FTM Top Surgery - Atlanta, GA

AHAWK1771's provider

Sheldon Lincenberg, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

The results and response from Dr. Lincenberg have been extremely disappointing. I should have paid attention to the discomfort I felt during my initial consult when he seemed out of touch or at my pre-op appointment when he said I wouldn't need drains because I wasn't "a fatty" (his words). A friend who traveled out of town years ago for his top surgery, had accompanied someone on their consult and was impressed with the visit. Not having to travel (I live in Atlanta) was a big draw and I was eager and excited to have this surgery. But my excitement quickly turned to shock and confusion when the bandages came off. What made it harder was that Dr. Lincenberg would not admit that it was messed up for the first six weeks after surgery. I went in many times in those early weeks to have fluid manually drained (with a large, painful needle). I kept asking questions to understand what was wrong but he kept acting like it was no big deal and said things would look better when the healing was done. And he just kept giving me his weird, vacant smile through it all which made me feel crazy for thinking anything was wrong. When he did admit revisions would be needed, he did it without compassion or without even looking at me - he just explained it to his med student as if we had been discussing revisions all along. Over the next few months, he kept changing his tune as to whether surgical revisions or just minor revisions would be needed. At that point, it didn't matter because revisions can’t be done before a year has passed since the healing takes that long. All the while, I tried to be patient, positive, and hopeful. Finally, he told me he could do an in-office procedure with local anesthesia to make revisions. This would be done at no cost - he does revisions for free within the first year...if he decides you've been a good patient. In-office revisions are free but if general anesthesia is needed, the patient has to cover the operating room costs again. My in-office procedure was supposed to be happening this month. But I’ve had growing doubts about his ability to improve things enough with such a procedure. I have begun reaching out to other surgeons without a lot more experience in trans surgeries and my concerns have been confirmed - my surgery was done poorly and I will need a complete new surgery to correct the problems. The fact that Dr. Lincenberg would not admit this and that he thought he could appease me with a minor procedure is problematic and I no longer feel comfortable with him doing anything else to my chest. I recently talked to another transguy who has had an equally negative experience with Dr. Lincenberg and his no-drain procedure and I've heard disappointing stories from others. It seems the results are worse for guys with medium or small frames. I'm frustrated that I will have to pay a large sum of money all over again to have someone else reconstruct my chest. But at this point, I need someone skilled in revisions so I will see a surgeon with more experience and knowledge about top surgery to fix my chest. It's hard, but I feel like it's important to share my experience. I have included post-op photos. I'm uncomfortable posting any before pics but I was probably a B/C cup I guess. You can see from the pictures that too much skin was left, the quilting sutures (used in a no-drain procedure) didn't release and some were pulled too tight, and the nipple/areolas were placed too low (and not where they were marked during our pre-op discussion). Very disappointing.