Inspired by Kylo's surgery  - How did you feel like the first time you saw your chest after surgery???

I've seen some amazing reactions on YouTube and people nearly crying from joy! Then I've heard some people just felt the opposite... Unhealed surgery site isn't always that pleasant to look at... Jammidodger admitted feeling 'gross' seeing that!

Did you experience LOVE at first sight seeing your new flat chest??? Did you feel ecstatic or relieved?

Did you feel indifferent as you couldn't quite see the end result yet?

Or did you find seeing that horrible plus a sinking feeling of 'WTF did I just do to myself'  ?!

Did you get depressed after surgery? What for? Nasty result? Or lack of mobility and drains etc. ->-bleeped-<-ty things?

Did you feel what you expected to feel beforehand? If not, what was different? Was it better? Or worse?

Is there something you wanna say to those guys who are just going in for surgery? What should we expect when first removing the bandages?

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Interestingly... I've thought about this recently. There's a chance I might not be able to have a good surgeon..... that might mean the result might not be that good to begin with. Nevertheless having a flat chest of any kind has been my dream for soooo many years, I'm pretty sure I'll be in that ecstasy club then! No matter how bad that looks at first glance (and I'm well prepared to see a bruised chest in all colors of the rainbow (thanks Jammidodger for describing your bottom part this way) ), having them gone will be SUCH A RELIEF I can't imagine feeling anything else but pure ecstasy. I mean - my name change changed my life just like that. Having top surgery must make me feel unbelievably good   .

Just got back from the surgeon's office after getting the dressings off 2 weeks post. Turns out I'm a fast healer and the nips are 90% good to go already, back to their normal color. I've seen pictures of some post-surgery and a lot of them are either blackened or part-blackened or heavily scabbed for a few weeks while everything reconnects. For some reason mine have about 50% sensation and look almost healed up fully except for a tiny scab on the edge of the right one. Most of the scab skin was already fallen off when he took off the dressings on it and the other one and they're the same color as when I went in for the op. The stitches are almost all dissolved already, and the incisions underneath are looking all right at this point. I now have to keep tape on the scars for a few weeks and wear the compression vest. No dogs ears at all. I just got plenty of rest over the last 2 weeks and took vitamins and IP6 daily, as well as making sure I ate some meat and drank water. Cancer test for removed tissue is negative. Left side is slightly more raised that the right so he attempted aspiration with a needle (painless) to see if there was any fluid that could be drained, but it's jellified, so he reckons a few weeks or months down the road that will clear itself up, but the size difference is barely noticeable.

When they remove the bandages, expect a bit of pulling on the sore bits, but otherwise not a painful experience since by that time the tape is practically ready to fall off. There will probably be bruising as you'd expect but otherwise, personally, I felt it was coming along great. The most sore part was actually the sternum, thanks to the compression vest, which I have to keep on for some time yet, because the vest pushes the wounds toward the center slightly. But it's not that painful tbh.

So... I haven't seen any unhealed lesions or nips at this point... they're all healing and there's no raw areas.

When I saw it it looked better than I'd hoped. I was expecting car crash horrorshow deal, as the surgeon warned me it doesn't look good only weeks after surgery, and it wasn't so bad. Scars are going to take a good while to fade but I knew that. Nips look great. He got them down to a nice average male size, and I think they look pretty good as they've already taken the sort of slight "horizontal" oval shape rather than being perfectly round. Tbh the love at first sight comes before you even get the bandages off when you look at your profile in the mirror and feel where you could only put your hand that close to your ribs back when you were a little kid.

Nah, no post surgery depression for me. The lack of mobility is only an issue in the first couple of days after op, at this point I can do everything as normal as long as careful, aside from working out, swimming and lifting insanely heavy stuff. I'm still not cool sleeping on my side, but in a couple of weeks I figure I will be. Drains weren't a problem, not much came out in the end, so they pulled them next day.

