Hi, I'm getting a breast reduction next month. It's not quite the same, but I'll share what I know. With any surgery, there are certain risks, including infection and blood clots. With a reduction, there big ones are scarring, loss of sensation, nipple death, and inability to breastfeed. Nipple death is quite rare, and only occurs with certain procedures. With the type of reduction I'm having, my surgeon will have to remove my nipple, do the reduction, then replace my nipple after. I'm getting A LOT of tissue removed--they prefer to avoid removing the nipple (called a free nipple graft) because there are more risks. Additionally, there's a greater likelihood I will lose all sensation in my nipple. I will not be able to breastfeed. And scarring CAN be really bad--but for some it's nearly invisible after a few years. I'm 21, and my surgeon was fairly reluctant. I'm in near-constant pain, and I was quite insistent I wanted it done NOW. So, it's 22 days away. I'm having it right before Spring Break so I have lots of time to heal. My insurance is also covering it because it's medically necessary. Feel free to ask me any questions!
One thing with top surgery is that they don't remove all the traces of breast tissue (which they would do for a mastectomy in cases involving breast cancer), which means that you can still develop breast cancer later, but it will be harder to diagnose. This is because breast cancer is very rare in cisgender men, so if doctors do not know that you are trans, they will not screen you for breast cancer. I guess it depends on whether you get your gender changed to being listed as male on your medical records or not? Also scarring is definitely expected, but that's more of a side-effect than a risk. If I remember anything else I'll get back to you (I will know more about this once I get on the waiting list for top surgery myself, but that could be about 2 years from now)
