Well, I won't argue with you either but the facts for her are the facts. It was her experience. Period.
As a nurse, I know very well doctors work with patients to ensure that they are given what they need. This doctor knew both of us well. He had previously removed a small tumor from my clavicle that is a barely noticeable scar now.
I was there and I went with her to all of her plastic surgeon appointments and also was in the hospital with her.
Her surgery was a breast reduction. The surgeon called it a reduction. The anesthesiologist called it a reduction, etc. etc. She was an A cup and her nipples were almost the largest things on her breasts. They were carefully replaced and when I say that they were perfect: they were perfect. She was shocked to find that she had more nipple sensation afterward then she had when they were so large.
She did NOT have a mastectomy.
I was a B cup at the time myself. She was no B cup after surgery.
When the bills came: they all stated breast reduction.
So, her experience may be different from those of other people but it was indeed her experience.
I would not dream of telling someone else that their experience was wrong.
Your experience was yours.
Hers was hers.
Anyone knows that not everyone will find the same experience.
It does seem argumentative when you challenge another's experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DapperButch
Anya, I do remember you talking about this before. I believe I did not say anything at the time because I didn't want to seem argumentative or like I was being picky. However, I feel that it wouldn't be right to not correct what you are saying this time, because I WAS that hopeful butch with C breasts who went to a plastic surgeon with dreams of getting an A chest. I was disappointed for the next 14 years until I finally decided that I would get top surgery. This was before I decided to transition.
I'm sorry, but, it simply isn't possible that your ex had what is termed a "breast reduction" in plastic surgery, if she was large chested and now has A cup breasts. It simply cannot be done though standard breast reduction procedures.
Your ex had to have essentially gotten a subcutaneous, bilateral mastectomy (most likely), or peri, or keyhole, (aka "top surgery"), and the plastic surgeon left breast tissue because this is what she requested. If she truly had a "breast reduction", her breasts would have increased in size if she gained any weight and they would have probably decreased in size if she did lost weight. Just like any other woman with a breast reduction. However, this did not happen because the surgeon did not leave the fatty tissue that needs to be present in order for that change to occur.
Back then the term "top surgery" wasn't even coined yet. It makes sense that the surgeon even used the term breast reduction. It was also paid for by insurance because it was coded as such.
Some larger trans men/butches leave tissue so that it does not look odd. One could describe their breasts as "A cups", as well.
All day, every day I talk to trans people and gender non-conforming people about their bodies and the surgeries available to them in order to alleviate their distress and/or physical discomfort.
You ex said what she wanted and the surgeon gave her that. They both called it a "breast reduction", because that was the language they had at the time.
Right, they can't give you the size you want if you are asking for a "breast reduction". Every women is limited by how small she can go when she gets a reduction.
BullDog, I know that you do not identify as trans in any way. However, you can get "top surgery" (through your insurance, if they have trans health care benefits), as long as you are willing to say that you have gender dysphoria of some sort and you would feel better with no chest. There are non-binary people (people who don't identify as women or men and/or as female or male), and they get covered.
If you DO have insurance (private, healthcare market place, or Medicaid) and you are in a state that requires that all insurance companies provide trans health coverage, then you have it. Alternatively, you can see if you can find a plastic surgeon who will code it as a breast reduction, but that is very hard to find.
Some people get part time jobs at places like Best Buy, Starbucks, Apple, and many other places so that they can get top surgery. Bigger companies like that also don't give people a hard time when they are trying to get surgeries covered, either. They follow WPATH standards and all that needs to be said is that your chest causes you "distress", and due to this it is medically necessary that you get the surgery.
When I got my top surgery and was identifying as butch, even if my company had trans health insurance I couldn't have gotten it because I didn't identify as transgender. It is different now. It is about the person's medical need to feel more comfortable with their body, if they are in distress about the parts of their body that we connect to a person's "gender".
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