Yeah I felt about how I'd expected to feel, except it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be (never had to break into my stash of painkillers or use the hospital's morphine), but it is uncomfortable in the sense you can't sleep in too many positions for a while and you have to be careful around other people so they don't accidentally go elbow you in the former tit. Because some of them probably will. Driving isn't fun if you have to drive on roads with holes in. I expected it to look pretty brutal at first and if you've never had surgery before it will. The nerves will hurt more about a week on after surgery than right at the start, as they will start to re-grow and cause random pain sensations from time to time. But looking at myself and feeling my chest now, it looks/feels infinitely better, even though it's still regaining sensation etc. I look at it and I feel nothing weird or out of place about the lack of anything there, unlike before when there was something there. I'm 100% comfortable with it, and I know it will only improve in looks with time and some dedicated exercise in the area.

Oh, cool, Kylo!!! That sounds great!!!!!!!!!
SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
And who was your surgeon again?

Rob Morris. Plastic surgeon at Nuffield. Very personable guy.

I'm about five and a half weeks post-op now. My chest reveal was initially supposed to be eight days post surgery, but my surgeon wanted me to go to my first post-op the Friday after my surgery to get the dressings changed. So I saw my chest for the first time three days post op. I was still on strong pain meds at that point, and I just wasn't feeling very well. So my initial reaction was very subdued. I honestly don't think that I was really registering that it was my chest, though I remember saying "oh" and feeling lightheaded when I saw some leftover blood on the tape. I wasn't able to really watch the NP do anything else after that.

I was feeling better that night, and I was finally able to take a shower. I was definitely more excited about it at that point. I kept looking at myself in the mirror, and I couldn't stop smiling. A three day old surgery site isn't the prettiest thing to look at, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I wasn't too swollen, and there was virtually no bruising that I could see.

Pain-wise, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I started feeling some sharp twinges of pain around my nipples about a week after my surgery. That still happens every once in a while, but not as often and isn't as sharp anymore. I think that the pain in general kind of peaked for me at about a week and a half post-op. Now I can compare it to a mild sunburn.

The worst part of it for me was the drains. I wouldn't say that I was feeling depressed, but the drains definitely had brought my mood down. The fact that it was still very difficult to take a decent shower when I still had the drains in didn't help. I had a slight complication because I had fluid buildup in my right side after the drains were taken out, but that's been taken care of now. It was upsetting when I first realized it, though.

I'm feeling the way I was expecting to going into surgery. I really like the progress my chest is making so far. I'm finally starting to feel like myself.

Must be so nice to see your nice flat chest with no humps there anymore even if you are still bruised and see a little dried blood.  Are you now getting normal feeling back?

Quote from: mm on March 21, 2018, 06:05:16 PM
Must be so nice to see your nice flat chest with no humps there anymore even if you are still bruised and see a little dried blood.  Are you now getting normal feeling back?

My feeling isn't back yet. I'm still pretty numb around parts of my chest, and right under my armpits where the drains were. My nipples are still slightly scabbed, so I haven't checked if I have feeling in them yet.

I just thought mine was natural looking; like I didn't really compare it to what I had before. I think I was disconnected from what was there beforehand so it wasn't strange seeing the new chest.

I felt messed up, because I did not go through a very good time in the hospital. But once revealed it just looked normal to me. Much like what Alexthecat said.

Looking at my complications in a later stage was much more frightening. I couldn't gaze in that direction, nor did I want to think about it at all. Just rinse, apply new gauze, put the binder on, attempt to ignore.

So no, it wasn't all roses. But I'm happy with it now. It's starting to look more and more natural.

How did you feel like the first time you saw your chest after surgery???
- I only got a glimpse of it while still at the hospital, lying down, drowsy from the anesthesia, no mirror and an impatient surgeon. So I didn't have much of any reaction then beyond maybe "oh". But first time I saw it at home, I had quite a reaction.

Did you experience LOVE at first sight seeing your new flat chest??? Did you feel ecstatic or relieved?
- I was pretty shocked, actually. A little "what have I done" kind of feeling and getting lightheaded. I didn't think it looked bad, apart from the wounds themselves (there was no swelling or bruising though), but it was just very different from before and how sudden that change was that took me off guard. It took a while to get used to.

Did you feel indifferent as you couldn't quite see the end result yet?
- I was more impatient for it, and kept trying to imagine what it could become like. I knew I had to get used to it, so I kept looking at my chest often.

