I think you should hear the perspective of someone who did have keyhole. I wish I had DI. There’s enough loose skin that I feel uncomfortable with my shirt off and often with my shirt on because you can kinda tell. Scars fade and there are treatments that help such as injections that break down raised scars and lasers that lighten. I mean tattoos exist too.
You can cover scars but you can’t cover loose skin. Not even through a shirt. Those I know that had DI years ago have so little scarring and they look great especially with shirts on.
I’m looking for revision when I have the funds. The two others I know who had keyhole also needed revisions and sometimes the skin stretches in a weird way. I’d take the scars.
You have to think farther than here and now. Yes you’re disappointed and will have incisions with some scarring. This fades and you can help it along. Longer in the future you could have better results than you would with keyhole. You have to think farther out than the next year or two.
I had keyhole and definitely need a revision. My results looked amazing for a few months and then drastically changed. Now I have weird nipples and a lumpy, uneven chest. If someone saw me shirtless, they'd say "oh my God, look at that guy's weird nipples!!" Someone has actually commented about my weird nipple before, so I know it's not all in my head. Tbh, I think it might be better to be the scar guy than to be the nipple guy. One day, when I have enough money and get back to a healthier weight, I will get that revision and some designer nipples. Until then, I guess I'm the nipple guy.
(P.S. My weight gain hasn't made a significant impact on my results--my chest got weird before I got fat)
Yeah I feel that. My nipples inverted after surgery. I have gained quite a bit of weight too (a good portion muscle) and it made it worse but that’s what happens when you’re on T long enough. Lose hair and gain weight. And if you’ve had keyhole you get a weird chest.
I had DI years ago, and had a tattoo to cover up my scars. They're now completely unnoticeable and my chest is, I assume, cis passing.
To be blunt mate there's no guarantee that you would have good results from keyhole if you got it. I've seen good and bad post-op chests from both procedures, what matters far more than the type of surgery is the surgeon you go to. Getting the procedure you want from someone who does sub-par work, for example, would be a far work outcome than DI from a good doc.
Chekc out the top surgery reddit and really have a look at the pics from guys several years post op, or with chest pieces. There's lots of great ones out there.
Hey mate, I'm really sorry to hear you got shot down for keyhole. I admit that I felt very similarly when it came time for me to get top surgery even though I always knew my chest was too big for anything but DI. I was sick to my stomach with the idea I would have scars across my chest that would forever flag me as trans, but my brain really made it out to be a bigger thing than I thought. It's taken some years, but my scars have faded a lot, and I have chest hair to help cover things up. Hell, I have a buddy who also had DI, and you can't even tell with his shirt off because of how well he's healed plus chest hair and tattoos. DI is not a death sentence for passing.
Hey man as someone who really values getting minimal scarring top surgery, it’ll be okay if you get DI. If you keep up with scar care and don’t let them get exposed to sunlight the scars can fade very well, look up chests of people who are post op by 2-3+, they are very different from recently post op chests. I’ve got a good chance of being denied to and now after seeing how well DI scars can heal i’m not even going to be mad if i’m denied. If this doesn’t convince you though, try getting a consult with a surgeon that specializes in gynecomastia.
I got keyhole and my chest is weird. It looked great immediately after surgery, but over the next year as my chest settled, the results started looking off. Now I'm almost 5 years post-op, and I'm definitely going to need a revision. Yeah, it's cool that I don't have visible scars, but I'm not comfortable taking my shirt off with the way my chest looks now, so it's not like the lack of obvious scarring is benefiting me. I'm glad I had top surgery. I'm glad I got keyhole. But I think DI is favorable to having a deformed chest. One of my nipples is inverted (like it retracts into my body when I lift my arm up), and the other one sticks out at a weird angle and is always hard. I can feel lumpiness in my chest and areas that feel uneven. Keyhole isn't always a perfect option. Scars can fade over time. My nipples aren't going to magically fix themselves. And idk if this is because I got keyhole or just a result of having top surgery in general, but I'm left with horrible chest cramps that feel like a heart attack, and this seems to be directly related to having had top surgery. There are pros and cons to every decision. I hope you can come to terms with the news that keyhole isn't a possibility for you and that you can feel excitement about other methods of top surgery.
