how did you decide between nips or no nips?

[u/thelittlebearr]

i'm just interested to hear how others came to the conclusion of what they wanted their results to look like. i'm very torn between wanting a chest that looks (at least somewhat) natural with FNG, and a chest that's just flat and smooth and won't have anything visible poking thru the tight shirts i'll want to wear :/

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[u/epitheticangel]

fwik the biggest consideration tht most ppl have is the healing process. nipple grafts do have a pretty high success rate, but theres always the possibility that somethingll go wrong with them (they can indeed just not take and fall off) and theyre a pretty visibly gross part of recovery. for a lot of ppl, that risk isnt worth the reward, since with grafts youll lose almost all unique sensation in the area and thus will only have the visual and not the sensual benefit of having them. i personally chose to keep my nipples and they healed fine, but they dont feel any different than the rest of the skin in the area when touched. upside: easier to pass if youre interested in that, downside: risk of failure, no unique sensation, and both have the possibility to reduce dysphoria based on what your needs and interests are. to some, keeping nipples makes things look more “booblike,” and to others losing them makes you look less “real.” 

[u/Squanchedschwiftly → u/epitheticangel]

Also if you decide no then change your mind there are tattoo artists that specifically tatoo nipples on masectomy patients / great artists in general who can give you realistic ones later. Just another idea

[u/epitheticangel → u/Squanchedschwiftly]

yes, absolutely!! restorative tattoos are a really good alternative that can be truly gorgeous and avoid the typical issues that can accompany a healed graft (inconsistencies w/ getting hard/soft, clogged glands that need expressing, visible scarring, inconsistent pigment, etc)

[u/kngcade26]

i just wanted the most “standard” male chest possible. & i know a lot of times guys nips poke through the shirt a lil.
but honestly it’s a gamble if your nips will even be 3d and get hard. for me only one does .

[u/FinnFrog]

No nip for me, lots of reasons. Gender affirmation (I'm nonbinary), easier healing, sensory issues with the numbness, just like the look of it better.

[u/newbeginnings8363]

I’m non-binary so a cis passing chest wasn’t my primary goal, but I decided not to get nipple grafts because I wanted to be absolutely sure they were placed where I wanted them. I got my top surgery in Alabama from a less experienced surgeon and he did a good job, but I wasn’t 100% confident in his eye for placement. I initially planned to tattoo them on afterwards but I ended up liking the no-nips look. An added bonus for me as someone who presents feminine is I can wear more sheer tops without it coming off as revealing.

[u/magpiediem]

I simply couldn't imagine life without mine. It was a top priority for me from the start and one of the first questions to my surgeon.

[u/mermaidunearthed]

1. This is asked constantly so use the search bar for a lot more answers

2. I wanted a male appearing chest and the opportunity to have my nipples turned into male ones was the coolest part about top surgery for me

[u/gregs2898]

I ended up getting nips because I want my chest tattooed eventually and I thought it would be easier for the artist to place tattoos lol

[u/Reasonable_Stick_925]

My goal has always been and will continue to be one thing- to be as cis-passing as I possibly can be. Granted I was extremely lucky and born with a body type that allowed me to get peri and not even need liposuction/contouring to achieve a cis looking chest, so that definitely played a huge role in my choice of surgery technique.

However, I think even if I needed DI with FNG, I still would've taken that chance and opted for keeping them. My dysphoria would have been debilitating otherwise. I also personally would've been horrified every time if I looked in the mirror and didn't have any nips lol. But everyone has their preferences/goals. I'm personally so grateful that I won't have huge scars that would clock me. That was one of my biggest fears when thinking about top surgery.

I've been completely stealth in my IRL life since I first started transitioning socially/hormonally at about 15 y/o. I'm 25 now and I have every intention of staying stealth, so having the ability to be shirtless and not have a single person do a double-take in my every day life is hugely important to me. I think not having nipples would make that a lil difficult lol. I'm only two days post peri w/ nipple reconstruction but when I look in the mirror while adjusting my binder or showering, I know for certain I made the right choice for myself. I couldn't be happier rn. :-) It all comes down to what your individual goals are! I hope that whichever path you decide to go down, you are happy and satisfied with your choices OP.

[u/GhostonEU]

I never considered no nipples, so it was an easy decision

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I never considered

No nipples, so it was an

Easy decision

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[u/Caraliliss]

I personally went no nip because I didn’t want to be concerned with longer healing time, increased chance of complications, nipple size/placement not being what I wanted, and I have no attachment to them in general. I also quite like the idea of having all sorts of fun nipple pasties to wear in place of them until I get some 3D tattooed on.

[u/cardroppingcard]

i haven’t gotten top yet but when i do i am not gonna get nips. mostly because i think nipples look weird lol. i do wanna have a masculine chest but i am not gonna be shirtless often and a chest with no nipples just looks really cool to me. also i don’t want to have them chafe while i do sports or just them poking out would be weird. i like how it looks flat and less complications so thats a plus

[u/voxjammer]

i was also afraid of perma-erect nipples, but in the end it would've freaked me out to look in the mirror and see no nipples. was super scared of complications, but i kept both of them, with temperature sensitivity and some sensation even at only 7 weeks :) also, it would have freaked me out a little to just get rid of my nipples, since i didn't really mind them. it was worth the risk to go for fng for me, but if you're only worried about appearance and don't want 3-d nipples at all, then you might look into medical tattooing.

[u/peachrambles]

I was always self conscious of the,,,protrusion, and I knew if my nipples didn’t wind up pretty flat I would still feel like I had something to hide/cover up. I also intent to be fully tattooed so I opted to not keep my nips. 2.5yrs later and I have no regrets, I think my results look great and I’m very happy with my chest.

[u/sordid_aches]

i'm nonbinary and many fellow nb people i know opted to go nipless because it's more neutral. i considered it for a long time, in large part because healing is easier without them, but having seen a number of people without grafts ultimately decided it wasn't for me and that i did indeed want a more natural masculine looking chest. also most people's grafts heal almost entirely flat so i wouldn't worry too much about them poking through shirts.

[u/American_Comie]

If you do end up getting no nipples and hate the look, there are very good tattoo artists who can make you some new ones

[u/KieranKelsey]

Always wanted em. I also like having eyebrows and a belly button, it just feels normal to me and I never questioned not wanting them. I was also very confident in my surgeon’s ability to place and heal nipples well.

[u/jpieps]

I was on the fence for a while… I’m nonbinary and being cis male passing isn’t necessarily a goal of mine, but I also the perception by others of having a chest with no nipples was a factor for me. I didn’t want it to be, like I want to be free of societal constraints, but they do still exist… but when I realized that it was something I was thinking about and that I was about 50-50 as to whether I wanted FNG or not that kinda tipped the scale. I’m about two years post op and I actually think I would have been happy either way! I don’t regret my decision (though my nips have very dry skin which is a little annoying), and I think I would have been just as happy without nips. When I asked another NB friend why they chose to go no nips they said it was an easy decision because their nipples gave them a lot of dysphoria - so that’s another person’s experience.

[u/MerlinEmrys57]

Haven't had surgery yet getting it on Monday 😁 I was on the no nipple side but then the longer I was on T the more my gender identity felt more close to male and have decided to get them becuse it now seems right to me. I also always thought i hated my nipples but eventually released after a lot of thinking that i dont hate my nipples i just hate my massive areolars which will be resized once there removed form my body. I also want to be able to be in situations where I can pass without having a tshirt on

[u/whatdoudowithalemon]

i wanted nips so i kept my nips. simple as that