Excerpt taken from ‘Becoming Luke‘. Thoughts on transitioning, health, and discovering craft.
A true (and honest) journey about the mental and physical changes and health a transitioning person goes through to fully embrace who they are, and to love the skin they are in.
My consultation went so much better than I could have ever imagined! Mr Fitton was absolutely lovely, as was the whole of the hospital team, and now, I am ten times more excited about my top surgery than I was before after meet Mr Fitton.
From the very first moment, Mr Fitton was incredibly friendly and inviting and put me at ease. He started the appointment by asking me simple questions such as my date of birth and occupation. I told him that I was at university, and we were then talking about my course whilst he was filling out some other pieces of information, this really helped me feel more relaxed and showed me that he really cares about his patients.
We then started talking about my transition; he was curious about things like how long I’d known I was trans for, and how my journey had been so far.
At no point did I feel as though he was asking these questions to be judgemental or to decide whether I was doing something wrong.
Instead, I felt that he wanted to be able to understand what led me to be sat with him, discussing my hopes from this surgery.
Now I was really happy that he got the examination of my chest out of the way at the beginning of the appointment, as it was obviously something I had been dreading. It was no way near as bad as I had expected.
Mr Fitton is just so considerate and understanding of how difficult it is to have your top off in front of him. He didn’t touch my chest at any point, he just simply measured from the top of my shoulders down to my nipples and took a photo for his records.
It honestly only took a minute or two, and he spoke to me about my university course the whole time so that I wouldn’t be focused on what he was doing.
Mr Fitton is really organised and had a checklist of things to talk about for the rest of the appointment. He explained what happens during the surgery and drew it out at the same time so he could be sure that I understood exactly what the procedure is. During this, he also explained how he decided where to place my nipples which I found interesting, as he uses a combination of your measurements and the structure of a cis man’s chest to decide where your nipples would be naturally.
We then discussed all the risks and complications that are a possibility of top surgery, such as dog ears, hematomas and seromas. I liked that he then explained why they happen and how they’re fixed, as I felt at ease that if anything were to happen, I knew exactly how it would be dealt with.
I loved that he was proud that he’s done a large number of top surgeries, has never lost a nipple and can’t remember the last time one of his patients developed a seroma.
He was also proud about how he’s never had an issue with symmetry and is very precise with nipple placement; joking that he always stands back to check that he’s got them just right.
Whilst talking about complications, he told me about how he has begun to administer a blood clotting medication during surgery and a clotting spray on the scars to avoid hematomas.
I really liked that he was up to date with trying modern techniques and that he has been using them for around six months and has seen a significant drop in people developing them.
Toward the end of the appointment, he showed me some photos of his previous patients and they were absolutely everything I was looking for in my own results.
I then mentioned some things that were important to me, and he reassured me that my body was definitely suitable for what I wanted and that it was what he would aim for anyway.
The last part of the appointment was just Mr Fitton walking me through what to expect on the day of surgery as well as what my post-op recovery would look like.
He answered all my questions, although I only had a couple as he was so thorough during the rest of the appointment. The questions I had were specific to me and my body, so there was no way he’d have been able to answer them sooner.
Mr Fitton would constantly reassure me that I’d be okay and that everything would go well. He kept saying that I now have him and the rest of the hospital team and that they’d always be there to support me.
He is just incredible and absolutely everything I had hoped my surgeon would be.
He had a great sense of humour and was really easy to talk to which really put me at ease and I felt incredibly comfortable around him.
I then had a pre-op assessment with one of the nursing team, who was equally as lovely. She started by asking simple questions again like my date of birth and GP surgery. Most of the appointment was made by her asking me questions about my medical history and current issues. The questions covered everything imaginable so they can be 100% sure they can give you all the right support whilst you’re in hospital and recovery.
She didn’t rush any of the questions and even let me talk about things that I was worried about which wouldn’t have a direct impact on my surgery and gave me advice on how I could deal with some of it. I really felt listened to, and she took the time to put my mind at ease about all my concerns.
I then had some tests done, none of them were bad whatsoever. All I had done was my height and weight and then my blood pressure, heart rate and a heart trace. The nurse then took me to the phlebotomy department so I could have a blood test.
Both the nurse and the phlebotomist I saw were incredibly friendly and both had a good laugh with me. They both made me feel relaxed and like nothing was too much. Nothing was ever rushed, and I felt cared for at all times.
Everyone at the hospital was just so incredibly nice, all the nursing team were unbelievably friendly. Every time they walked past they would say hi or ask how I’m doing. They also remembered my name from only seeing me in the waiting room once.
Everyone was really approachable and the whole experience was really personal.
"I was petrified at the idea of surgery before but after today I just feel excited. Mr Fitton and the team have made me feel 100% safe, supported, and cared about.
You could really tell that Mr Fitton loves what he does and that he really cares about each and every one of his patients. I honestly couldn't have been seen by a better surgeon, he is just so polite, considerate, and happy."
Transitioning is about embracing change, pursuing authenticity, and aligning your life with your true self. In this guide, we’ll explore what transitioning means, its timeline, a
Before Mr Fitton will consider performing FTM top surgery, 7 steps are typically involved...
Read your Complete Guide to FTM Top Surgery, covering various aspects of the procedure, preparation, recovery, and post-operative care.
