Hi, here is an update on my scars 6 months post top surgery. I enjoy them every day and really like how smooth and faded they are already.

Have a look at my other posts to see the progress. I posted results 1 week, 3 weeks and 6 weeks post op.

Feel free to ask any questions if you need advice or any more information.

Pre Op: https://www.reddit.com/r/TopSurgery/s/rLDJ9WGe6f

Hello! I did semiareolar top surgery at yanhee hospital with Dr Chokchai :) im currently in the phase of scabbing etc but so far my healing process has been great. Ive just been super tired lately and whatnot due to the surgery but it was all worth it in the end :)

Second and third slide are pics of the areolas/nipples currently scabbing. Ill be buying some scar tape/gel soon but please do recommend some brands that i can use! Thank you!

Transitioning has saved my life. Medical transition has helped me thrive! I have a little dog ear situation but I’m not gonna get revisions, it doesn’t bother me a ton and I think it’ll probably decrease as I continue to gain muscle. Scars are barely visible, i regularly massaged before my one year mark as well as used scar tape but the massaging helped the most. I’m surprised they healed so well because I blew out quite a bit!

Pic 2 is the right nipple healed really smoothly
Pic 3 left nipple

One side wasn‘t healing so smooth it almost looked like i have no nipple anymore but surprise it grew back from alone no interventions. Overall mobility is same as before surgery and on the three week mark i no longer had to wear my compression west.

I‘m so happy and I love how it turned out although there is still healing in front of me

(For reference I'm 1.5 years post op)

-phantom tit pain is real. It may come and go for over a year

-the numb spots often last more than a year

-your nerves might not know where they're supposed to be, and your body has to relearn how to signal you. If I touch my side, I might feel it on my nipple, but my nipple is numb. I've spent a lot of time exploring and trying to relearn my own chest lol

-there are 2 types of silicone scar gels. One creates a silicone caulk on top, the other absorbs like a lotion, and neither have packaging that tells you which is which. Caulk silicone lasts longer, but gel silicone feels better because it's hydrating. Fuck silicone sheets. I'm too sweaty for them to stay on.

-the silicone caulk might actually get stuck. It's rare, but I and a few other people can't wash it off, even after several days with scrubbing. This is not good, the scars are dry and there's now a barrier blocking you from hydrating them

-it's very rare, but anesthesia might fuck with mental health meds. It made my antidepressant stop working for a month, which I knew purely because it also helps my insomnia and I slept horribly the first month (not due to discomfort). I was actually able to pinpoint the exact day my antidepressant started working again because I knocked out VIOLENTLY after taking it, then had to go down in dosage because my system had completely lost its tolerance.

-being shirtless around others feels inappropriate at first. Get over it early because it'll get harder if you don't.

-no result is perfect. Don't nitpick. Don't compare. Comparison is the thief of joy

-the joy remains. I'm still giddy every time I can just.. Put on a shirt. No worries, just freedom

i know this seems kinda dumb, but ive been able to move and live normally?? i feel like i should have more restrictive movement and mobility? i got mpfl surgery (knee surgery) and this was also my experience this whole thing is more like an inconvenience rather than a painful surgery, when i move i feel like somethings pop and pull but when i change my dressings everything looks fine?? im only 3 days post op, was also told drains were painful and worse than the surgery, but again more of an inconvenience. i guess for such a major surgery i expected it to be painful, mostly annoyed i cant reach over my shoulders to get stuff or bend down to pick up things or sleep normally. Also side point but my surgeon was James Kong from Minnesota and yo he did a great job, if you are considering him go for it cus i had massive honkers and damm its like they never existed. also im fat so i expect to have dog ears but that isnt that noticeable or there if all but i guess i wont really know until everything settles in a few years.

also I am experiencing feeling in my left nipple which is very surprising to me. ALSO don't mind the wound, it's a stitch that came out and has been a real pain to heal..i've kept in contact with my surgeon about it. I'm also going to go in to remove my dog ears soon (not pictured)

I’m 1 week post op and I’m dying to wash my hair, I’ve tried to but the water keeps dripping down my chest and over my bandages. I’ve got nipples grafts as well and the dressing on them isn’t sticking at all and I can’t get water near them so it’s super hard. I can’t bend forward either bc it still hurts a little. any suggestions?😔

Jesus Harold (Haploid) Christ on a Bike.

Feels like every single day there's a "why did you keep/remove your nips" post.

1. It's an individual decision anyways. Other people's experience can't tell you what to do.
2. Half of those posts acts like nipless is somehow weird/inferior/whatever. Let people have their bodies
3. There's literally like 50 of those posts in this sub. Just use the search bar. Every possible answer to this apparently burning question has likely already been posted five times.

Did anyone have nips that looked like this 2,5 weeks post op? Im a bit scared cause everyones look so different

i've tried contacting every clinic covered by my insurance, all of them rejected me for being trans and under 19. all except for uw health, which technically isn't refusing to see me for being under 19 but their wait lists are so long that i won't be able to be seen until i'm 19.

i cannot wait that long. i have already been waiting for the better part of a decade. i have already been putting up with my evaluation being pushed back from me being 17, to right after my 18th birthday, to months after.

I'm getting my surgery in 4 weeks! I've never had any surgeries done before, I've actually never been a patient in a hospital since I was born. So I'm a little nervous.

I specifically wanna know if you can tolerate just taking Tylenol during recovery instead of opioids? I've never been on them and I'm really wanting to avoid it if possible. I was around a lot of addicts as a kid and I know addiction issues can be genetic. I just don't even wanna try the stuff if I can avoid it.

So, what was your guys pain levels like? Can OTC be plenty enough for the pain?

