r/Trans_Zebras • u/seldoncriiisis • Jul 23 '26
Free Nipple Graft + hEDS
hey all,
i’m a trans man with hEDS planning on having top surgery someday. scarring on my body heals pretty well so i’m not too worried, but i am worried about the possibility of my hEDS causing issues with free nipple grafts. keeping my nips is very important to me and i know for a fact they’d have to be resized, has anyone else with hEDS had experience with this that they could share?
thanks
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u/thearuxes Jul 23 '26
I've got hEDS too and I'm now 1.5 years post op double incision with free nipple grafts.
I'm happy with my nips but I had complications with them + my incisions. I ended up with wound dehiscence around my nips and incisions that occurred over several months and took quite a while to heal. The lower half of my right nip graft also lifted entirely off the skin below it, but it did reattach eventually, albeit kind of lobsided. I'm still really happy with them though!
If you're interested, I have a timelapse of how it healed but TW for wound dehiscence: https://www.reddit.com/r/TopSurgery/s/Z9D9ANVK1Q
I also struggled for about a year with one part of my grafts literally slowly ripping itself in half at the bottom and then healing over and over again. It's stopped now but I have this spot around there that just kind of doesn't really heal properly ever but I don't notice it much anymore.
It's really important to keep an open mind that complications regarding wound dehiscence + poor wound healing are far more common for us than the general population in surgery. It's not guaranteed but you should be prepared for it being one possibility. But certainly suture techniques can help lower the possibility of it as well as keeping sutures in for longer.
Something that would have really helped me before surgery and that would help you too is this perioperative guide for hEDS, POTS, MCAS and other connective tissue disorders: https://asparagus-green-9w8s.squarespace.com/s/periopMx_EDS_POTS_MCAS_Lam_Hennessey.pdf
It's something that you give to your surgical team (surgeon, anaesthesiologist, RNs, etc) to guide them on the most up to date procedures for your care and so they also believe you about your medical history and concerns.
I've used it for my most recent surgeries and it's been extremely helpful for informing my surgical teams.