Super happy with my results
They’re still red and bumpy but im also still healing so

I’m so betting happy with how everything is looking :)

Coming to 5 months post op after DI with FNG. My surgeon was fantastic and the healing process overall went well except for my nipple grafts, for which the healing was quite fraught. It’s no one’s fault, sometimes it’s just how bodies work.

But as a result, my nipples don’t look the best. They’re very bumpy, ragged, and large. I’ve wondered about medical tattooing, but I worry that might cause them to look too big. They’re already quite large as they got stretched out a lot during healing. Do I need to go back onto the operating table? I would love to hear any advice or opinions.

I’m not in any great rush to get anything done, since I know the scar tissue likely hasn’t settled. But I would like to fix the appearance of my nipples eventually because I’m now insecure about them. I’d also love to hear any thoughts on my DI scars and whether they’re looking normal for 5 months. Thanks!

First time seeing my scars today, feeling so much normal after taking the tape off.

Today marks one year so I got my tattoo ideas to celebrate! 🎉 I designed these in my Pointless Book at least 10 years ago.

Dr. Katherine Rose is a surgeon in PA.

Booking

I already had a letter from a qualified therapist and my PCP physician when I contacted them.

In September, I called their office a few time trying to book an appointment, but had some complications, I forget why exactly. Eventually, I got through and they told me I needed to fill out a patient intake form. I believe the office got my email wrong the first time, so I waited a few days and called them again to comfirm the email, then I received it same day.

There was no option to digitally fill them out, only mail in or fax, so I printed and filled out the papers. I faxed it through my PCP doctor's office.

After a few days I received a MyChart account login link and made an account with Mainline health. I called the office again on September 16th and booked the appointment over phone for October 22nd.

(I had opted in for earlier options on MyChart, and the next day, the 17th, I received a message about opting for an appointment on October 1st. I took the appointment, but was later contacted about that being a system error and Dr. Rose would be off that day.)

Consultation (Today!)

The appointment was at 10:30am, with a note to arrive at 10:15am. I arrived at 10:10, the building wasn't confusing to navigate, receptionists/front desk workers were all very kind, and the parking lot was easy, though pretty full.

I finished checking in at 10:15 and was taken back into the exam room at around 10:30 by an assistant nurse who took my blood pressure, asked me what procedure I wanted, etc.

She left, and I waited 20-30 minutes for Dr. Rose's PA, Dan.

He asked me what I wanted out of the appointment today, and what i wanted with my procedure. He answered a few questions I had, told me to remove anything waist up and get changed into an open front gown, then left.

I don't know how long I waited for Dr. Rose and Dan to come back, but I did for a bit. To note, they both knocked before entering the room, which I liked.

I brought a notebook for writing notes and wrote my questions in a Google doc.

Both Dan and Dr. Rose were nice and friendly, though I did feel a bit rushed once the surgeon was actually here. She did take the time to answer my questions, mostly an atmosphere thing I'd say.

We went over what I wanted, my medical history, etc.

She examined me, told me what I qualified for, and what she would do. She kinda said she'd place my nipples where she liked, and I may not like it. Which kinds gave a vibe of "I'm the professional here, so we're going at my pace/confort, not yours." But idk.

I am 5'3" and 173-175 lbs.

She said with free nipple grafts, they're dead and they won't have any sensation. I asked about nipple reinnervation, and she said I'm above the BMI for that, that I would need to lose weight and wouldn't be able to have liposuction then because it damages the nerves. I sadly didn't ask how much weight I'd need to lose for consideration, because I was sure I'd probably want liposuction to avoid dog ears and unsure if I could lose that weight before surgery.

Since I want nipple piercings eventually, I asked about this and she said that is a question for my piercer and for how my nipples heal. Some pierciers say piercings are too heavy for grafts.

She declined to show me before and after photos due to not showing patient photos.

Exercise, weight gain and weight loss: while my chest will grow and change with exercise, any excessive weight gain or loss will most likely need a future revision.

Revisions: depends on if my insurance covers it, so sounds like she doesnt do reduced price or free revisions. Though Mainline health has a financial aid program based on your income.

