Nick's Chest Surgery Experiences

Revision Performed on May 9, 2002. Page Also Includes Photo Gallery from Initial Breast Removal/Reconstruction Surgery Performed on Dec 2, 1999

Requirements: Verifiable Therapy and Testosterone use for at least 2 full years.

(nothing on his site mentions FTM top surgery but call his office manager Chris Barnes and speak to her.)

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Wednesday May 15, 2002 Day 6 - The large photo is my post-revision photo. I am still very swollen. I am also wearing a binder 24/7. The bruising is from very aggressive liposuction. My nipples were trimmed down, the scars were removed, the excess skin was removed as was the left over breast tissue and fat. Now you know why I am so sore and not updating the site or answering emails for a while. I will post a small photo of my first post-surgery photo at 2 years and 5 months. If I can find it, I will post my before any surgery photo when the offending objects were still in place.

Wednesday May 15, 2002 Day 6 - Post-Revision Right side. Bruising from very aggressive liposuction. There is a closer shot if the large bruise near my belt line is in the next set of photos.

Wednesday May 15, 2002 - Post-Revision Left side. Bruising from very aggressive liposuction. Next set of photos will be posted after my 10 day follow-up when all the tape is removed. This was taken the day after all the original tape was removed and replaced. That was pretty irritating in itself. Synopsis: I am very happy with the results. The surgeon did an excellent job. The only thing that has been a problem is the severe bruising. When that right side became large, hard and full Wednesday afternoon, there was a lot of pain which was unexpected. (see the next row of photos for a photo of this area) The fluid pressed on my right sciatic nerve and my fusion which left me in severe pain the entire afternoon and evening. I wrapped the abdomen with an Ace which helped the swelling by Thursday morning.

May 16, 2002 One week post-op: The area on the right side became very large while checking my email and posting these photos on Wednesday. It's very painful. The blood & fluid pooling stopped where the waist band of my sweat pants started. Fluid has settled in my lower stomach causing soft tissue swelling hence the poochy lower stomach. Chris at Dr. Mag's office suggested ice but it was too painful. My Endo's nurse, Shari suggested a heating pad on the effected area only not the incisions or lipo area. It worked wonders and was quite comfortable.

Wednesday May 22, 2002 Day 13 - This is my largest bruise from the lipo on the right side. It looks 100% better than the previous Wednesday. It's still painful. I get cramping on the right side near this bruise and there is deep tissue pain under it. It is still effecting my right sciatic nerve and my fusion. The heating pad really did the trick helping my body absorb the fluid and blood.

Wednesday May 22, 2002 Day 13 - There is still some swelling and slight bruising on the chest. The areas under my arms are the most painful still but hurt mostly when I try to sleep on my side, right or left, it doesn't matter which. I get some shooting pains under the nipples but that is from fluid build up behind them. They were trimmed down to a smaller size not relocated or grafted to another area, just reduced.

Sunday May 26, 2002 Day 17 - The shininess is from vitamin E oil. The swelling is pulling the areolas downward so they are not symmetrical. Once all the swelling is gone, the nipples/areolas will be round. If I use Vitamin-E oil and these new scar treatment strips for a few months or over the next year, there should be no scarring that causes the areolas to be oval again like last time. I have to wear a binder or ace wrap for at least 2 more weeks.

Monday May 27, 2002 Day 18 Here's a shot with no scar therapy strips. l am hoping that the puckering goes away after the swelling is gone in the next 10 weeks or so. That's the risk of lipo in the same spot a second time. I will keep a compression vest or ace wrapped around my chest despite how irritating it is on these fresh incisions. I simply cannot judge the end result this soon. That's what helps me keep from getting down about how this looks right now. As I have preached before to others, healing takes up to 3 months as does the reduction of swelling, so my 10 week goal might be wishful thinking and unrealistic.

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 Day 47 Post-op Healing is coming along very well. Almost all the swelling is gone. I still have some residual swelling on the right side. I am wearing Spenco Scar Therapy Pads about 12 hours a day. But, it looks like the hypertrophic scarring might come back no matter what I do. Time will tell. I have resumed push-ups and some chest work when I feel up to it.

Friday August 2, 2002 Day 85 Post-Op. Hypertrophic scarring is coming back. The Spenco pads are helping slow it and keep them soft. They are painful at times. There is still some swelling that comes and goes. My areolas are not as round as I had hoped they would have been. The surgeon probably should have put my arms down to my sides during the resizing to make sure they would be round when my arms were down not just when my arms were at stretched on the table. The skin stitch scars left over from the first surgery around the areolas were not completely cut away and after the swelling went down around the areolas, they became partially visible. There is some puckering of the skin from the second lipo session.

