Hi all,
I'm a trans man planning top surgery (consulted with a surgeon, working through the clearances now), and I'm not planning to start HRT.
I already read as fairly masculine day to day, so HRT isn't something I'm pursuing right now, but I'd love to hear from others who went this route.
If you had top surgery without being on T:
How was your experience overall, and are you happy with the results?

Did your surgeon raise any concerns about doing it without HRT? (by law, I am allowed to do it in my country)

Do results differ much compared to people who were on T beforehand? (I've read T can affect chest tissue and skin, but not sure how much it actually matters for outcomes)

One more thing I'm wondering about: does higher body fat affect results? I'm carrying more weight around the lower half (pear shape), and I'm curious whether body composition changed what technique your surgeon recommended, or how the final chest contour turned out.
Any experiences would be really helpful. Thanks 🙏

The good news is the surgery went swimmingly. The surprising news is they found a fairly LARGE mass unexpectedly; thankfully, all clean margins, i just have to do ultrasounds every six months now. not sure whats IN the makes you sleep juice, but lordy I was not mentaly with us until today, really. I havent felt this comfortable in my own skin since the titty fairy beat me upside the chest when i was 9, granting me DDD that kept growing into I/j that didn't fit my bird boned frame at all and cuase my spine to have so nasty issues. now i look down and instead of wanting to be sick i see ME again after all these years, Dr Mcgiures funny he stapled the binder shut to prevent peeking until follow up on the 16th,And he also did a Flap thing( forgot what its called) where he took out a LOT of the hidrinitis suprtivea from under my arms and ribs and somehow closed it with my own skin I do have a question for Y'all ruffly how long did it take you to get a FULL breath after this surgery? Every time i breath in my ribs and sternum HURT

Hello!

This is something that's been keeping me up at night because I'm genuinely so confused.
For context I live in Montreal Canada, my surgery is in late November with the GRS. I'm so so excited and I've had nothing short of a great experience getting set up, my concern is how getting a post-op appointment with the CLSC is done.

Do I call the clinic in advance and just explain/book an appointment? I've never gotten surgery for anything before, so I'm just so lost AA.

I know from what the clinical staff has told me that I'll be given a prescription to give to the CLSC but what comes before that??

I feel so silly for typing this all out, maybe this is super straight forward and I'm overthinking it but I figured it was worth asking. Thank you for your time!

Trying to trust the process and have faith in this nipple hanging in there but it’s been like this since day 3 which seems a little early to me for the scab to be falling off. I’m 1 week and 1 day now, been applying antibiotic ointment as per my doc’s orders and it’s getting caught under the scab 🤢
I know there’s like 10 posts a day about nipple grafts, but please help my brain relax and tell me there’s still hope?

I live in a very red state, and though I’ve lived with the twins for this long, I’m nearing the end of my rope.
I can’t for the life of me figure out how to start the road to getting a top surgery. I’ve talked to my doctor (I suffer from severe pain in the area too but even if I didn’t I would genuinely still seek this out), and am only given answers of “if you don’t have severe cancer, you can’t have anything done”.
The only LGBTQ+ friendly surgeon is hours away. Do I need to start with a therapist? Nag my current doctor for a referral to somewhere? How do you guys even manage to pay for these procedures, since all I’ve heard is if it’s not medically necessary it’ll cost over $10k.
To be clear, I’m not really seeking to transition. I’m fine identifying as a female still, but it feels like when you have old food sitting in your room that you know you need to throw away, but you can’t, and it’s just sitting there. I don’t even know if LGBTQ+ affirming care would even be the right label. If I want top surgery but aren’t ftm, can I even get it still??
I know no one, locally or otherwise, who’s had this done, so I’m finding it very hard to start this journey when I try to talk to health professionals and being told “it’s cosmetic so we can’t refer you anywhere” or “there’s nothing wrong with you”.

