Hello everyone!
In my last topic I told of my GCS journey, of my major complication, necrosis and what happened, if you are interested, the entire story is here: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,241163.0.html
Now, in 2 days I am being admitted to the hospital again, in 4 days (29'th) I am getting Peritoneal vaginoplasty.
This is a very new proceedure for us trans women, suggested to me by dr. Miro in Belgrade. I agreed to the proceedure, mainly because if it fails in anyway dr. Miro is a very skilled surgeon who performs Sigmoid colon vaginoplasties, if this proceedure fails, I'll get the Sigmoid method and that'll be it.
However before going for the "final solution" I wanted to try this, it is also an honour to be part of something that could be a great breakthrough for us in the trans community.
This topic is where I will share my journey, there is very little (basically none) documentation of patient outcome for this surgery and I wanna give you guys as much detail as I can, in case you are in a similar position where you might have this kind of vaginoplasty done.
So far I know a few things - this method should give an almost natural lubrication, similar to cis women, however, this tissue is less resistant to trauma so it might take longer until I can have intercourse and I'll likely have to be more careful with it.
My vulva (The outside of the vagina) looks gorgeous and is very much healed from my first surgery, I can orgasm and pee normally, with no issues, I walk, sit, move 100% normal at this point. Expect my first update a day or two after surgery and probably weekly afterwards, if you have any questions on my first surgery or my current situation, do ask below!
Cheers
Where had you the vuloplasty done? I am interested in this procedure only, probably combined with a limited depth ( 1 to 2 inches) vagina for the optical appearance.
Are you located in Europe?
Hi Anna, It'd be great to hear how you get on. It sounds like an option to replace a skin graft vagina without resorting to a colon graft. Hope everything works out well for you.
Sam x
Quote from: Dietlind on November 25, 2018, 03:48:04 PM
Where had you the vuloplasty done? I am interested in this procedure only, probably combined with a limited depth ( 1 to 2 inches) vagina for the optical appearance.
Are you located in Europe?
Yeah, I am from Serbia and I had it done in Belgrade, Serbia is a country in Europe. My doctor is Miroslav Djordjevic.
I probably made it sound wrong though, I had a full penile inversion vaginoplasty done, with over 6 inches of depth, however the penile skin inside my vaginal canal died, that's why I must have this procedure done.
So I didn't have the procedure you're looking for ^^
Quote from: Anna994 on November 25, 2018, 04:42:51 PM
Yeah, I am from Serbia and I had it done in Belgrade, Serbia is a country in Europe. My doctor is Miroslav Djordjevic.
I probably made it sound wrong though, I had a full penile inversion vaginoplasty done, with over 6 inches of depth, however the penile skin inside my vaginal canal died, that's why I must have this procedure done.
So I didn't have the procedure you're looking for ^^
Thanks, I lived half of my life in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. Just when I could need the European health care system, I am not there anymore!
I wish you good luck for your "repair", and hope everything goes as expected!
I had SRS and my internal skin graft failed. I considered a peritoneal graft to replace the failed tissue, but ultimately decided on a sigmoid colon graft instead. I'm very interested to hear about your surgery and recovery though from this procedure. Good luck!!
Thanks! One of the reasons I chose this path is because I will be able to get Sigmoid colon surgery for free if this one fails, so I can totally see why you would make the choice you did, afterall Sigmoid colon gives you the 100% guranteee that this surgery can't yet
Time for the first post-op update!
I am in the hospital atm, I should be staying here until Monday. The surgery was a success, they did not have to resort to sigmoid colon, I am not on any painkillers. I have 0 pain inside or around my vagina, the only painful thing are my ab muscles. Using my abdominal muscles hurts a bit, but all in all it's good, it is not the kind of pain that requires pain killers.
Ive mostly been drinking liquids on the first day, however today I could have softer foods. I also managed to stand up and walk today and I will do it again later in the evening. They are giving me some nutrition through the IV and I am quite bloated.
