Yeson voice feminization surgery

[Kate_H]

Hi TamaraElle - dead jealous of both you and Jenny   Hope to try and get this procedure done SOON.  I have a meeting with voice therapy/treatment people in a month or so - I've been trying to get some proper voice help within the NHS (Scotland) for years, and had resigned myself to having to get myself further into debt at some point with a private solution (like everything else I've done - EXCEPT my GRS 3 weeks ago! )

Anyway...  if you've got an android phone/device - there's a free app called "DaTuner lite" which is a pitch detector.  Its a bit basic, but its free, and I've found it to be pretty accurate

Kate

Hi Jennygirl, My name is Ella. I live in London. I had voice feminization surgery at yeson a week after you had yours. I actually saw you and your friend on your last visit to the clinic. I think that was the time I had my operation. May 22. Ive been following your progress here. And amazingly feel the same as you do. Unfortunately, I have not been as detailed as you've been in documenting your progress. I only have my voice recorded on my mobile. Can you please give me the application or software that actually gives  frequency/ pitch measurement?  I would also like to see how my pitch is doing in terms of numbers. Ive been meeting with my speech therapist here in London who wasn't keen for me to have the operation when I was contemplating on it but now she was convinced that the operation was worth it. I am meeting her every month for post surgery speech therapy. which I believe is really valuable to keep voice control and pitch maintenance. I have yet to email Jessie of Yeson regarding my progress and send her my 2nd month post op voice after July 22.
I'll be looking forward to your reply and really happy that we had this life changing operation.

[TamaraElle]

Hi Lena. Me and my Speech Therapist have been doing exercises both reading and extemporaneous. She emphasizes the importance of tonal variety as opposed to monotonal male voice. For preop, in order to change resonance and increase pitch, the vibration of the voice should be originating from the nose more than the throat which basically masculine and low pitch. As you speak, you have to transpose the vibration to the nose and in turn makes the voice sounds higher and softer resonance.

[TamaraElle]

Hi TamaraElle - dead jealous of both you and Jenny   Hope to try and get this procedure done SOON.  I have a meeting with voice therapy/treatment people in a month or so - I've been trying to get some proper voice help within the NHS (Scotland) for years, and had resigned myself to having to get myself further into debt at some point with a private solution (like everything else I've done - EXCEPT my GRS 3 weeks ago! )

Anyway...  if you've got an android phone/device - there's a free app called "DaTuner lite" which is a pitch detector.  Its a bit basic, but its free, and I've found it to be pretty accurate

Kate

[Lena from Kiev]

you have to transpose the vibration to the nose

How?

I explained how (link above), but I'm interested what your speech therapist explained to you how to "transpose the vibration to the nose".

[TamaraElle]

Hi Kate. Thank you for that info on application. Ill try that.
Regarding Voice Feminization Surgery. I suggest, don't rush. Remember that the operation is not the 100% solution. As my speech therapist emphasizes, operation is 30% and speech therapy is 70%. So it's really important that you attend a number of sessions with a speech therapist before you have the operation. It will strengthen your voice before the operation and you will get more benefit from the surgery as you will increase your pitch already before you have surgery then 3 or 4 more sessions after surgery is good or depends on your need. My speech therapy sessions are free as it's provided by the NHS as you are aware. Im lucky to have availed of this service. So I suggest, invest on good pre op sessions with a good speech therapist. My therapist specializes on transgender voices.
Good luck to you and please be patient.

[Kate_H]

I've been patient for 5 years... now I want to be a patient

Kx

Hi Kate. Thank you for that info on application. Ill try that.
Regarding Voice Feminization Surgery. I suggest, don't rush. Remember that the operation is not the 100% solution. As my speech therapist emphasizes, operation is 30% and speech therapy is 70%. So it's really important that you attend a number of sessions with a speech therapist before you have the operation. It will strengthen your voice before the operation and you will get more benefit from the surgery as you will increase your pitch already before you have surgery then 3 or 4 more sessions after surgery is good or depends on your need. My speech therapy sessions are free as it's provided by the NHS as you are aware. Im lucky to have availed of this service. So I suggest, invest on good pre op sessions with a good speech therapist. My therapist specializes on transgender voices.
Good luck to you and please be patient.

[Jennygirl]

Wow cool it's great to meet another patient! So glad you came here Ella

I use a piece of software called "praat" and it is for mac & windows
win: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_win.html
mac: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_mac.html

It's very helpful! Let me know if you have difficulty using it, I did a short tutorial in a different thread.

I absolutely cannot wait to hear your voice! I am curious, what was your starting fundamental frequency? Mine was 141hz.

Nice to meet you!

[Jennygirl]

Also Ella- I am very curious to know how you feel about your upper range- has it changed at all?

I'm going to PM you my email address so we can stay in touch I have some questions for you too so shoot me an email.

[xchristine]

Omg!! Thay is sooo amazing
I can't wait to get mine done...maybe shortly after new year
But not with yeson ...Toby Mayer will do mine

Now that is just as exciting as getting a pretty face from ffs

[Lena from Kiev]

Toby Mayer will do mine

He doesn't explain what he does.

[Jennygirl]

I sat in on MaidofOrleans' consult with him about FFS and he brought up his VFS procedure. First of all he said she didn't need it Anyway he said that there is about a 50% satisfaction rate. Half looooved it, and half haaated it. Honestly did not seem like that good of odds to me.

