Is Top Surgery Painful?

Top surgery is performed under general anesthesia and, thus, will be pain-free. Patients will experience minor swelling, bruising, and discomfort after surgery. They are recommended to maintain their compression garment use and take pain medication as needed.

How Many Appointments Will I Need?

Dr. Slocum will have patients return within a week of surgery to monitor recovery, remove sutures, and redress any bandages. He will notify patients when he wants to see them next at every appointment.

How Long Until I See Results?

Patients can see results immediately. However, the swelling takes six to eight weeks to resolve fully. Final bruising and scar healing may take up to a year to resolve.

Can I Combine Top Surgery With Other Procedures?

Yes, you can! Our patients who have had top surgery in Portsmouth have considered combining it with other procedures, such as liposuction or a tummy tuck . Please discuss ideas for combined procedures with Dr. Slocum during your initial consultation so that he can include them in your surgical plan and/or advise you best on them.

What Are the Risks Associated With Top Surgery?

Top surgery in Portsmouth, Dover, Boston, and the greater New England area is considered a major surgery. It comes with some associated risks as follows: Anesthesia risks Asymmetry Bleeding Dog ears, a small piece of fat that hangs from the nipple site (FTM) Fat tissue build-up Hematoma Infection Loss of nipple sensation Need for revision surgery Scarring If you are experiencing any of these side effects or anything else that is concerning, please contact our practice immediately so that we can help.

Portsmouth, NH

Top Surgery

Introduction to Top Surgery

Top surgery is a cosmetic surgery that is often a significant part of a person’s gender affirmation treatments and is a way to help address gender dysphoria – a condition when the gender assigned at someone’s birth does not match the gender expression they identify with. If you are interested in top surgery in Portsmouth, Dover, or the surrounding New England area, consider scheduling a consultation at Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics with founder and board-certified plastic surgeon who prides himself in his practice of patient care excellence and satisfaction. Dr. Slocum has helped numerous men, women, and non-binary people have safe and successful top transitions, achieving a better sense of themselves and more confidence in their daily lives.

A young man with dark hair and a rugged look, dressed in a white button-down shirt, gazing thoughtfully upward - Top Surgery in Portsmouth, NH

Achieve a Balanced, Refined Look

What is Top Surgery?

Transgender and nonbinary people may choose top surgery as part of their gender affirmation plan. Gender affirmation surgeries can include various parts of the body. When they focus on the chest area, they are called top surgeries. These can include chest masculinization or chest feminization procedures.

FTM

FTM, or female-to-male, is a masculinizing top surgery that focuses on the removal of breast tissue. During this procedure, the surgeon creates two incisions under the breasts that can correspond to future pectoral muscle builds for masculinization. The size of the incisions is often related to the size of your breasts, and you should make sure to ask about this during your consultation. Dr. Slocum will make the necessary incisions during surgery to begin your transformation. The procedure will vary depending on the patient and the particulars of their FTM top surgery. Once the patient’s particular goals have been met, the incisions are closed, and a compression garment is wrapped around the treated area. You will be moved to our recovery room to be monitored before being released to go home.

MTF

Feminizing surgery, or male-to-female surgery, is a top surgery that involves breast augmentation techniques. This can be achieved in various ways, such as implants, hormone therapy, or fat transfer methods.

The incision placement during surgery will vary from patient to patient based on their chest anatomy, the type of breast implant used, and other specifics of your surgery. Once the implant is placed in a pocket underneath your tissues and positioned correctly, the incisions are closed with sutures, dressings are applied, and you will be awakened from anesthesia.

What Are the Benefits of Top Surgery?

Our patients who have received top surgery in Portsmouth have shared the long-lasting benefits it contributed to their gender affirmation journey. More patient benefits are listed below:

Boost in self-esteem
Boost in socially relevant cues
Gender affirmation
Increased potential for intimacy
Reduced risk of depression
Relief from gender dysphoria

Who Are the Best Candidates For Top Surgery?

Patients interested in receiving a top surgery in Portsmouth, Dover, Boston, and the greater New England area will share some of the following characteristics:

Are adults
Are adequately addressing mental and physical concerns
Have a letter of support from a mental health professional
Have been living as they desired for at least 1-2 years
Have no underlying medical conditions
Have documented gender dysphoria
Have realistic expectations

Dr. Slocum follows the guidelines of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), which may update specific recommendations from time to time. It is important that you discuss your candidacy with our team to ensure any issues are addressed.