All of this should go down in a few days though, that's kinda it for now, if you have any questions do ask and I will keep updating this weekly!
@Anna994
Congratulations that your surgery went so well, and I hope that you will have a speedy recovery without any negative events!
i wish you a swift recovery. Please keep us informed
Thank you both so much, you're wonderful!
I have another update,
I was sent home yesterday, I am feeling very mobile and there is no pain, the only "problems" I'm having are the catheder that is still inside of me, which is annoying but not a problem and the fact that I feel bloated all the time, which is a side-effect of laparoscopy and should go down soon.
My next check-up is on Friday when I'll have the catheder taken out and I'll be able to start dilating.
So far my doctors are really happy with the results and they love the way it's looking.
I'm happy to hear your surgery went well.
There is actually decades of long term results from that procedure, just not used on the trans community. The results from what I've read should far exceed those of penile inversion. It requires laproscopic internal surgery so that is why most GCS doctors do not offer it. They either lack the experience or the tools for it.
That procedure along with ileal (small intestine) for cis girls with MKRH and CAIS girls actually predates colon vaginoplasty.
Ohh, so maybe that's what I should have looked up before the surgery!
It's pretty exciting to know that this is an option for us trans women as well now, I still can't tell much about the outcome, so far I have very little discharge, however the vaginal stent (The thing holding it open until you start dilating) is still inside of me and could be soaking some of that up. There is also little to no odor coming from it so far, guess I'll be able to let you guys know more in the weeks and months following tomorrow's appointment.
I will also ask my doctor important questions like, when I'll be allowed to have sex, what are the recommendations for dilating. If you guys have any questions you'd like me to ask my doctor tomorrow, do let me know as well, I'd love to ask for you and myself ofc.
That is the surgery I want to have done. I'm on the wait list for PriyaMed when the hospital there opens it up for regular use. They did a few trial surgeries and appearently are just waiting on the healing results. Also Dr. Gallagher in Indianapolis IN, said she will be offering it at the University hospital there. Dr's Milkos and Moore do it all the time but don't do the external genitals so not available for transwomen. Dr Whitehead in Florida has done it in the past but now in his own clinic he does not own the tools so it's not really available there either for trans girls.
Update time! I've started dilating.
I only dilate about 5cm (2 inches) inside the vagina, because that is the part of skin left from penile inversion, I don't dilate the perioneum part. So far what I've noticed is that I can instantly feel when I slip the dilator into the peritoneum part of the vagina, it just starts sliding very smoothly and opens easily, the first 2 inches I do have to get through slowly though.
So far so good, no weird discharge or smells
Thank you for the updates, I'm glad it's going well for you. What is the aftercare from the clinic/hospital like, and do they ask you to stay on after before any major travel?
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I happen to live in Belgrade, but I imagine you'd have to stay here for about 2-3 weeks after your surgery.
As for the after-care, they keep the catheder and stent inside of you for about 10-14 days and after they take them out you start your dilating schedule, the doctors check on you every 3-4 days, they inspect the vagina, the walls etc. to make sure everything is healthy.
Personally I am happy with the aftercare provided, they are very patient and there's no stupid questions. Dr. Bizic (She is part of dr. Miro's team) in particular is very responsive to emails, she will respond to you anywhere between 15 min to a few hours max.
Quote from: Anna994 on December 09, 2018, 11:55:54 AM
I happen to live in Belgrade, but I imagine you'd have to stay here for about 2-3 weeks after your surgery.
As for the after-care, they keep the catheder and stent inside of you for about 10-14 days and after they take them out you start your dilating schedule, the doctors check on you every 3-4 days, they inspect the vagina, the walls etc. to make sure everything is healthy.
Personally I am happy with the aftercare provided, they are very patient and there's no stupid questions. Dr. Bizic (She is part of dr. Miro's team) in particular is very responsive to emails, she will respond to you anywhere between 15 min to a few hours max.
