A Review of My Experience:

Appearance
I’m extremely pleased with the overall appearance of my chest. In the weeks following my surgery, the swelling has gone down significantly.  My chest isn’t perfect, but I think the appearance of my chest will be vastly improved by a little work on my part. Any imperfections in the symmetry of my chest will be far less noticeable if I build my upper body.  I don’t think a revision will be needed to take out any more tissue, however, I might want a revision for my areolas. I think they are larger than I’d like them to be, and currently, there is some slight puckering around them.

Pain
I guess the one benefit to the numbness this surgery left me with is that I have experienced very little pain. I had limited mobility for approximately three weeks, but no significant long-term discomfort. The only instance in which I felt pain was with the removal of one of my drains, and it was a quick, sharp, burning pain that soon left me.

Complications
I’ve only experienced a couple of complications.

1. The incision around my right nipple did not heal correctly. I will likely have a scar from this, but there was no necrosis of tissue.

2. I also have a hard knot on the right side of my chest (near the underarm region). I had my doctor examine the knot, and she thought it was nothing to be concerned with.

3. The most annoying complication is the numbness. It’s down right freakish, but with each passing day I regain more and more feeling.

Dr. Menard
I didn’t meet Dr. Menard until the day of my surgery - in fact, I only met him a couple of hours before I hopped onto the operating table. This was a little disconcerting to me, but when I finally did speak to him, I felt completely confident in my choice.

Though my dealings with the doctor were brief, I found him extremely professional. I could tell he has a genuine concern for his patients. He is efficient yet caring. For example, Dr. Menard drove me from the hospital to the convalescence house. On the way, we stopped by the pharmacy to pick up my pain medication. I was about to hop out of his car to go in and pay for the medication, but he told me to stay put. He went in and paid for the medication and brought it back to me. At the convalescence center, I paid Dr. Menard. I gave him a $20 bill for the $18 of medication. I told him to keep the change, but he insisted on giving me the correct change.  I appreciated him for getting my medication for me and, in a weird way, I respected the fact that he gave me correct change. He is an extremely busy doctor - sometimes doing three surgeries in a day. He isn’t a doctor that spends an enormous amount of time with each patient, but I felt I was in capable, caring hands.

Nurses at the hospital
My experiences with the nurses at the hospital were mostly great. I had one nurse that wasn’t very sensitive, but the others were fantastic. I can’t tell you how many times I was checked on during my brief stay in the hospital.

Staff at the convalescence house
I can’t say enough about the staff at the convalescence house. They were kind, sensitive, and conscientious. It amazes me how well they took care of the patients in their charge. This staff at the house was the least paid of all the people in this process, and yet they took care of me as if they were paid a million dollars.


A Journal Excerpt:

Saturday 4/20/02
I arrived in Montreal on the evening of April 20th. Since my reservation at the convalescence house was not until the 22nd, I stayed in Montreal at a hotel.

Sunday 4/21/02
I took in an Expos game, and saw a bit of the city.

Monday 4/22/02
I called Mr. Clerk, the convalescence house’s driver, and made arrangements with him to take me to the house mid-morning.

Just before noon, I arrived at the house and was shown my room. I got the Chopin room (all rooms are named after composers). I met a few of the staff and patients.

The rest of the day I spent meeting everyone and talking. I was the only man there and I was flattered by all the attention, especially that from a fiery red headed Texan.

Some of the patients, that were to have surgery in the morning, left for the hospital after dinner. I stayed the night at the house.

Tuesday 4/23/02
I was awaken early in the morning, and was taken to the hospital by Dr. Brassard.

At the hospital, I filled out admission forms, and was shown my room. The rooms are very simple with two beds, but for the rest of the day, the entire room was mine alone.

I saw the two women that had left the night before, and they were anxious to have their surgeries (Dr. Menard was performing three surgeries this day). I also got to meet a transguy that had a phallo done by Brassard and Menard. He was a little out of it, so I didn’t bug him too much.