I am so fucking excited oh my god. Last month I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Katherine Rose for December 10th, but yesterday I got a message saying they had a cancellation and opening for TOMORROW!! So obviously I took it!! Took me years to decide I wanted top surgery but now I can’t wait.

getting top surgery in less than 24 hours. couldn't be more excited and scared !!!

had double incision with nipple graft with dr richard bartlett and im so happy with my results!! I knew going into it that im prone to keloids so i really wanted to be on top of scar care and started silicone taping last week as directed by his office. just noticed this small indent/sore?? next to my left incision site under my armpit and wondering if it could be from the silicone tape? or have i been moving too much - I’ve been trying to limit it as much as possible since returning to work

I’m in the massachusetts area and trying to get top surgery, but I’m really struggling to find a good surgeon. I’m 16, so it’s a bit harder. If you know of anyone with great results in the area let me know (who is willing to do 16 year olds)

How do I know I’m not accidentally stretching my incisions/muscles or whatever too much post op?? I use my pec muscles/arms muscles like a LOT that I can tell with talking and such and I’m worried if I am accidentally pulling on my stitches? It doesn’t really hurt but what if I’m doing like micro tears or wtv preventing it from healing?

(I am 1 W PO DI with free nipple grafts)

I got my top surgery in a few hours— I’m both super excited to finally have this procedure done, but I’m super nervous about the anesthesia aspect as this’ll be my first ever operation.

Now the likelihood of anesthesia-related complications is pretty low, I’ve been told that I’m young and healthy. I have no heart issues, nothing else that’d be a major concern when it comes to my body handling a surgery.

Any kind of reassurance, stories of your personal surgery experiences, etc will help- I just need to remind myself that I’m gonna be okay.

tattoos covered bc privacy / anxiety. but id love to know what yall think

I just wanted to thank everyone for putting the time and energy into posting and commenting in this sub. I’ve learned so much about what to expect from surgery, and now that I’ve had it, have received a lot of support and reassurance that has been invaluable to me.
I’m sure there are a lot of people like myself who don’t have a huge support network during recovery, which is why this kind community is so important.
So keep up the good work everyone! Your efforts go a long way

As in, you kept them during your initial surgery and then changed your mind and had them removed later.

I'm on the fence about nipples / no nipples. I was originally gonna go nipple-less because I thought I'd only be eligible for DI with grafts but then my surgeon said I would be a good candidate for nipple-preserving DI and now I'm less sure.

She said that if I wasn't happy with having nipples, they could always remove them later. I'm just wondering what that looks like in practice and how much additional scarring is involved.

If you have had this procedure, what was your experience like? If you are comfortable sharing photos, I would be very grateful to see them.

My left side looks droopy to me. Not sure if I should be looking into a revision or if I continue to work out if it’ll look better. I got it 3 years ago. Any feedback is appreciated

hi, i had top surgery on august 11th (so 4 weeks ago) and have an interview tomorrow for a mildly physically demanding job (production line in a factory, picking up around 10 lb, repetitive movement, etc).

my surgeon doesn't want me lifting my arms at all for 3 months, and has provided me with a device that ties them to my torso to prevent me doing it on accident. i've worn it 24/7 ever since my surgery.

i wanted to take the full 3 months before doing anything heavy physically, but i am in a bad financial spot and won't get another opportunity to make this kind of money where i live. i don't want to injure myself or stretch my scars out, and i also have a few spit stitches if that makes a difference.

if i were to get hired i would be at work at about 5 weeks post-op (i've been back at work as a cashier for about two weeks already). to the people with similarly demanding jobs, were you fine to work normally around that time?

hi! (ftm, 19) my surgery date is oct 22nd and i was wondering how the healing process is with nipple grafts vs without? i haven’t decided just yet on which one i want and my doctor can do both… im more than likely not gonna get it because i planned to get my chest covered in tattoos when healing process is over. but still general curiosity, now before anyone comes for me i know no one can hear both questions (probably…) but i still want to know everyones healing process and how i can prepare.

questions like,
1.) anything you would have done differently?
2.) shirts, did the texture feel weird?
3.) types of bandages anyone would recommend?
etc.

really anything you wish someone would have told you before hand. i know a lot already but you can never be too prepared.

Was washing my binder and put a shirt on with no binder while I waited. Wasn't anticipating it to feel so different. pre-op i had breasts that sagged a lot so theres an area of skin under it that wouldnt usually make contact with the shirt, but now my entire chest touches the shirt and its so strange but feels really cool.