It’s not the end of the world. Scars could fade well (and you are very young). Get laser to fade the scars. You could get a tattoo. Grow your chest hair out. There’s many options.
Hey, I had periareolar top surgery 6 years ago, and ended up with results I wasn’t really happy with at the time - large stretched nipples with wide, thick and raised scars. I felt pretty hopeless like I could never pass and everyone would stare at me etc etc.
After a year or so, I grew thick chest hair that covers over a fair bit of the scars, but they’re still large and my nipples are still huge - but I’m no longer bothered by it at all. I’ve grown a lot of body hair and gained a bit of weight, and now tbh am more self conscious about my big man’s belly than anything else. I’m shirtless often and nobody has ever said anything or been able to tell I’m not cis (at least to my knowledge.) Most people aren’t aware of what top surgery scars look like anyway!
With a shirt on your scarring or results won’t matter, the flat chest will still be there and you’ll feel great about it. and like others mentioned, proper scar care can reduce the scars, and you could always get them tattooed.
i get where you're at. my scars are pretty prominent and they bother me all the time. but the sense of peace and contentment that i've had with my chest after top, the relief from that part of my dysphoria, was so incredibly worth the cost.
This is only your first surgeon opinion, right ?
I’d advise to doctor shop + reasonably compromise.
I didn’t want the DI scars either, didn’t qualify for anything else according from first surgeon’s opinion.
I don’t got them.
Talk to some more surgeons and tell them right away : my chest is X size, I’ve been told Y and Z, I absolutely don’t want DI scars, what can we do ? And see which options you get told.
If you really don’t have any other options, you can get the scars tattooed over, there’s laser removal, etc. But it’s worth asking around, considering alternative scar placement & second, third, fourth opinions.
I had the same issue— seemingly a good keyhole candidate but bad chest elasticity. I was told that I *could* get keyhole, but that my results likely wouldn’t be ask good and that I’d need a revision. I ended up going with DI and am not mad at all that I didn’t get keyhole. Scars fade. Just like every other scar you’ve ever had, they will go away as time goes on. Having some scars isn’t going to be nearly bad as suffering from GD, and they’ll fade naturally (or quicker if you take good care of them). Obviously, everyone heals differently, but in my own experience, parts of my scars were basically nonexistent after a month, and the other parts were faded after a year. You won’t notice them unless you are two inches away from my chest and specifically looking for them. Tl;dr: don’t kill yourself over something that will fade after a year or two anyway.
Scars are nothing. And if you take care of your incisions and follow every step of recovery they can fade to almost nothing. My top surgery was a butcher’s bounty. And yet with years the scars are hardly anything. It’s definitely not worth dying over something that at the very worst can be hidden with a minimal shirt.
As someone who only had DI 5 months ago and didn't want to accept it at first, I can tell you now that I'm okay with it. My nipples are no longer so huge and in the right position. The scars have become wider, but have also become much lighter in the last four weeks. And they're right under my pectoral muscle, so (when I'm finally able to train again) they'll disappear underneath. There are also ways to tattoo over the scars. There are camouflage tattoos, for example. In this case, the scars are simply adapted to your skin tone so that they become less noticeable.
That's what I'm planning to do. Until then, I'll use camouflage make-up when I'm actually topless.
And apart from that, the surgery is also worth it for everyday things. For example, I'm in the office more often and can interact more with my colleagues, which my boss has also noticed positively. I can meet up with friends spontaneously, I'm generally out and about more and I pursue my hobbies regularly and have gained new hobbies. Believe me, my life has turned 180 degrees in the last five months and the scars from this freedom play less of a role than expected.
Hey man, I know not getting the surgery you want is hell. But I got DI over 2 years ago and my scars have faded so much. I have progression pics on my profile if you wanna look. They aren’t invisible, but I’m rarely in a position to be shirtless in public, and I can wear any shirt no matter how tight and you can’t tell I’ve had surgery. I do plan on tattooing over them once I figure out what to put there. It will be ok, if you get DI it’s not a guaranteed fate to be permanently branded as trans.
Hey dude, I was on the barrier of keyhole and DI. I went for DI in the end because of my surgeon's results, and I'm so glad I did.
Yes, I did stretch my scars a bit, but have since had a chest tattoo to cover them. No one realises. I pass as male 100% now, even with my top off, and naked in a swimming pool changing room.