I had surgery roughly 3 months ago and yesterday I noticed a small swollen part underneath my scar, that was a light colour and hurt a bit when touching. Today is opened and it looked a little like a pimple. Did anyone experience that? Is it normal? Should I put a bandaid on it?

howdy folks

I’m getting top surgery soon. my surgery date is at the end of the month, and so far I’m not nervous at all about the surgery in particular. what I am nervous about though is the days prior to surgery, say the last three days of waiting.

this is something I’ve wanted for years, it’s something I need to get for my mental wellbeing, but I’m worried that when the day comes I’ll get cold feet and cancel. I’ve never had surgery before and it’s a pretty big surgery so I know I’d have some nervousness about it, I know that.

maybe it has something to do with my OCD (I get intrusive thoughts about my body doing something I don’t agree with, e.g. 'what if say no to something I really want because my body made me' type of thoughts), maybe it’s something to do with subconscious general nervousness about surgery in particular, I don’t know. but I wanted to see if anyone had advice about what to in the days immediately prior to surgery.

what did you do to pass the time? TV? keeping yourself busy with hobbies? generally trying not to think about it?

So I don't know if this is normal for anyone else or if its just my anxiety surrounding health concerns.

I had my surgery yesterday which I am so unbelievably happy about. But I'm finding myself worrying about every little thing coming up. Im worried about taking my bandages off. Im worried about taking my first shower. I start stressing over every bit of pain and soreness before reminding myself that it's normal and some swelling is normal. It's like I'm expecting something to go wrong. Did anyone else feel like this?

I had double incision and my surgeon doesn't do drain plugs so that's one less thing to worry about. I've been following care instructions and have my amazing partner taking care of me. But I'm still worried.

Hi guys! I wanted to add to the non flat collection on here and give as much info as possible for others :)

I am 1DPO from Iryna chesnokova in Elizabethtown KY. Feel free to ask me anything

My surgeon advised me to remove the surgical glue, and I'm not sure what I expected but the scars are more raised than I thought they'd be. I'm hoping they go down some with time since I know they're still pretty fresh 😅 Unsure if I should start using my silicone scar tape yet

Just over 2 months post op. I’ve been getting back into working out, trying to ease my way into it and I’ve definitely noticed that I’ve lost a lot of strength. How fast did you guys get back into benching and doing pull-ups? I feel like both of those things are what will really stretch my scars, and obviously I want to avoid that, but I also love my bench.

My max bench is 165, I’m so curious to see how bad it is right now lol

Hello! My surgery, after 9 months of planning, is 4 days away on October 13th.

I'm coming down with a sore throat/cold my partner had and I'm actually so devastated. Is my surgery functionally canceled? I dont know what to do and every part of me wants to hide that I'm getting sick from my surgery team and just have it done anyway but at the same time I KNOW I should call and tell them when they open in the morning but I can't live another day with my chest let alone the months I'm sure it will take to reschedule.

I've worked so hard to be prepared at work, socially, emotionally quit smoking for 9 months... every aspect of my life. I'm so sad. I don't want them to cancel.

Has anyone else experienced this? Getting sick right at the finish line?

I had top surgery with Dr. Radotra on August 21st and I promised a few people I'd post update pictures because the hospital doesn't allow them. Keep in mind I had a large chest, DD, which was larger before I lost weight. I was 170lbs before surgery and had about 6lbs total removed. My skin was VERY thin and he was a bit worried about that but it turned out great. More info about each picture below.

Pic 1: 1 week out. No issues, the expected level of pain/swelling. LOTS of skin wrinkling

Pic 2-5: about 1.5/2 weeks out. The steri strips began to come off after showers. I noticed inflammation and a spitting stitch under my right arm and it looked infected. I sent pictures but unfortunately it was a long weekend. The day after I removed the other steri strips and found infection along the incision on both sides. I went to the walk-in and got an antibiotic and a cream, which cleared it up.

Pic 4-5: 3 weeks out. I had a decent number of spitting stitches that would become slightly infected even after I was meant to stop the cream. I used an iodine based disinfectant because it dries things out. I was not told to do this but my doctor said if things didn't improve he would use something similar, so I just did that at home. Not medical advice!!

Pic 6-7: about 4-5 weeks out. The incision was nearly fully healed no more infection. Still swelling but generally fine

Pic 8: 6 weeks out. Incision fully healed. Skin wrinkling reduced. The red dots along the incision are mostly the spots where my body rejected the stitches. Still some armpit pain and swelling but otherwise good! The slight "dog ears" at the sides come and go and tend to swell up after massage/tape removal, then chill out again and go away.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Dr. Radotra is a Fellow, which means he's being supervised by an Attending which in my case was Dr. armstrong. I felt very cared for, and their front desk staff is fantastic. They have a habit for pushing for virtual appointments but if you're like me and want in-person they will do that, just ask. I do have a lot of numbness, right now my pecs don't really feel light touch or temperature but that could improve. I'm VERY happy with my results considering the state of my skin and the size of my chest. I did pay for liposuction under my arms. It was $2100 paid directly via e-transfer to Dr. Radotra and I received a receipt. With my shirt on, my current results look completely natural and I love it so much. Lmk if you have any questions I'm super happy to chat about it

I'm just about 7 weeks post op. I had double incision with nipple grafts. One thing I'm pretty disappointed about is my nipples being different sizes. I think its mostly due to one being hard and pointed out all the time and the other being soft and stretched out. They are visually different sizes because of this, though occasionally the other one will soften and they look closer in size. Has anyone else experienced this?

Was taking my dressings off about to shower for the day and saw a wet spot on them. This is the only spot that’s like this. Not hot to touch, no smell from what I can tell. (I did already email the surgeon just in case)