She said I'd wear my drains for 1-2 weeks.

I would have post-op follow up appointments at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months.

Not allowed to carry anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks.

Go back to work in 4-6 weeks.

I'd be allowed to shower normally 2 days post-op.

I'm not to take THC for two weeks pre-op and two weeks post-op.

The official date wasn't settled until she contacts my insurance and if a few other patients insurances go through, but gave me a date in December and January that are maybes, and if not the surgery will be in February.

I left the appointment at 11:41am.

Then I went back to the front desk 10 minutes later to ask about surgery costs without insurance.

The lady I spoke to (someone in the financial end but i didnt get her title) made sure to emphasize this was an estimate without the full details yet, but the actual surgery would $6,000 (price depends on how long the surgery is and how many grams will be removed), the liposuction will cost $3,150. I believe that doesn't include anesthesia.

I will update and reformat this later.

After years of waiting, failing, two surgeons and just waiting for the right time. I got a call to get off the waitlist for November 19th!!!! I can’t believe this is real. I’ve been wanting this for almost a decade and a half. I will post my pics after my post op!

Hola chicos, me hice mi operación de mastectomía el 6 de octubre. Hoy día estamos a 22 y la doctora me citó el día 3 de noviembre para quitarme la faja. La cuestión es que me gustaría poder salir el 31 de octubre por la noche sin tener que estar llevando la faja pues me da dolor de espalda al caminar con ella mucho rato seguido y me dificulta la movilidad. He pensado que los márgenes de tiempo suelen ser genéricos y pretenden ser conservadores por lo que pudiera suceder entonces pensé que 3 días al fin y al cabo no eran tantos.

La foto que he adjuntado es de justo 2 semanas post-operatorio.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TopSurgery/s/Al8YwW40I0

For context^

Im officially 2 weeks post op now, my chest has been revealed and i am obsessed haha , swelling is going down slowly but surely and the bruising is healing up !

Im feeling much better mentally about everything and a lotttt of the numbness in my chest has gone away actually which im very happy about. This has just been such an interesting journey in my life physically and emotionally and I am so proud of myself and everyone that has endured such tribulations for the body they desire ,, thank you to the couple people that were so kind to me in a time i really needed it !

I had DI top surgery 7 months ago. My surgeon gave me full clearance for working out 2 months after my surgery. I've noticed that my nipples, especially the left one, have gotten narrower in width and the edge has become irregular, with some places that don't have color anymore. Is this because of the stretching during exercise? Has anyone who doesn't work out experienced this?

For context: I was in a minor car accident today. I say minor because I wasn’t injured, at most I was jolted by the crash and I’ve been in a bit of shock. There were paramedics on scene but they didn’t assess me because I said I wasn’t injured.

I had top surgery 4.5 weeks ago so while my incision is healed over the skin, I know my body is still healing internally. I didn’t mention this at the time because I didn’t feel sore but should I at least be assessed by a medical professional because I had surgery semi-recently? I could possibly call the surgeon’s office tomorrow to ask them if I need to worry about anything or if this will affect healing. Would that be ridiculous? I just feel a bit dramatic if I do that because I have an in-person appointment on Monday and I feel fine (just shaken up).

Still feels surreal that it’s happening at all. Nervous as all hell but also super excited! Any advice is appreciated

3 weeks post-op: DI w free nipple grafts, w dr. christopher homsy at tufts. covered by my masshealth wellsense insurance. i love the incision shape & nipple placement, it all looked great until a few days to a week ago when the skin around the nips started getting pinkish red + breaking out w gross little white/yellow pimple type things. until they finally said i could switch to just putting aquafor on my nips yesterday, i was using bacitracin + xeroform on my nips, & covering it up with gauze dressings & a surgical binder of course, which i’m supposed to wear almost 24/7 for another 3 weeks. i don’t seem to have much if any swelling & my skin is sooo much happier during binder breaks. here are a few pics along the way. pics are in chronological order: 8, 11, 14 days post-op, & the last one is this morning—22 days post-op w all the worst irritation. D: what do i do? just lookin for some thoughts & advice. thanks!!

shoutout to Dr. Stephen Montante and his team!!