Mid-morning, Dr. Menard stopped by to see me. He informed me that I would be going second. He examined me and answered the questions I had. I was most concerned about nipple size. He assured me that he could reduce my size, but that there might be some loss of sensation. I’ve never had much sensation, so I was not concerned.

Around 11 am, I was told to put on my gown, and to use the restroom. After that, I was taken to the OR where I was placed on a gurney. My anesthesiologist  stopped by and started my IV. Twenty minutes later, I was pushed into the OR and placed on the table. Dr. Menard snapped a couple of pictures of my chest and, I don’t recall anything after that.

Sometime in the afternoon, I woke up in my hospital room. Nurses came in and out, checking my blood pressure and asking if I was in pain, but I had no concept of time. With the exception of one nurse, the care was absolutely great. I had no pain, and was given only one shot of morphine. I did vomit once, but I think that is fairly common. I had some trouble urinating, but that seemed to be more of a concern for the nurses than me. I slightly recall Dr. Menard stopping by to tell me that all went well.

Wednesday 4/24/02
I was a bit more conscious, however, I still slept quite a bit. I still experienced no pain, and it appeared that I was draining very little.

Mid-morning a guy was moved to my room. I didn’t know he was having the same thing done, and I didn’t talk to him. I thought he was just some guy off the street, and I didn’t want to try to explain the procedure I just had. Later, I realized he was part of “the club”, and I ended up talking more with him and his friend once we all got back to the convalescence house.

After lunch I was told I would be going back to the convalescence house in the afternoon. I slowly got dressed and packed up my stuff.

Dr. Menard stopped by around 4 pm to take back to the house. We stopped at a drug store on the way, and he went in and got my pain medicine (of which I only took four pills the whole time I was there).

I made it back to the house for dinner, and was greeted by all my new friends. I took it easy for the rest of the day.

Thursday 4/25/02
I woke up early to say good-bye to the fiery red headed Texan. As the morning moved on, I felt able to move around a lot more. I even decided I was flexible enough to take a bit of a sponge bath.

I lounged the rest of the day.

I did hurt myself once as I attempted to shake someone’s hand. I felt a ripping sensation on my right pec, however, since my drainage was still nearly non-existent, I didn’t feel like I did any real damage.

Friday 4/26/02
I was feeling much more flexible. I was getting about pretty good. I spent most of the day just socializing. I enjoyed getting to know such wonderful people, but I was beginning to look forward to going home.

After lunch, Dr. Menard stopped by to take out my drains. I got to see my chest for the first time. I didn’t look  “deflated” (a common look for the keyhole procedure), however, that might be due to the swelling. I was impressed with the look of my nipples. They might need to be taken down more in a revision, but for now, they look better than expected.

Dr. Menard took out the right drain first, and it hurt like hell - like burning sensation. I didn䃅;t expect it to hurt so bad. I was already cringing when he started on the left drain, but he pulled that one without me feeling it. I think the right drained hurt so bad, because I injured myself the day before. There was a little bit of blood and that made me a little sick, but it was all over quickly. Within 30 minutes, I had no more pain in my right pec.

Saturday 4/27/02
I had breakfast with everyone and said my good-byes. The limo picked me up around 9 am, and I was off to the airport.

My flight was rather easy. I didn’t experience any pain through my travels, but I was tired by time I reached home.

I took my first shower in nearly five days, and that was a relief.  I can’t really reach my arms over my head, but I was able to shampoo my hair. I moved around rather gingerly without my binder on, and my shoulders are hunched protectively inward. My chest looks good. There is little swelling and I don’t seem to have that deflated look. My chest is covered in a giant green bruise though. was taking a good look at my nips this morning. Making sure nothing fell off in the night, and I noticed something. Prior to surgery, I had this goofy looking hair that grew around my nips. It wasn’t like the rest of my chest hair. Instead it was long, course, and dark. Well, it appears that in the process of having this surgery done, those hairs were removed along with what skin Dr. Menard removed. Those hairs weren’t a big deal, but I never


How I picked my surgeon

Timeline

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