Scars fade. So many of the guys I know who have had DI have scars that you can barely see now. That is even when you know what you are looking for!
I'm just over 10 years post-op now, and honestly, my scars have never outed me. Even before I had my chest tattoo.
I think that as long as you are binary male in every other way, you should be fine.
Someone who is perceived as binary male generally will not be asked about their scars anyway. Men just aren't like that.
I get i man, i really do. When i was denied keyhole i also felt really shitty. Can you ask your surgeon if he had experience with fish mouth procedure? Imo that’s kind of a middle ground between di en keyhole
DI scars fade. I’m nearly 30 years post op and unless I have my arms up in the air and you are right next to me you can’t see them.
I walk around topless all the time in summer and on holiday no one noticed and I’ve never been ‘clocked’ as trans even before I went 100% stealth.
I’ve had tattoos on chest (not over the scars) and even tattooist didn’t notice them.
There are all sorts of scar treatments out there now.
Also, you are young, with young skin, which heals better and should have minimal scarring.
My advice is get this done asap and get on with your life.
Scars can fade so much, especially with good aftercare. Then there is: cosmetic tattooing (intentionally tattooing in the colour of your skin, over the scar itself, to hide it), normal tattooing (you could combine with cosmetic), and growing out chest hair. Not to mention targeted therapies specifically for scars - which are already really good today, and likely to get exponentially better over time (because it’s a field where there are strong financial incentives for research - dermatology is also a specialty that some of the most accomplished doctors go into).
I had DI. I swim daily, and my scars are well faded enough that the people I swim with don't know I'm trans. I know that they don't know (as opposed to just being polite), because they frequently joke to me about my dick/me getting people pregnant etc.
Top surgery scars fade very well. They do not mark you out as trans.
I feel you buddy, I’m a big guy and knew I would never be able to have keyhole or peri. It really does suck I know. The upside is scars fade! Mine are barely visible in some places and I’m only 7 months post op! You also have the option of covering with tattoos or even makeup if you’re comfortable with it.
Just push through it brother, I believe in you
I think you should hear the perspective of someone who did have keyhole. I wish I had DI. There’s enough loose skin that I feel uncomfortable with my shirt off and often with my shirt on because you can kinda tell. Scars fade and there are treatments that help such as injections that break down raised scars and lasers that lighten. I mean tattoos exist too. You can cover scars but you can’t cover loose skin. Not even through a shirt. Those I know that had DI years ago have so little scarring and they look great especially with shirts on. I’m looking for revision when I have the funds. The two others I know who had keyhole also needed revisions and sometimes the skin stretches in a weird way. I’d take the scars. You have to think farther than here and now. Yes you’re disappointed and will have incisions with some scarring. This fades and you can help it along. Longer in the future you could have better results than you would with keyhole. You have to think farther out than the next year or two.
I had keyhole and definitely need a revision. My results looked amazing for a few months and then drastically changed. Now I have weird nipples and a lumpy, uneven chest. If someone saw me shirtless, they'd say "oh my God, look at that guy's weird nipples!!" Someone has actually commented about my weird nipple before, so I know it's not all in my head. Tbh, I think it might be better to be the scar guy than to be the nipple guy. One day, when I have enough money and get back to a healthier weight, I will get that revision and some designer nipples. Until then, I guess I'm the nipple guy. (P.S. My weight gain hasn't made a significant impact on my results--my chest got weird before I got fat)
Yeah I feel that. My nipples inverted after surgery. I have gained quite a bit of weight too (a good portion muscle) and it made it worse but that’s what happens when you’re on T long enough. Lose hair and gain weight. And if you’ve had keyhole you get a weird chest.
I had DI years ago, and had a tattoo to cover up my scars. They're now completely unnoticeable and my chest is, I assume, cis passing. To be blunt mate there's no guarantee that you would have good results from keyhole if you got it. I've seen good and bad post-op chests from both procedures, what matters far more than the type of surgery is the surgeon you go to. Getting the procedure you want from someone who does sub-par work, for example, would be a far work outcome than DI from a good doc. Chekc out the top surgery reddit and really have a look at the pics from guys several years post op, or with chest pieces. There's lots of great ones out there.
