My surgery experience with Aska Arnautovic
In January of this year, I finally began my journey to getting top surgery. I had heard of Dr. Arnautovic before through my research, but the only information I was able to find was two other Reddit posts asking questions about her, a handful of people saying they recently booked consultations, and not a single image of surgery results online. So, I decided to document my journey with her and post it here in hopes of getting some more information about her out on the internet. I also plan to post my results soon-ish.
The Consultation:
I had my consultation scheduled two months after I called for an appointment. The entire team was great and made me feel very comfortable. A therapist's letter is required for insurance purposes, but you are not required to be on hormones. Unfortunately, she did not have any result images to show, but she asked whether I wanted to do nipple grafts and what type of incision I wanted, without me having to bring it up. She does use drains and requires wearing a compression vest for about 6 weeks. The surgery date I got was about 3 weeks out (April 1st), which was a lot sooner than I expected, but I might have gotten a bit lucky.
The Surgery:
I had several questions pop up after the consultation, but I was encouraged to use the messaging feature on MyChart for that. Dr. Arnautovic’s team is really good about replying quickly and providing help. A few days before the surgery, I was given the time I should show up, was told not to eat after midnight the day before, and to take a shower the morning of the surgery date. The surgery center she operates at requires someone to check in with you and not leave the campus during the surgery. When it was my turn, I was brought to a room, where I had vitals taken, got an IV, had Dr. Arnautovic come in and check on me as well as mark my chest, and finally talked to anesthesia, who got me ready for the operating room. When I woke up, I felt surprisingly good. On my way home, we picked up my prescriptions (oxycodone, antibiotics, and anti-nausea medication that I requested).
Post-Op #1:
My post-op appointment was nine days after the surgery. To get my drains removed, I needed to produce less than 20ml total in each drain every day, which I reached two days before the appointment. At the appointment itself, the nurse first removed my drains. It felt very weird, and one side was slightly painful for a second, but everything went quickly. Afterwards, Dr. Arnautovic and another surgeon came in and looked at my results. Everything looked good, and she told me that I could take off the tape (that was put on my incisions after the surgery) in two weeks.
Post-Op #2:
This one was a pretty quick appointment, mostly because, according to the nurses and Dr. Arnautovic, my scars and swelling and everything were looking good. I had some more pictures taken. For scare car, she recommended silicone strips and keeping the scars out of sunlight. I was also cleared to stop with compression as I was now 6 weeks post-op.
Now:
Right now, I’ve got another appointment in 2 months, which will be the final one, to look at the “final” results (not really final, of course, but by 3 months, most of the visible swelling should be gone). I had a bit of swelling come back after stopping with the compression, so I have been wearing the binder at night/at home, but taking it off when leaving the house. I have followed Dr. Arnautovic’s advice with the silicone tape, and also started scar massages.
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding my experience with Dr. Arnautovic or my experience in general!