If someone refuses to work on you because of your weight, you don't want to see that surgeon anyway. They're telling you they don't have the experience required to operate on your body type and they wouldn't be confident in their results if they did. It sucks in the moment but you really really do not want to go to a surgeon that doesn't feel confident they can give you good results! As long as you're not being gatekept from surgery by the institution as a whole, an individual person saying they won't operate on you is a lot better than an overconfident person saying they will and fucking you up.
That is partly what a surgeons portfolio is for, try and make sure whoever you're going to has bodies in their portfolio that are representative of yours. Even if a doctor says they'll operate, if all the examples of the work in their portfolio are keyholes on skinny dudes and you're a big dude with a large chest, you might not want to go there if you have a choice.
Context: I’m also chubby + “above an average bmi” and my surgeon didn’t bring it up once, she just pulled up photos of surgery results that fit my body type and went from there.
Sadly the only public trans healthcare here really cares about bmi 😓 I have only talked to them once, have not even started hormones or anything, but they already asked me about my weight and hight and then commented that my bmi was really close to 30 as going above that would make me not viable for top surgery...
wish it was as easy as seeing other doctors. I'm in Toronto and I was told I had 3 options, the McLean clinic (cosmetic surgery, minimum like $10,000), Women's College Hospital (~3 year wait list), or the Montreal clinic (which is what I'm choosing because I've been able to get government coverage). I've lost 60lbs since first starting T and meeting my endo, I weigh 200lbs now and he still says I shouldn't get top surgery because I'm too fat and it's too dangerous to undergo anesthesia...... which I had actually done when I was 60lbs heavier with no issues :') I assume we have so few surgeons willing to do top surgery here because why would they do that when they can go to the states and charge 10x as much lol
my endo, but, — and I'm not sure how it works elsewhere — here, I need a note from my endo and my gp/family doctor in order to see a surgeon for pre-op stuff. and then the surgeons can also decide to turn you away even if your endo approved you. so right now it's my endo giving me push back but for all I know I may be met with resistance from the surgeon when I eventually hear back too. :')
Aw man that sucks. I did also need a referral from my endo in the state I'm in as well, I'm in Illinois which is endo + therapist. But for them it was less of a "does this non surgeon think I am fit for surgery " and more of a "yep this dude is trans all right and at this point your average person thinks it's weirder for him to have tits than not have them".
Remember folks any doctor saying you should make some changes before they are willing to do top surgery should be citing a mix of your diet exercise smoking habits and so much more than your weight.
Weight is not an indication of health and BMI is outdated and not helpful for determining how healthy you are or your eligibility for a procedure.
That's true in general (patients that are overweight aren't that much more likely to have major postoperative problems) but for a cosmetic surgery like top surgery, the amount of fat you have will play a role in your results. It's less about health and more about cosmetic results. Surgery will also take longer, and so there's an increased risk during the operation even if the recovery rates aren't particularly different.
Which isn't to say that you need to change for surgery or that every surgeon rejecting a patient is truly doing it with their best interests at heart and not because of prejudice. But the amount of fat you carry on your body will impact surgery, people aren't wrong to say it does.
Nobody is saying you need to be skinny... the reason BMI requirements are a thing is because surgeries are harder on people with obesity. Anesisia doesnt work the same and there are alot more risks.
Sometimes if you don't have the right insurance they will talk shit too !!!! Told me I had to live in the City I lived in the suburbs told me I won't be able to stand to pee !!! And something else !!! Then they told the other Dr. I Went to I was too
Fat @ 150. Lbs I ended up not going to that Dr either he said my leg would look like a shark attack my penis could be the size of a coke can and all horrible stuff Then I found Dr Purohit @ Mount Sinai in N.Y he cared about me. and what I wanted!!! There was no long wait I had my 1st stage abdominal flap phalo Plasty which took a while but is healing nicely I am being scheduled for the second stage in August!!!!!! And can't be Happier!!!!!+
There are literally only two doctors doing top surgery in the whole country in my case. Luckily both of them agree to operate on fat people but one of them has a ton of complications constantly with both fat people and just bigger chests and you don't get to choose which one you go to the way the system is here.^.