Or did you find seeing that horrible plus a sinking feeling of 'WTF did I just do to myself'  ?!
- Yeah, very much like that. It was a nauseting feeling for at least a week or two after op. It was difficult to shower. After that time it started to sink in and I was more like "this was unexpected, but I'm glad I had the op and I don't regret it"

Did you get depressed after surgery? What for? Nasty result? Or lack of mobility and drains etc. ->-bleeped-<-ty things?
- Not really no, my mood was unaffected except from that initial shock. Since I had the op in March that year, I was excited for going topless by summer, going swimming and just feel free. I saw life in a mostly positive light and took care of myself. Got a new haircut, wore my shirts half-open and felt more confident. So in general, my mood was just fine. My mobility was fine too, I didn't have help around (lived alone) and could do most things effortlessly. And even though I moved around so much, my scars barely stretched at all. I only had the drains in one day after op. The only annoyances were the band aids and that post-op binder thing I had to wear 24/7 for the first 3 weeks.

Did you feel what you expected to feel beforehand? If not, what was different? Was it better? Or worse?
- No it was definitely unexpected. I thought I was gonna feel happy and relieved by seeing my post-op chest for the first time, but I also thought I wouldn't be able to express that joy well or much at all. Cause expressing feelings isn't something I can do, generally. The real reaction was worse than I expected, but I found my result to be a lot better than I had expected. I had never heard of anyone else who had the same surgeon as I did and saw no pictures of his previous patients, so I took a pretty huge chance/risk, but he did a very good job with my chest and I did not need a revision.

Is there something you wanna say to those guys who are just going in for surgery? What should we expect when first removing the bandages?
- For me, I wish I had considered the possibility that it might be a shock for my mind to see such a drastic and sudden change, even though the change was a good one. It's better to expect a bad or half-decent result than a good one, to avoid possibly getting disappointed. Or better yet, not to have any expectations. And also, if you do feel ->-bleeped-<-ty seeing it the first time, that does not at all have to mean you won't be satisfied with the result later on. Sometimes that just needs a bit of time and getting used to what's new.

It took about a year for my chest to get almost all feeling back, at least to the degree it could. Now 4 years post-op I'm still numb at the scars and my nipples have very dulled sensation, but I requested that cause I hated how they felt pre-op. I never had erotic sensation in them, it was only uncomfortable, so it's better like this for me. I've no idea why they were like that, but my theory is that the nerves in them got a bit wonky when my tits grew during puberty. They were also almost always hard, also when I was warm and not horny at all. By the way, now post-op, my nipples do and can still get hard, even though they did get re-sized quite a lot, scarred and dulled in sensation. They got permanently discoloured since op as well, with partial hyperpigmentation, and they look like leopard spots now, which I actually like, so I won't get them medically tattooed.

People always talk about "instant gratification" when it comes to working out. They work out and expect results within a few days. I worked out for 3 months before my surgery. I did every type of push up you can think of. Incline, decline, diamond, wide, close. You name it and I did it in an effort to build my chest up.

When I got my surgery I was able to remove the wraps myself to take a shower. Standing in the mirror was liberating. I had developed muscular pectoral muscles that I obviously wasn't able to see before and had hardly any bruising or swelling (I heal very well and I used a 1:1 ratio of CBD/THC since I live in Colorado).

Never been happier and the results are getting even better as I continue to work out.

Great reply again,  !

Quote from: SeptagonScars on April 02, 2018, 08:34:42 AM
By the way, now post-op, my nipples do and can still get hard, even though they did get re-sized quite a lot, scarred and dulled in sensation.

Never crossed my mind! I somehow expected they wouldn't bcos they get chopped down and everything. Good to know that's possible! Though, ofc, you said they did that all the time anyway!

Quote from: SeptagonScars on April 02, 2018, 08:34:42 AM
They got permanently discoloured since op as well, with partial hyperpigmentation, and they look like leopard spots now, which I actually like, so I won't get them medically tattooed.

That sounds cool too  !

I'm getting used to it at 3 weeks. Not had many problems or issues, nips are totally healed and look pretty good. Had an issue yesterday taking some surgical tape off the left side incision where it looks like it pulled open a weak stitch. I stuck some alcohol on it and wound strips on either side and let it dry out and it's scabbed up so it'll be all right. Looks like the adhesive on the tape pulled it too much when taking it off, even though I did it slowly. Hasn't enlarged the scars or anything, just a couple of millimeters open and now sorted.

The bruising has been minimal, and it's mostly gone now.