Let’s Get Started

What’s The
First Step?

If you’re interested in getting a top surgery in Portsmouth, Dover, Boston, or the greater New England area, the first step is to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Slocum at Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics.

When you visit the practice, it is important to be frank with Dr. Slocum, outlining where you are in your gender affirmation journey, your aesthetic targets, concerns, and expectations. He will examine you in detail, outlining the procedure and its associated risks and outcomes.

Once he deems you are a suitable candidate for the procedure and you have made some decisions together, he will create a surgical plan for you. Our Patient Coordinator will then help you schedule your appointment, cost the procedure, and provide pre-surgery instructions to help make your procedure as successful as possible.

What to Expect on the Day of Top Surgery

On the day of your top surgery, Dr. Slocum and his expert team will receive you at Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics in Portsmouth, NH. They will go over the surgical plan to make sure you are fully comfortable with it and to answer any outlying questions. Once Dr. Slocum is certain you are at ease, a board-certified anesthetic will administer anesthesia.

Once you are sedated, Dr. Slocum will begin with the incisions based on the type of surgery you are receiving.

Dr. Slocum will make strategic incisions to access and manipulate the underlying tissue to achieve your aesthetic goals. Finally, he will close the incisions with sutures, dress the area, and put on a compression garment.

A top surgery will take one to four hours, depending on the complexity of the case and whether other combined procedures are also being performed.

Top Surgery Recovery

Top surgery recovery looks different for FTM and MTF, but certain things are common.

For instance, patients are recommended to take one to two weeks off from work, during which time they require plenty of rest. This is when the discomfort and swelling will be the most. It is important to keep wearing compression garments as advised and to stay on top of swelling with cold compresses and anti-inflammatories.

It will take most patients six to eight weeks to return to physical activity fully.

Fair & Transparent Pricing

How Much Does Top Surgery Cost in Boston or New Hampshire?

The cost of Top Surgery in Portsmouth, Boston, and the greater New England area will vary depending on a multitude of factors, including the complexity of your case, the surgeon’s, and the anesthetist’s fees. For the most accurate cost, we recommend patients schedule their consultation with Dr. Slocum so that he can draft a surgical plan, which can then be priced out. However, on average, an FTM surgery costs $3,000 and upwards of $10,000, whereas an MTF surgery can cost anywhere upwards of $5,000 to $10,000.

SPS Expertise

Why Choose Us
for Top Surgery?

Alexander Slocum, Jr, MD/PhD, FACS, is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with years of research and medical experience behind him. He founded Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics to reflect the excellence in patient care and rejuvenation that he has always championed. Your top surgery in Portsmouth is sure to be in the hands of excellence should you choose Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics.

A New Hampshire native, Dr Slocum obtained his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His PhD thesis was on the design of a rolling-contact knee joint, and he holds several patents related to machine and medical device design. He attended medical school at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, West Virginia, and then returned to New England to complete a general surgery internship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Following his internship, Dr Slocum moved to Wisconsin, where he graduated with an integrated plastic surgery residency.

Dr. Slocum is a member of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), the American College of Surgeons (FACS), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and the Aesthetic Society for American Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS).

Top Surgery FAQs

Top surgery in Portsmouth, Dover, Boston, and the greater New England area is considered a major surgery. It comes with some associated risks as follows:
- Anesthesia risks
- Asymmetry
- Bleeding
- Dog ears, a small piece of fat that hangs from the nipple site (FTM)
- Fat tissue build-up
- Hematoma
- Infection
- Loss of nipple sensation
- Need for revision surgery
- Scarring
If you are experiencing any of these side effects or anything else that is concerning, please contact our practice immediately so that we can help.

Schedule a consultation

Your Seacoast Journey Starts Here

If you are experiencing gender dysphoria and are on your gender affirmation journey, consider learning more about a top surgery in Portsmouth at Seacoast Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics. Schedule your consultation with Dr. Slocum at your earliest and get started on a journey towards self-realization.

Schedule a Consultation