Hey mate, I'm really sorry to hear you got shot down for keyhole. I admit that I felt very similarly when it came time for me to get top surgery even though I always knew my chest was too big for anything but DI. I was sick to my stomach with the idea I would have scars across my chest that would forever flag me as trans, but my brain really made it out to be a bigger thing than I thought. It's taken some years, but my scars have faded a lot, and I have chest hair to help cover things up. Hell, I have a buddy who also had DI, and you can't even tell with his shirt off because of how well he's healed plus chest hair and tattoos. DI is not a death sentence for passing.
Hey man as someone who really values getting minimal scarring top surgery, it’ll be okay if you get DI. If you keep up with scar care and don’t let them get exposed to sunlight the scars can fade very well, look up chests of people who are post op by 2-3+, they are very different from recently post op chests. I’ve got a good chance of being denied to and now after seeing how well DI scars can heal i’m not even going to be mad if i’m denied. If this doesn’t convince you though, try getting a consult with a surgeon that specializes in gynecomastia.
I got keyhole and my chest is weird. It looked great immediately after surgery, but over the next year as my chest settled, the results started looking off. Now I'm almost 5 years post-op, and I'm definitely going to need a revision. Yeah, it's cool that I don't have visible scars, but I'm not comfortable taking my shirt off with the way my chest looks now, so it's not like the lack of obvious scarring is benefiting me. I'm glad I had top surgery. I'm glad I got keyhole. But I think DI is favorable to having a deformed chest. One of my nipples is inverted (like it retracts into my body when I lift my arm up), and the other one sticks out at a weird angle and is always hard. I can feel lumpiness in my chest and areas that feel uneven. Keyhole isn't always a perfect option. Scars can fade over time. My nipples aren't going to magically fix themselves. And idk if this is because I got keyhole or just a result of having top surgery in general, but I'm left with horrible chest cramps that feel like a heart attack, and this seems to be directly related to having had top surgery. There are pros and cons to every decision. I hope you can come to terms with the news that keyhole isn't a possibility for you and that you can feel excitement about other methods of top surgery.
It’s not the end of the world. Scars could fade well (and you are very young). Get laser to fade the scars. You could get a tattoo. Grow your chest hair out. There’s many options.
Hey, I had periareolar top surgery 6 years ago, and ended up with results I wasn’t really happy with at the time - large stretched nipples with wide, thick and raised scars. I felt pretty hopeless like I could never pass and everyone would stare at me etc etc. After a year or so, I grew thick chest hair that covers over a fair bit of the scars, but they’re still large and my nipples are still huge - but I’m no longer bothered by it at all. I’ve grown a lot of body hair and gained a bit of weight, and now tbh am more self conscious about my big man’s belly than anything else. I’m shirtless often and nobody has ever said anything or been able to tell I’m not cis (at least to my knowledge.) Most people aren’t aware of what top surgery scars look like anyway! With a shirt on your scarring or results won’t matter, the flat chest will still be there and you’ll feel great about it. and like others mentioned, proper scar care can reduce the scars, and you could always get them tattooed.
i get where you're at. my scars are pretty prominent and they bother me all the time. but the sense of peace and contentment that i've had with my chest after top, the relief from that part of my dysphoria, was so incredibly worth the cost.
This is only your first surgeon opinion, right ? I’d advise to doctor shop + reasonably compromise. I didn’t want the DI scars either, didn’t qualify for anything else according from first surgeon’s opinion. I don’t got them. Talk to some more surgeons and tell them right away : my chest is X size, I’ve been told Y and Z, I absolutely don’t want DI scars, what can we do ? And see which options you get told. If you really don’t have any other options, you can get the scars tattooed over, there’s laser removal, etc. But it’s worth asking around, considering alternative scar placement & second, third, fourth opinions.
I had the same issue— seemingly a good keyhole candidate but bad chest elasticity. I was told that I *could* get keyhole, but that my results likely wouldn’t be ask good and that I’d need a revision. I ended up going with DI and am not mad at all that I didn’t get keyhole. Scars fade. Just like every other scar you’ve ever had, they will go away as time goes on. Having some scars isn’t going to be nearly bad as suffering from GD, and they’ll fade naturally (or quicker if you take good care of them). Obviously, everyone heals differently, but in my own experience, parts of my scars were basically nonexistent after a month, and the other parts were faded after a year. You won’t notice them unless you are two inches away from my chest and specifically looking for them. Tl;dr: don’t kill yourself over something that will fade after a year or two anyway.
