Hello, my name is Ashley. I am a 19 year old mtf transgender girl, and I am here to post my review after having had my orchiectomy via Dr. Arnkoff in Southfield, (a suburb of Detroit) Michigan.
He has, from every account I have seen, been very well reviewed (none of the "horror stories" like I saw with some Doctors whom actually charged much more, when I was initially searching), which is why I chose him, but I figured one more positive review wouldn't hurt, and I honestly feel he is owed that much from me. To start off, for anyone who is interested in having an orchiectomy procedure done, I would highly recommend him to perform the surgery.
His staff, his office, his technique, his manner, and his professionalism all shined through and made it a very enjoyable experience. A certain member of his staff, in particular, went extremely out of their way to ensure that I had everything I needed in order to have a comfortable aftercare experience. (My surgery was July 31st, I went home on August 2nd.) Also, while the surgery was being completed, I do not think I would have been able to get through it nearly as comfortably as I did, if not for his nurse, Sarah, being there to hold my hand and discuss non-surgery-related topics with me all the while. He also played Glen Campbell via his iPod throughout the entire procedure, specifically at my request as I wanted something to distract me from the sounds of the procedure being carried out, which was oddly comforting as well. (As you can probably deduce, a local anesthetic was used; I'm unsure whether he has an alternative option, but I'm relatively squeamish, and I made it through.) There was literally no request I made, that went unfulfilled. And yeah, I can be a little high-maintenance at times; just ask my boyfriend.
For those interested in cost, the surgery itself was $2,300, while the airfare for a roundtrip via
insanelycheaphotels.com, came to about $500. I was VERY fortunate to find an absolutely incredible hotel actually IN Southfield, named "Hawthorne Suites", which was $60/night, for, get this - Wifi, an absurd amount of cable channels for that price including Showtime, a kitchenette (actually, quite literally an ENTIRE kitchen, WITH cups, bowls, silverware, etc.), a fireplace, a spacious washroom, and the room itself was exceedingly clean. I'm still blown away by how inexpensive my stay there was. It was literally more like a well-furnished/appointed condo than a hotel.
Anyways, at the end of the procedure, he was kind enough (although I suppose they were sort of my "property", hehe) to encase my newly-evicted testosterone-producing dwellers in an airtight jar to take with me to my hotel; which may sound somewhat unnecessary, but it provided me an IMMENSE amount of confidence and satisfaction to be able to look at them anytime I wanted to remind myself that I did indeed finally accomplish this goal; and will not be tormented (a bit melodramatic, but true) by them anymore.
As far as the healing process is concerned, so far things seem to be going well. I still have some residual pain and discomfort, but it seems to be dissipating more and more with every passing day. I know that I was a bit of a difficult and perhaps slightly uncommon case for him, as I had had such shrinkage in that area from the prior hormones alone, and my testicles had essentially migrated unusually high into my abdomen. It was noticeable to the extent that at one point during the surgery, he actually joked "ummm... are you sure you have TWO of these?" That's another thing I found very appealing about him; his sense of humor. A bit dry and caustic, but nonetheless, endearing. Sort of like if Bea Arthur were a male urologist.
As far as Misc. information is concerned - I did not discontinue hormone use either BEFORE or IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING the surgery. Purely as a matter of individual preference, I intend to continue my pre-op hormone dosages, including the use of anti-androgens (with the exception of Androcur/Siterone; I believe they targeted that "specific" area which is no longer there) and I have had no problem with that thus far. I was given two prescriptions post-surgery; one for Vicodin, one for an antibiotic which is meant to be taken 4x/day. They were each called in to the Walgreens pharmacy; very conveniently located directly across the street (or perhaps a block away) from his office.
If I remember anything else worth mentioning, I will certainly post it here. Once again, I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Arnkoff to perform the Orchiectomy of anyone who is interested in having it done. His website is
www.myorchie.com. In summary, I would recommend him on a basis of professionalism of both himself and his staff, technique, aftercare, as well as cost. I truly do appreciate what he did for me; as well as how efficiently he did it. Also, and I know this will be huge for some people as it was for me, he requires NO letters whatsoever in order to perform this surgery. He is of the mentality that it is an individual's choice what they do with said individual's body. As a girl who has always taken matters into her own hands to get what she wants/needs, I wish more people in the transgender medical community were of that school of thought.
As a side-note, for any of those who have successfully gone through this surgery regardless of surgeon, anything positive to report as far as experiences post-op? Feminizing effects, etc. I know a lot of girls have said they feminized the most of their entire transition after Orchiectomy or SRS. I would love to hear any anecdotes!
Sincerely,
Ashley