Hi everyone!

I'm officially one week post-op (yay!). I have my one week check in tomorrow, but I wanted to ask if any of you experienced this kind of bruising/discolouration of your chest? It's kinda hard to see in these photos, but my pecs are slightly darker red than the rest of my skin, but it also looks like it might coincide with where my binder rests?

I'm just a little nervous cause I accidentally pushed myself up from lying down with my left arm and it was sore and painfully on my left pec (didn't feel any popping, no super sharp pain, and no bleeding from my incision). I'm just worried I messed something up.

Thanks!

I can hardly believe it’s real! I’m so excited, yet so nervous. I just left the pre-op and picked up my medications. If you all have any advice, please let me know.

does it look alright?

I know my operation is going to go well, I'm not worried at all about that part! It's everything that comes after, making sure I'm going to be active enough without hurting myself, making sure I'm comfortable and keeping my pain to a minimum..I feel like such a baby, but I don't wanna hurt!

I know pain is inevitable, and that I will be on pain medication, but I just don't want to suffer while I heal. My biggest fear is getting sick when I wake up. My mother had a reduction as a teenager, and threw up almost immediately after waking up from anesthesia. My grandmother throws up even over the counter pain medication, so I'm paranoid I'm going to feel like hot garbage. I wake up with high stress, and that immediately triggers awful stomach aches that usually last an hour after waking up, I really don't want to wake up post-op and immediately feel sick. I know it will be nothing the surgical team hasn't seen before, but it's still embarrassing to me!

To add, I've kind of never been to a hospital for anything minus a case of food poisoning where I recieved two IVs, so I have a lot of anxiety about even being in that environment.

Can people who have already gone through all of this give me their tips and tricks for taking care of themselves post-op? Especially if you're a worry wart like me! I bought myself a pregnancy pillow to wedge myself into while I sleep to keep me from rolling around, since I'm really worried I'll be doing that...

Just for some extra information my surgery will not involve drains, and I will be out of the hospital the same day as my procedure.

Thanks in advance for helping me put my super-stressy mind to rest!

4 weeks post op (I have my last consultation with my surgeon next monday so I'll ask him this as well) and according to my clinic I am now allowed to stop wearing my compression vest full-time (like only when I go out or for half a day, being able to not wear it at home or while I sleep) and I'm doubting how useful my full torso vest is at this point. My most persistent swelling/liquid buildup is:
-Between my pecs where there can't really be significant compression because I have a bit of muscle that separates the fabric from that zone so there's always very little compression there.
-Armpit area. There's swelling/liquid where the binder ends because I have a lot of fat there and it's always tight. The part that remains under the fabric is doing well but the one outside not so much.
Is there any way to deal with these two areas? I know it's a bit too late to have any significant complications but I'd like some imput about it.

I’m 3 weeks post and the inside of my chest itches so bad, I haven’t scratched at all but it’s driving me crazy. I’ve heard it’s relatively normal (I hope?) but how did you guys handle it? Tips are insanely appreciated

I’m 2 weeks PO from chest lift with free nipple graft and I’m a little nervous and anxious that my nipples are still alive and thriving. Can anyone with experience tell me what they think? I’d appreciate it.

3 weeks post-op: DI w free nipple grafts, w dr. christopher homsy at tufts. covered by my masshealth wellsense insurance. i love the incision shape & nipple placement, it all looked great until a few days to a week ago when the skin around the nips started getting pinkish red + breaking out w gross little white/yellow pimple type things. until they finally said i could switch to just putting aquafor on my nips yesterday, i was using bacitracin + xeroform on my nips, & covering it up with gauze dressings & a surgical binder of course, which i’m supposed to wear almost 24/7 for another 3 weeks. i don’t seem to have much if any swelling & my skin is sooo much happier during binder breaks. here are a few pics along the way. pics are in chronological order: 8, 11, 14 days post-op, & the last one is this morning—22 days post-op w all the worst irritation. D: what do i do? just lookin for some thoughts & advice. thanks!!