; im starting to not care if people do stare; will happen for you too

That's awesome man! Can't wait for that day [emoji854] haha. Also thanks for all the support! 🤙🏻


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Swelling can take weeks or even months to completely settle, so it's really hard to know right away. It's most likely swelling, a good surgeon who is experienced with this type of surgery will know exactly how much tissue to take etc do give desired results. I am 6 weeks post op and still really swollen, I feel uncomfortable with just a tshirt on because it looks noticeable (to me) because it looks like very small breasts, it's going to take time to settle. Here's a photo for reference though, try not to stress out for now because it's still early days!

I think your chest looks great man! Who did you get it done by? If you don't mind me asking. My surgeon had only done this procedure once before BUT he was covered by my insurance so I decided to take the risk [emoji51] and he said he was super confident that he could give me the results I wanted. I'm just gonna start saving now in case I want a revision done by someone else 🤷🏼‍♀️


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I went with Dr Andrew Ives in Melbourne, Australia. He's definitely one of the best surgeons I've seen for the DI procedure in my opinion. He trained over in the UK but unsure who he was trained by. He also does SRS for trans women, as well as FFS I believe. He's really great and his anaesthetist and nurses are amazing as well. Couldn't be more pleased by my results and his/the team's bedside manner!

How long post op are you? I don't think your results look all that bad, alot of it could change within the next few months. Alot of it could actually be swelling, I am not a doctor but my surgeon did say it's very easy to distinguish what is muscle and what is tissue. All surgeons wanting to do this type of procedure have to start somewhere, and it's great that you were willing to go to them. If you are still unhappy in a few months or so, most surgeons (probably all?) offer free revisions within 12 months. If not, you could definitely have a revision done by another surgeon. I don't think your chest is that bad, it's definitely fixable if it doesn't get any better!

Quote from: Anielsen487 on October 13, 2017, 12:12:11 AM
I think your chest looks great man! Who did you get it done by? If you don't mind me asking. My surgeon had only done this procedure once before BUT he was covered by my insurance so I decided to take the risk [emoji51] and he said he was super confident that he could give me the results I wanted. I'm just gonna start saving now in case I want a revision done by someone else 🤷🏼‍♀️


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Same situation here, this surgeon was recommended to me and I knew he only did this kind of surgery once before me, and that one looked a lot better than mine. Oh well we all react different to everything. I went to another doctor before him, and he said he only does DI. I thought I want the one with less scars and if it doesn't turn out like I wanted and there's nothing else to do, then I can still choose DI. But before that I'm definitely going back for revision to the same surgeon.
@emptyspiral, your chest really looks good. Seeing your results now, I think our swelling looks different in shape beacuse of the different procedure. I feel pretty dumb for realizing this just now 

The different swelling could be related to a different procedure for sure, plus everyone's bodies react and heal differently. I've seen some guys with barely any swelling at all even. Some guys heal really quickly and some heal not so quickly. I'd just try and be patient and think positively until it's been a bit longer. It can take up to a full year for our chests to completely settle! Swelling is just fluid build up, so with a different procedure and different incision sites etc swelling appearance is probably going to vary