Top surgery
Chest surgery as part of a transition. The word, not the procedure.
Top surgery is the general term for chest surgery undertaken as part of a transition. For transmasculine people it usually means chest reconstruction; for transfeminine people it usually means augmentation. The word covers both and specifies neither.
It is a plain-language term rather than a clinical one, which is why it turns up in conversation, on waiting lists and in fundraisers rather than in medical notes.
What it does not tell you is anything about the person. Someone who has had it is not more trans than someone who has not, and access depends on money, geography, health and waiting lists far more than on how much anyone wants it.
It is also not a question. On a dating app, asking whether someone has had top surgery is asking what their chest looks like, with a technical word in front of it.
This entry explains the term. For anything about the procedure itself, a surgeon or a trans health service is the place.
Top surgery is not a stage everyone reaches
Because it is the most discussed intervention, it gets treated as the standard step, with people described as before or after it.
Many trans people never have it, by choice or because it is unavailable to them, and their transition is not incomplete for that.
Saying it well
Say this
- I had top surgery two years ago.
- Top surgery, whenever the waiting list gets there.
- Not something I have had, and not relevant here.
- She is saving for top surgery.
Not this
- Have you had top surgery?
- Can I see the scars?
- So you are pre-op
- Are you getting it done?
Questions people actually ask
What is top surgery?
The general term for chest surgery as part of a transition, covering both reconstruction and augmentation.
Is top surgery necessary to be trans?
No. Many trans people never have it, for reasons including cost, access and simply not wanting it.
Is it appropriate to ask someone about top surgery?
No. It is a question about someone's chest.
Where should I look for medical information?
With a surgeon or a trans health service. This entry explains the word only.