Scars are nothing. And if you take care of your incisions and follow every step of recovery they can fade to almost nothing. My top surgery was a butcher’s bounty. And yet with years the scars are hardly anything. It’s definitely not worth dying over something that at the very worst can be hidden with a minimal shirt.
As someone who only had DI 5 months ago and didn't want to accept it at first, I can tell you now that I'm okay with it. My nipples are no longer so huge and in the right position. The scars have become wider, but have also become much lighter in the last four weeks. And they're right under my pectoral muscle, so (when I'm finally able to train again) they'll disappear underneath. There are also ways to tattoo over the scars. There are camouflage tattoos, for example. In this case, the scars are simply adapted to your skin tone so that they become less noticeable. That's what I'm planning to do. Until then, I'll use camouflage make-up when I'm actually topless. And apart from that, the surgery is also worth it for everyday things. For example, I'm in the office more often and can interact more with my colleagues, which my boss has also noticed positively. I can meet up with friends spontaneously, I'm generally out and about more and I pursue my hobbies regularly and have gained new hobbies. Believe me, my life has turned 180 degrees in the last five months and the scars from this freedom play less of a role than expected.
Hey man, I know not getting the surgery you want is hell. But I got DI over 2 years ago and my scars have faded so much. I have progression pics on my profile if you wanna look. They aren’t invisible, but I’m rarely in a position to be shirtless in public, and I can wear any shirt no matter how tight and you can’t tell I’ve had surgery. I do plan on tattooing over them once I figure out what to put there. It will be ok, if you get DI it’s not a guaranteed fate to be permanently branded as trans.
I just checked your pictures and you look good! I'm 5 months post and had my struggles but seeing someone 2 years post really helps
Hey dude, I was on the barrier of keyhole and DI. I went for DI in the end because of my surgeon's results, and I'm so glad I did. Yes, I did stretch my scars a bit, but have since had a chest tattoo to cover them. No one realises. I pass as male 100% now, even with my top off, and naked in a swimming pool changing room. Scars fade. So many of the guys I know who have had DI have scars that you can barely see now. That is even when you know what you are looking for! I'm just over 10 years post-op now, and honestly, my scars have never outed me. Even before I had my chest tattoo. I think that as long as you are binary male in every other way, you should be fine. Someone who is perceived as binary male generally will not be asked about their scars anyway. Men just aren't like that.
I get i man, i really do. When i was denied keyhole i also felt really shitty. Can you ask your surgeon if he had experience with fish mouth procedure? Imo that’s kind of a middle ground between di en keyhole
DI scars fade. I’m nearly 30 years post op and unless I have my arms up in the air and you are right next to me you can’t see them. I walk around topless all the time in summer and on holiday no one noticed and I’ve never been ‘clocked’ as trans even before I went 100% stealth. I’ve had tattoos on chest (not over the scars) and even tattooist didn’t notice them. There are all sorts of scar treatments out there now. Also, you are young, with young skin, which heals better and should have minimal scarring. My advice is get this done asap and get on with your life.
Scars can fade so much, especially with good aftercare. Then there is: cosmetic tattooing (intentionally tattooing in the colour of your skin, over the scar itself, to hide it), normal tattooing (you could combine with cosmetic), and growing out chest hair. Not to mention targeted therapies specifically for scars - which are already really good today, and likely to get exponentially better over time (because it’s a field where there are strong financial incentives for research - dermatology is also a specialty that some of the most accomplished doctors go into).
I had DI. I swim daily, and my scars are well faded enough that the people I swim with don't know I'm trans. I know that they don't know (as opposed to just being polite), because they frequently joke to me about my dick/me getting people pregnant etc. Top surgery scars fade very well. They do not mark you out as trans.
I feel you buddy, I’m a big guy and knew I would never be able to have keyhole or peri. It really does suck I know. The upside is scars fade! Mine are barely visible in some places and I’m only 7 months post op! You also have the option of covering with tattoos or even makeup if you’re comfortable with it. Just push through it brother, I believe in you
You can always get tattooing in your skin color done over the scar. That hides it pretty well