#top surgery info

[camkablam]

on anon bc i've always been afraid to ask in case this is offensive but why are double mastectomies referred to as top surgery? is it a dysphoric thing? or is it just shorthand /gen

hello!!! this isn't offensive at all!

'Top surgery' is a generalised term because there are multiple different kinds of surgery you can get, most of them depending on stuff like size and what you yourself want out of it. There's keyhole surgery, periareolar and (the most commonly known one) double incision. The last two both fall under 'double masectomy.'

Here's an extract about the differences between periareolar and double incicsion from The T in LGBT+ by Jamie Raines!

And here's a really helpful video talking more about the different kinds of top surgery there is!

In General: people say 'top surgery' instead of just 'double masectomy' because there are different kinds of ways to get top surgery! It's also just a more casual way of talking about it (as you said, shorthand!) and is used solely by and for the trans community. Same applies to bottom surgery!

[smugpuffin]

hey when you say 100% covered, was it really? Because I fear that I would have to pay something for mine. Although the surgery clinic I’m interested in checked my insurance for me and I said I was covered and then I personally called my insurance myself and they also said I had benefits. I feel like I psyching myself out in a sense...

Yes, I paid $0.00 for the surgery itself. 

My family had already met the out of pocket deductible for the year. We also have really good insurance that says once we meet the deductible for the year we get 100% coverage.  

I was also the only case my surgeon had seen up until that point where all the procedures were covered.

So, the actual top surgery has several procedure codes.

1. Is the mastectomy part

2. Is the nipple grafts (if you get them)

3. Is the liposuction to contour the chest

Generally insurance (if you have coverage) will cover # 1 and 2. However, the vast majority of insurance companies will not cover the lipo part of the procedure. 

My insurance is provided through my dad’s job (which is a medical company) and they follow the WPATH Standards of Care. Depending on where you get your insurance from, (self paid, government, or employment), there is a strong chance they do not follow those standards.

Your best option is to call your surgeon and get ALL of the procedure codes (CPT Codes) used by your surgeon for top surgery. Then, call your insurance company and have them check coverage by CPT code. 

Also, if you have not met your deductible for your insurance company, you will have your co-pay due. 

Sorry this is a long answer, but I wanted to put all the information out there. Insurance is tricky and selective so it is in your best interest to be as specific as you can be when dealing with them.

Message me if you have questions about what I said or anything else.

[otuluu]

4 years post top surgery (Double Incision, free nipple grafts) and two years post my last revision. Due to the free nipple grafts I lost one nipple to necrosis, as well as the tip of the other nipple. I plan on getting them pierced though so hopefully it won’t show as much. 

 My scars were very thick and hard at first. My first surgeon claimed there was nothing that could be done about it, but when I saw another doctor at an appointment about bottom surgery, he asked to see my chest and then told me he could fix it. It took around 20 minutes under local anesthesia to give me this result instead of the wide, thick scars I had at first. 

Eventually my chestpiece will cover the scars, I am just waiting for my tattoo artist to move back to Sweden. In the picture above you can see how she covered part of them. I highly recommend her, she is very discreet, kind and professional. If you want her name, I’ll be glad to give it to you over messages. 

Here you can see my post from 3 years post op!