Shoulder Width Reduction Consultation

46
u/DRain64
Fri Jul 24 17:36:20 2020 UTC
(15 comments)

I’ve been in contact with a local Orthopedic surgeon about shoulder width reduction by clavicle osteotomy. I would say he’s not saying yes or no at this point, but he’s been reaching out to other doctors to gain information, and we are going to meet sometime soon hopefully (still need to schedule).

I guess I’m trying to gather some information here. If you could talk to an orthopedic surgeon about this, what questions would you ask? What information would you want to discuss or present?

I’d like to include your comments in my discussion and get that info out to the community.

Thanks!

all 15 comments


17
u/nosheepnosleep
Fri Jul 24 18:47:34 2020 UTC
(10 children)

I just had this surgery a couple days ago! Here's a few questions I can remember asking during my consultation:

  • What type of hardware is used? They offered two options, titanium plate (which is what I went with) or spline screw (more $$$, newer method, long screw that runs through the bone so no plate can be felt under the skin).

  • How many times have you done this surgery?

  • How much bone will be removed? How much will this reduce the width of my shoulders?

  • What is the recovery process like? When can I resume normal physical activity?

  • What are the risks/complications? Have other patients reported permanent loss of range of motion or chronic pain?

  • Can I keep the bones? In my case the answer was yes, and I now have them in a little specimen container :)

Feel free to ask me questions about the surgery and recovery process so far, I'm kinda bored right now sitting in my hotel room.

3
OP
Fri Jul 24 19:22:04 2020 UTC
(9 children)

Who did you see? What was the cost?

4
Fri Jul 24 19:24:23 2020 UTC
(8 children)

Dr. Leif Rogers in Beverly Hills. Cost was $37k.

2
OP
Fri Jul 24 19:26:19 2020 UTC
(5 children)

Do you know much shoulder reduction you got and how much he took out?

7
Fri Jul 24 19:36:24 2020 UTC
(4 children)

I'm not sure, he said he was targeting 18-20 mm each side which seems to correspond with the bone chunks. He may have told me after coming out of anesthesia but I wouldn't have remembered it.

There's definitely a difference in my profile but it's hard to see the final result at the moment because my shoulders are slouched forward. Happy with what I see so far.

Sat Jul 25 03:14:57 2020 UTC
*
(1 child)

[deleted]

7
Sat Jul 25 03:46:16 2020 UTC
(0 children)

I plan to do that! Maybe a couple weeks from now, with a follow up post after 3-4 months. There's definitely a lack of information out there about this procedure.

5
Fri Jul 24 23:01:14 2020 UTC
(1 child)

I've heard that slouched/hunched shoulders could be a long-term side effect of this procedure. Does that sound right to you?

2
Sat Jul 25 03:06:32 2020 UTC
(0 children)

The shoulders do roll forward a bit, but it doesn’t feel like much of a difference. I think that I’ll be able to hold an upright posture once I get my upper body strength back.

2
Sat Jul 25 05:21:07 2020 UTC
(1 child)

did you by chance try getting insurance to pay for some of this, or was it all out of pocket?

1
Sat Jul 25 16:45:17 2020 UTC
(0 children)

Cash. I live in Kansas and my insurance precludes any coverage related to “sex changes” 😑

5
u/Ril3sGiles
Fri Jul 24 19:10:04 2020 UTC
(1 child)

I had no idea this was a thing im gonna start looking into this

1
Tue Jul 28 19:06:05 2020 UTC
(0 children)

Me either!

5
u/sg2k19
Fri Jul 24 22:49:15 2020 UTC
(1 child)

I just had this three weeks ago with Dr. Eppley and imo it's mostly about the incision. Look at the difference between that used by plastic surgeons doing it and the average one from plating a fracture. Orthopedists are not known for leaving nice scars to say the least.

5
u/dream_of_escape
Fri Jul 24 18:18:08 2020 UTC
(0 children)

I'm not personally interested, but here's what I would ask:

What type of complications could there be? Are they temporary or permanent? How likely are the complications? What are the next steps if there are complications? Can the surgery be reversed? How much reduction would there be? (I've often heard it's very low.) What is the process? Recovery period? Cost? How many similar surgeries have they done? Have they worked with other trans patients?

2
u/PracticalHamster
Sat Jul 25 02:56:40 2020 UTC
(0 children)

Hi I don't have questions specifically but I remember saving this post a while ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/Transgender_Surgeries/comments/dxpkbb/i_had_shoulder_width_reduction_with_dr_eppley_a/

There were questions and information from the OP of the post I hope it helps ad I really hope your consultation goes well <3