#partial transition

This channel is an invaluable resource for any trans people who can't afford or see a therapist right now. I've been watching her for over a year now, and a brief consultation with her was what finally pushed me into trying hormone therapy. The good news is I found out hormones were right for me. The bad news is that now I have to worry about people noticing physical changes, as I am still cis-passing in public.

Being more genderfluid, I've had a few scares when I started noticing breast development and was unsure if I wanted boobs or not, as I'm kind of indifferent/neutral to having them. It happened so quickly and was such a shock that I almost stopped HRT. I felt like dogshit when coming off of hormones, even after only a day or two, the dysphoria started coming back, and that "dry plant needing water feeling" (water being estrogen) that I had survived with for years came rushing back.

Trying to come off hormones was kind of a good experiment because it at least proved that, oh no, I actually am benefiting from this. It isn't just something I'm making up and wasting time, money, and effort on. It is improving my life and overall well-being. It's not just in my head.

- anonymous

Here’s a gallery split between surgery types: http://www.ftmtopsurgery.ca/gallery/ There’s not really any bigger fat folk there, but there’s some small fat folk.

This site goes by doctor: http://www.topsurgery.net/before-after-photos/ You’ll have to agree that you’re of age to view the page each time you select a doctor, but they’ve all done surgery on a pretty diverse array of body types, so you should be able to find someone or two there with a body closer to yours. =)

I couldn’t find any specific galleries or photo collections for partial transition top surgeries (some individuals like here, who also provide a bunch of resources), but there’s quite a lot out there written from people who have partially transitioned, so you might try looking those up and reading some of those. Even without photos, you might find their experiences helpful in making a decision.

I couldn’t find much else (I just searched for ‘trans top surgery before and after’), but my other suggestion would be to call up local doctors and see if they have some example pictures of past surgeries they could show to you. I don’t know if that’s something they can do, but it’s worth asking, because you know they absolutely see a wide variety of body types. The other thing you could do is set an appointment with them and talk about the kind of results you’d see if you did choose to follow through on this path, just like a consultation to give you something to think about. (Obviously, this is a more expensive route, but you may find it worth it if you can afford it.)

So as far as I know, no, you do not have to have taken, be taking, or take T afterwords in order to have top surgery. There’s actually a good number of people who have taken this route!

Now, some doctors may prefer that you are taking T to help reduce breast tissue, in which case, getting a waiver/letter of appeal from a therapist might get around that or you can try a different doctor. Apparently most health insurances will also require that you are taking T for a year before surgery, but a waiver/letter of appeal will allow you to get around that (if you are going through your insurance to cover your surgery, anyway).

As well, getting top surgery removes most of your breast tissue, which should stem/stop any growth afterwords.

If anybody with personal experience wants to pitch in, please do!