Jan 29, 2003: Addendum: The puckering of the skin have gone away and the hard edges around the trimmed down areolas are now nice and smooth. Everything has evened out. I stopped using the scar pads and went back to Mederma, which I had used once before. It is helping but I plan to visit the surgeon in February and pick-up some large scar pads he uses to reduce scarring on his breast enlargement and reduction patients. I will post an updated photo soon then another one year post-op.

Surgery One: Breast Removal & Chest Reconstruction December 2, 1999

Day 8

First surgery Dec. 2, 1999: Post-Breast removal Day 8

First surgery Dec. 2, 1999: Post-Breast removal Right side Day 8

First surgery Dec. 2, 1999: Post-Breast removal Left side Day 8

Day 15

Day 21

Day 51

Day 123

14 months post-op

Jan 16, 2001 A revision is in order

My surgery was performed on December 2, 1999 in tandem with my complete hysterectomy and oopherectomy in a local hospital. I had a great hospital experience from pre-admission the day before to the complete hospital stay.

I mention pre-admission. That consisted of me going to the hospital the day before to present my license and insurance card for pre-check in. The intake nurse was very professional. I had about 3 days beard growth and had been on Testosterone for 4 years then. She knew why I was there but treated me with kindness, without prejudice. I was also there for blood work, a UA, and a consult by the attending nurse that day. She handed me a plastic draw string hospital bad with items I needed to take home and use. She was very friendly and professional. The bag contained instructions on when to stop food and fluid intake as well as a packet of Hibeclense antibacterial soap to wash my chest and lower abdomen with. There was also a suppository form laxative and a Betadine douche. It was unpleasant but I did what I was told so I would ward off any infection or contamination during surgery.

I checked into the hospital early the next morning. I was taken to a prep room where the nurse started my I.V. and again went over what would be happening. Dr. Magnusson came in and marked my chest. met my mother and left. I was wheeled into pre-op where I met the anesthesiologist who checked my I.V. and went over what his role would be during the surgery. He then gave me a huge Versed push into my I.V. (4 mgs). Right about the time Dr. Motz came in. She's the OB-GYN who would be doing my hysterectomy. She had broken her foot and hobbled in. I was looped out of my gourd but I had the presence of mind to ask her if her broken foot would impede her ability to operate. She assured me it would not.

I was then wheeled into surgery and that's all I remember until I started coming to in recovery, throwing my guts up. They used an anesthetic that made me violently ill (come to find out all general anesthetic makes me throw up post-op) and continued to do so until the next morning despite all the anti-nausea meds they shot me full of. I have no gall bladder so what came out was a nice deep shade of forest green. I threw up so much I pulled the staples in my belly and that started a chain reaction of bruising from the lower abdomen to the inner thighs to almost my knees starting on the second day. They hot packed me which helped. On day 3 I also blew a vein so my I.V. backed up into my arm causing it to swell 2 times it's normal size. They removed my catheter on day 3, but after a few hours I could not urinate so I had to be straight 'cathed' to empty my full bladder by a very understanding nurse, whom I warned what she would see down there would be very unusual. It didn't bother her and after she asked if she could ask me questions about my transition later. I was happy to oblige.

All of the female nurses were very nice and would come in an visit me. The one male nurse would inevitably come in during each of his shifts and ask me what surgery I had. He knew full well what surgery I had; it was on my chart but I guess he wanted to hear me say it. He was very effeminate and I recall one day when he came in and he had failed to, shall write, wipe well when he had a bowel movement and he smelled horrible and I was already nauseous as it was. But despite his poor hygiene and being a nuisance about what surgery I had, he and all the nurses made a special effort to say good bye to me before I was released; those who were not on duty that day said good-bye the day or night before after their shift ended.

To Be continued....Coming soon: My personal experience with Dr. Magnusson, Chris Barnes, his staff and Dr. Motz.

The revision is on.

Me, March 28, 2002 Pre-Revision:

My Revision is May 9, 2002.

Pre-revision editorial: The surgeon will be removing the tissue from inside the sharpie marked areas which will also take away the old hypertrophic scars. I am also having the nipples reduced about 1/4 of an inch that will in turn remove the stitch mark scars around the areolas that also went Hypertrophic.

The above photo was taken Jan 16, 2001. My chest looks a little better now from some slight weight loss and from weight training when I am feeling up to it.

The left side has flattened out pretty well but the right side still looks about the same as in that photo.

I have what my surgeons calls a fat man's chest. No offense to heavy set guys but that's the only way to compare what my chest looks like. Guys who are carrying too much upper body fat have those fatty pockets along their breasts and under their arms along the side of their chests. But I am different. I don't have the rest of the body to match the fatty chest look, so it looks very odd and misshapen.