It's obvious though that in order to get the skin looking completely right it's going to require some extra attention to developing the pecs to re-stretch the skin in the right places. It's not far off though, and I've not "noticed" the absence of anything at all... I guess it feels 100% correct, then. Not found myself thinking "why did I do this" or "this is weird" or anything like. I suddenly enjoy wearing dress shirts and a bunch of other clothing items a lot more now.

Oh yeah, still wearing my surgical binders for the next few weeks to keep everything in place while it heals up good.     

Quote from: Kylo on April 02, 2018, 03:16:51 PM
I'm getting used to it at 3 weeks. Not had many problems or issues, nips are totally healed and look pretty good. Had an issue yesterday taking some surgical tape off the left side incision where it looks like it pulled open a weak stitch. I stuck some alcohol on it and wound strips on either side and let it dry out and it's scabbed up so it'll be all right. Looks like the adhesive on the tape pulled it too much when taking it off, even though I did it slowly. Hasn't enlarged the scars or anything, just a couple of millimeters open and now sorted.

The bruising has been minimal, and it's mostly gone now.

It's obvious though that in order to get the skin looking completely right it's going to require some extra attention to developing the pecs to re-stretch the skin in the right places. It's not far off though, and I've not "noticed" the absence of anything at all... I guess it feels 100% correct, then. Not found myself thinking "why did I do this" or "this is weird" or anything like. I suddenly enjoy wearing dress shirts and a bunch of other clothing items a lot more now.

Oh yeah, still wearing my surgical binders for the next few weeks to keep everything in place while it heals up good.   

Happy for you  !

Quote from: PurpleWolf on April 02, 2018, 02:06:03 PM
Great reply again,  !
Never crossed my mind! I somehow expected they wouldn't bcos they get chopped down and everything. Good to know that's possible! Though, ofc, you said they did that all the time anyway!

Thank you!
I didn't think they could post-op either, until I noticed it happened from time to time. They do get hard and protrude more when I fiddle with them and when I'm cold, but they're not quite as responsive as before
Yeah it could be because they got hard 99% of the time before.

Quote from: PurpleWolf on April 02, 2018, 02:06:03 PM
That sounds cool too  !

They do look quite unique and kinda pretty. They're light pink with a squiggly dark brown ring around, at the outer edge of the areolas. Before op they were light pink all over. I've no idea how or why that hyperpigmentation happened though. I've googled it but didn't get much of any info, only about temporary hyperpigmentation from physical trauma, such as surgery. But nothing about the permanent variety. After 4 years of no change, I self-diagnose it as permanent xD

Didn't know how I was going to feel, but when the drains were out and thick bandage off 1 week post-op, I felt relieved. It was like - thank goodness I am back with my original chest.

Am not sure what post-op depression is from or is about. During the week after the op when the drains were still in and bandages on, I was certainly grumpy from the discomfort. At first I was groggy and lethargic from the anaesthesia, for about 3 days. I was also bloated from water retention and constipation, and Miralax for 2 days did not work. I started taking extra strength laxatives which did not work right away too. The bandages were tight, I could only breathe shallowly, my abs hurt, it was painful to lie down and get up, I could not sleep well because my back ached and would get hot (yet we are not allowed to lie on our side), I felt icky from not being able to do a full body shower and would struggle to wash my hair, after a few days the area bandaged started to get itchy.

Having the drains and bandages removed helped a lot. I slept better, was more comfortable throughout the day, and being able to take a proper shower was glorious! However the past week I have been feeling rather grumpy and upset from the doctor's orders not to exercise for 6 weeks post-op. That means I have to wait till end April to be able to go running, and this isn't even counting lifting weights!

Yeah, not being able to exercise is a pain in the ass. I went for a bit of light climbing and I was testing how the chest feels when say, reaching up and putting weight on the pec muscles to climb over boulders etc. At approx. 4 weeks you still have to be careful and the scar skin has some minor stretching to do to make any of that comfortable. On the other hand, the sensation of being able to jump down, run, walk brisk etc with absolutely no gravity acting on the chest is indescribably good.

Quote from: Kylo on April 09, 2018, 02:20:02 PM
On the other hand, the sensation of being able to jump down, run, walk brisk etc with absolutely no gravity acting on the chest is indescribably good.

Yes!! And nothing "bouncing" up and down!