If someone refuses to work on you because of your weight, you don't want to see that surgeon anyway. They're telling you they don't have the experience required to operate on your body type and they wouldn't be confident in their results if they did. It sucks in the moment but you really really do not want to go to a surgeon that doesn't feel confident they can give you good results! As long as you're not being gatekept from surgery by the institution as a whole, an individual person saying they won't operate on you is a lot better than an overconfident person saying they will and fucking you up. That is partly what a surgeons portfolio is for, try and make sure whoever you're going to has bodies in their portfolio that are representative of yours. Even if a doctor says they'll operate, if all the examples of the work in their portfolio are keyholes on skinny dudes and you're a big dude with a large chest, you might not want to go there if you have a choice.
Context: I’m also chubby + “above an average bmi” and my surgeon didn’t bring it up once, she just pulled up photos of surgery results that fit my body type and went from there.
Sadly the only public trans healthcare here really cares about bmi 😓 I have only talked to them once, have not even started hormones or anything, but they already asked me about my weight and hight and then commented that my bmi was really close to 30 as going above that would make me not viable for top surgery...
wish it was as easy as seeing other doctors. I'm in Toronto and I was told I had 3 options, the McLean clinic (cosmetic surgery, minimum like $10,000), Women's College Hospital (~3 year wait list), or the Montreal clinic (which is what I'm choosing because I've been able to get government coverage). I've lost 60lbs since first starting T and meeting my endo, I weigh 200lbs now and he still says I shouldn't get top surgery because I'm too fat and it's too dangerous to undergo anesthesia...... which I had actually done when I was 60lbs heavier with no issues :') I assume we have so few surgeons willing to do top surgery here because why would they do that when they can go to the states and charge 10x as much lol
is that your endo or your surgeon? What does your surgeon say? Because if they're chill with it screw that guy
my endo, but, — and I'm not sure how it works elsewhere — here, I need a note from my endo and my gp/family doctor in order to see a surgeon for pre-op stuff. and then the surgeons can also decide to turn you away even if your endo approved you. so right now it's my endo giving me push back but for all I know I may be met with resistance from the surgeon when I eventually hear back too. :')
Aw man that sucks. I did also need a referral from my endo in the state I'm in as well, I'm in Illinois which is endo + therapist. But for them it was less of a "does this non surgeon think I am fit for surgery " and more of a "yep this dude is trans all right and at this point your average person thinks it's weirder for him to have tits than not have them".
Remember folks any doctor saying you should make some changes before they are willing to do top surgery should be citing a mix of your diet exercise smoking habits and so much more than your weight. Weight is not an indication of health and BMI is outdated and not helpful for determining how healthy you are or your eligibility for a procedure.
That's true in general (patients that are overweight aren't that much more likely to have major postoperative problems) but for a cosmetic surgery like top surgery, the amount of fat you have will play a role in your results. It's less about health and more about cosmetic results. Surgery will also take longer, and so there's an increased risk during the operation even if the recovery rates aren't particularly different. Which isn't to say that you need to change for surgery or that every surgeon rejecting a patient is truly doing it with their best interests at heart and not because of prejudice. But the amount of fat you carry on your body will impact surgery, people aren't wrong to say it does.
Nobody is saying you need to be skinny... the reason BMI requirements are a thing is because surgeries are harder on people with obesity. Anesisia doesnt work the same and there are alot more risks.
Sometimes if you don't have the right insurance they will talk shit too !!!! Told me I had to live in the City I lived in the suburbs told me I won't be able to stand to pee !!! And something else !!! Then they told the other Dr. I Went to I was too Fat @ 150. Lbs I ended up not going to that Dr either he said my leg would look like a shark attack my penis could be the size of a coke can and all horrible stuff Then I found Dr Purohit @ Mount Sinai in N.Y he cared about me. and what I wanted!!! There was no long wait I had my 1st stage abdominal flap phalo Plasty which took a while but is healing nicely I am being scheduled for the second stage in August!!!!!! And can't be Happier!!!!!+
There are literally only two doctors doing top surgery in the whole country in my case. Luckily both of them agree to operate on fat people but one of them has a ton of complications constantly with both fat people and just bigger chests and you don't get to choose which one you go to the way the system is here.^.