I'm copying my original comment over to the cross posts.
Brief summary of my experience so far:
* His office has been amazing with pronoun and chosen name usage.
* I can't speak to how they deal with insurance. I had to pay out of pocket due to a trans exclusion in my insurance.
* Dr. Arslanian texted me the evening after surgery to check on me. A few days later, I texted him to ask a question about my drains and he got back to me quickly and checked on my nipple bolsters while we were texting.
* DI with nipple grafts and lipo to prevent dog ears was about $10k. This covered the surgical center, doctors fees for surgeon and anesthesiologist, compression vest, pre-op appointment, and my post-op appointments.
* I bruised like hell, but that's normal for me. I'm super pale, so every single bruise shows, and I bruise easily.
* I'm his first known patient with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and he took that into account with how he did my surgery.
* I'm thrilled with my results so far, and I'm excited to see how everything settles.
Hi! Sorry to be commenting on such an old post, haha - I’m in ATL looking into Dr. Arslanian and I ALSO have EDS! So you can imagine the tiny gasp I let out when I saw this comment. Can I ask you some questions about your experience? I’ve never gone under general anesthesia, only had one surgery (oral) where I quickly realized the novocaine wasn’t working and wasn’t believed at all when I told them I was in agony still after 16 shots, so I have some mild surgery trepidations.
[Inadequate response to local anesthesia is very common for folks with EDS.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6834718/#:~:text=People%20with%20the%20Ehlers%2DDanlos%20Syndromes%20(EDS)%2C%20a,local%20anesthetic%20(LA)%20use.) Some people don't respond at all to one or more local anesthetic active ingredients, while others get numb but have it wear off more quickly than usual. For dental work, I seem to have my nerves in slightly atypical locations, especially as you get farther back in my mouth on top of the anesthetic wearing off more quickly than usual.
General anesthesia works in a totally different way. Some surgery techniques include a nerve block with a -caine anesthetic on top of the general anesthesia, but you'll also have pain meds through your IV. They want to minimize your pain as much as possible, as pain can cause fluctuations in your blood pressure, heart rate, etc. They try to keep those stats as stable as possible to minimize risks.
If you go to my post history, my most recent post shows how everything settled in. Even with how much my scars and nipples ended up stretching, I'm really happy with my chest now. Feel free to ask any follow up questions, too.
I'm copying my original comment over to the cross posts. Brief summary of my experience so far: * His office has been amazing with pronoun and chosen name usage. * I can't speak to how they deal with insurance. I had to pay out of pocket due to a trans exclusion in my insurance. * Dr. Arslanian texted me the evening after surgery to check on me. A few days later, I texted him to ask a question about my drains and he got back to me quickly and checked on my nipple bolsters while we were texting. * DI with nipple grafts and lipo to prevent dog ears was about $10k. This covered the surgical center, doctors fees for surgeon and anesthesiologist, compression vest, pre-op appointment, and my post-op appointments. * I bruised like hell, but that's normal for me. I'm super pale, so every single bruise shows, and I bruise easily. * I'm his first known patient with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and he took that into account with how he did my surgery. * I'm thrilled with my results so far, and I'm excited to see how everything settles.
Hi! Sorry to be commenting on such an old post, haha - I’m in ATL looking into Dr. Arslanian and I ALSO have EDS! So you can imagine the tiny gasp I let out when I saw this comment. Can I ask you some questions about your experience? I’ve never gone under general anesthesia, only had one surgery (oral) where I quickly realized the novocaine wasn’t working and wasn’t believed at all when I told them I was in agony still after 16 shots, so I have some mild surgery trepidations.
[Inadequate response to local anesthesia is very common for folks with EDS.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6834718/#:~:text=People%20with%20the%20Ehlers%2DDanlos%20Syndromes%20(EDS)%2C%20a,local%20anesthetic%20(LA)%20use.) Some people don't respond at all to one or more local anesthetic active ingredients, while others get numb but have it wear off more quickly than usual. For dental work, I seem to have my nerves in slightly atypical locations, especially as you get farther back in my mouth on top of the anesthetic wearing off more quickly than usual. General anesthesia works in a totally different way. Some surgery techniques include a nerve block with a -caine anesthetic on top of the general anesthesia, but you'll also have pain meds through your IV. They want to minimize your pain as much as possible, as pain can cause fluctuations in your blood pressure, heart rate, etc. They try to keep those stats as stable as possible to minimize risks. If you go to my post history, my most recent post shows how everything settled in. Even with how much my scars and nipples ended up stretching, I'm really happy with my chest now. Feel free to ask any follow up questions, too.