6 months after top surgery

A couple of days ago, something suddenly dawned on me:  It finally clicked why things weren’t looking too good in terms of symmetry.  I previously had not paid attention, but my rib cage is actually fairly uneven.   I’ve known that my hips are askew for forever – I have mild scoliosis.  My waist is off – it goes straight down on the left side, and curves in on the right.  We all have these little quirks…  Other things:  my eyes are not the same – one eyelid is droopier than the other.  One nostril is a little bigger than the other.  You know that swirl everyone has within their hair (cowlick)?  It’s never dead center, is it?  – It’s over to one side.  Some people even have 2!  My point is, we’re all a little different, even on a structural level.  And I had been ignoring/avoiding my chest and rib cage – possibly because of the dysphoria surrounding that area.

I knew there was a weird dent on the left side, but beyond that, my ribs were pretty foreign to me.  Recently, I started poking around.  The bones are not in the same place, between my left and right!  The left side even juts out a little further than the right.

Despite this, my breasts actually had been symmetrical, but that’s probably because there was all that extra tissue as a buffer.  When the surgeon went to take that all out, bones were a hindrance as to what she could do, I’m finally realizing.  (And yeah, I am actually that skinny that my ribs stick out a little bit.  I wish I had some more meat on me there!)

I recently took some photos, so that finally, I could post my results on transbucket (you can check it out – you just have to create an account to access the website, first).  And I found that things don’t look as bad, through the camera lens, as they do when I’m scrutinizing every little thing in the mirror.  I had also taken photos of my chest, pre-op, and this was the first time I looked at those since surgery – my breasts seem a lot bigger than I remember them!  Haha.

Here’s what I wrote on transbucket (a summary of sorts):

“Had surgery in June of 2016.  Was reimbursed for 40% of the total cost, which I wasn’t expecting!  This surgeon and her staff were subpar with patient care and availability.  I have barely seen / spoken to Dr. Rumer during this process.  All follow-up appts. (been doing them through Skype) have been with a physician’s assistant.  The only other time to see her will be at the 1 year-follow-up.

I was not completely satisfied with the results (although these pics don’t look too bad).  The left side is larger than the right, and the nipples are uneven, a little sunken in, and (at 6 months) purplish in color.  It’s tough to see from the pics, but I believe some muscle tissue was taken out on the right side, and there’s a dent to the right of the nipple.  Sensation is touchy, but slowly improving.  I recently realized that my rib cage is not symmetrical, so that may have impacted my results.

I plan on seeking a nipple revision, at the least, in the future.  Since I would have to pay more for this, from Dr. Rumer, I will be looking at options elsewhere as well.

At the time of surgery, I was not on T.  I’d been on a super-low dose prior, for 2.5 years, but I do not think that impacted my musculature.

More information can be found at:  https://janitorqueer.com/category/top-surgery/ ”

Here are past updates about top surgery, documenting as I go:
4.5 months after top surgery:  4.5 months is an odd point – but it seems worthwhile to write now, mostly because within the last couple of weeks, sensation has been returning at a faster rate. and I want to make note of that. …
3 months after top surgery:  I did not expect to feel much different other than a cerebral satisfaction regarding being able to wear anything from now on.  But it’s more of a gut- level confidence. …
1 month after top surgery:  I can live with that for now, but I doubt things are going to change enough for it to actually look good.  I’m not happy with the results. …
2 weeks after top surgery:  Right now, there is not enough symmetry, in multiple regards. …
6 days after top surgery:  Everything went smoothly, except for the fact that the surgeon was about to do the wrong procedure. …