Fab info thank you [emoji4]
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Anna, thank you for sharing your experience. This is a relatively new procedure and I am sure many of us are encouraged by your experience. I feel this could be an option for those of us who have done a no depth vaginoplasty and would in the future like to add a vaginal canal.
I hope your recovery continues well!
Of course! I am very happy to share my experience, tomorrow is my next post-op appointment.
During this appointment, the surgeons that worked on me are going to take a very detailed look inside the vagina, to make sure everything is going well. It is likely to be just a little bit painful for me because they do open the vagina quite wide, but the fact that my vagina is able to spread as wide as they spread it, is a very good sign for me.
I'll update the topic tomorrow with what they tell me and their answers to my questions.
Alright, an update from my last check-up!
Everything seems to be good right now, the surgeon checked the inside of my vagina, the recommendations are the same, I have to dilate the inverted penile skin (5cm or 2 inches in) and the peritoneum needs 0 dilating.
I'll be able to have sex in about 6 months, the peritoneum needs no dilating and it is moist, however, it's fragile to begin with and takes longer time to heal than penile inversion, it's also elastic, which could allow you to go "too far" in the earlier months. So far the mark for sex is 6 months, which is when we'll test things out in the doctor's office and after that decide if I'm good or if we'll be extending it to a year.
Again, I am one of the first peoiple recieving this surgery as a transwoman and it is still experimental, therefore there are no clear guidelines yet and they are trying to establish them with me, I hope that this path is a lot more straight-forward for you gals in the future :)
Just saw this thread. Thank you SO much for sharing this! It sounds fantastic. I especially like the very careful aftercare you are receiving. That is SOOOOOO important!! Nice!!! Best wishes and I will follow this closely! Very nice!!! :) Many thanks!!!
can I ask how was the sutures and stitches? I had few bad scarring from my full grafting penile inversion srs technique... Im interested to upgrade my vagina to peritonium technique but im afraid of the severity of being invasiveness
Quote from: chinee on January 20, 2019, 02:26:35 PM
can I ask how was the sutures and stitches? I had few bad scarring from my full grafting penile inversion srs technique... Im interested to upgrade my vagina to peritonium technique but im afraid of the severity of being invasiveness
Hey! Sorry for the late answer, I had a holiday and stayed offline. The procedure was done laporoscopically for me, so I have 4 very small incisions (Quarter an inch or 0.5 cm), one is inside of my belly-button, the other 3 are down lower in the fold on my tummy, one on center and two on the sides. They are very small and can be easily hidden inside your panties.
I hope this helps!
Finally got an update to share!
I had a very thorough check up earlier today. My surgeons took me to the operating room, where I was set up. They used a camera, inserted it into me and we were looking at my tissue.
It looks beautiful and pink and moist, from what we can tell, about 3 months after my surgey is that the perioneum is definately strinkingly ressembling vaginal tissue at this point. It is also very elastic, not just in width but in depth too, it's possible to stretch it out just under half an inch or 1 cm at this point into the depth (On top of the originally set depth), this is something new that I at least wasn't expecting to be able to do.
Due to possible fragility, I'll be holding off from sexual intercourse for another 3 months, I will update this topic periodically and of course update it once I've had my first intercourse so that you gals who might be getting the perioneal procedure will know more about it!
If you have any questions, do ask below.
Dear Anna, your posts were wery inspyring and i read them holding my breath! Are you living in Belgrade? I am looking for SRS soon, and Belgrade is one of my option, because my home town is Zagreb/Croatia. Wish you all the best ;)
Quote from: MarinaVasic on March 04, 2019, 01:02:27 PM
Dear Anna, your posts were wery inspyring and i read them holding my breath! Are you living in Belgrade? I am looking for SRS soon, and Belgrade is one of my option, because my home town is Zagreb/Croatia. Wish you all the best ;)
Heya! Yes I live in Belgrade, you can ask me anything you'd like.