There is some info out there on his procedure, what exactly he does. Basically he gains entry to the larynx from an incision over the throat and attaches sutures to the voice box that stretch it- this tensions the vocal cords. He does this under local anesthesia and patients are awake and talking as their voice is being raised. There are definite risks and the outcome is not guaranteed to be permanent because the sutures sometimes come loose.

Christine if I were you I would hold out until a posi okay doc comes along somewhere that learns how to do it Yeson's way. Or maybe you will be part of the group that has a great result? Personally not a risk I would be willing to take. Mayer does seem like a good surgeon though with tons of experience.

[Zoe Snow]

I just read through this whole thread, pretty amazing to see the whole process from start to near completion.  If I ever get around to transitioning someday, I'll definitely be thinking of having this done.  You sound amazing, and I really look forward to hearing how good your voice becomes once you're completely through recovery.  Thanks again for sharing this with all of us.

[xchristine]

There will never be a posi okay doctor outside of Canada USA Mexico
And Euro in my lifetime ..if ever

We all k ow my viewpoints and will best not to add input
Unless you want me to come over and pull your hair out LOL

Really it's down to the voice doctor who does a total removal of the voice box
And rebuilds it...strange he says other methods not as good
Yeson says other methods not so good...Mayer days he's the best

By the look of it really ..its the same thing between Mayer and yeson
Just differant engineering methods to acheivw same
Effct on vocal cords.. and Mayer claims there is never any
Voice damage with his tchnique...either it improves or it
Doesnt ..and really ..its like less then three pay checks for me ..

As witj any beatification surgery there is always a chance the
Result will not be as good..

[Jennygirl]

Christine I hope you know I would never say anything to offend anyone on this board! The only reason I mentioned it is because we chatted about it in another thread, I forget which one it was.

Mayers technique is honestly completely different than anything else. But yes you are right I think they are trying to achieve the same thing just with different means. Mayer's technique simply tensions the vocal chords, which does probaly thin them out a little too. Yeson and Dr Thomas actually thin AND shorten the length of the vocal fold, which is quite a bit different than just adding some tension to it. Not saying that Mayer's technique is bad- I am no expert. But it seems to me that the best way to have a natural sounding voice is to physically make the vocal chords as close to female as possible. So that means shortening them.

Just my opinion! Most of my reluctance is based on the way he talked about his own surgery, even he barely trusted it to be permanently successful or successful at all. I think there are probably better (less risky) options that's all I'm saying.

[xchristine]

Yes I understand his technique ..I also am in discussion
With James Thomas who's tech apears to me very impressive also
My options aren't limited...if Mayer isn't confident back to
James Thomas
Omg transition isind blowing with the myriad of choices and
Directions one can take

And Jenny I know you wouldn't say anything wrong..
But a lot will jump on the everybody panic wagon and start
Lighting torches for me as last time
Haha

[Carrie Liz]

Ideally, if Thomas's surgery technique had more consistent healing results, it would be the golden standard since it alters both pitch and resonance, but clearly that does NOT happen. Lots of the "after" samples from that surgery end up sounding extremely raspy, or like there's constantly phlegm in their throats. And that happens with a lot of the more invasive surgery techniques.

So yeah, I agree with Jenny, right now Yeson is probably the best option. I haven't heard a single bad "after" sample from them, just maybe some that it didn't change enough.

[xchristine]

He will laser tune a voice after ....
Since the raspy voice comes from uneven cords .
All than is one is cut to match the other btw...by laser .

[Jennygirl]

Ideally, if Thomas's surgery technique had more consistent healing results, it would be the golden standard since it alters both pitch and resonance, but clearly that does NOT happen. Lots of the "after" samples from that surgery end up sounding extremely raspy, or like there's constantly phlegm in their throats. And that happens with a lot of the more invasive surgery techniques.

So yeah, I agree with Jenny, right now Yeson is probably the best option. I haven't heard a single bad "after" sample from them, just maybe some that it didn't change enough.

You are right... there hasn't been a single raspy voice coming out of Yeson, and that's exactly why I went there. They are the ONLY place bold enough to state "risk free" because they know they can back it up. I have a feeling Dr. Kim's procedure method (or a variation of it) will become the new gold standard once more doctors catch on. That's what I'm hoping you hold tight for, Christine!

I actually had to stop looking at Dr. Thomas' website prior to the surgery because it gave me such horrid pre surgery anxiety. I just visited there again tonight for the first time, and I just want to say I hope nobody decides to go to Dr. Thomas. It's not that I am trying to make myself feel better about my own surgery- I would just hate to see someone have their voice messed up. Chopping up voice boxes and vocal membranes seems like cutting a limb off and expecting it to function perfectly when you stitch it back together. Yes it will work, but it's not ever going to be the same. The body is incredible, but it isn't built to heal perfectly when things are completely severed like that. Noooo way.

Occam's razor: "The simplest solution is often the right one"

[xchristine]

Yea ...I geuss I could wait...if I make a slight effort I can hit
220 consistantly easy . .but I want the resonance also...
And how old is the yeson technique??
And what is it??

[Jennygirl]

Yea ...I geuss I could wait...if I make a slight effort I can hit
220 consistantly easy . .but I want the resonance also...
And how old is the yeson technique??
And what is it??

The procedure has been available since 2003, but it wasn't until 2007 that he presented it in a way that we could really find out about it.

The procedure is called Vocal Fold Shortening and Advancement of the Anterior Commissure. The commissure is the part of the vocal folds at the back that comes together and makes a union. There is a small mucous membrane there as well. To start, they remove the mucous membrane and a small amount of the surrounding tissue (about 3-5mm long). The folds are then tied together with two permanent sutures spaced apart to add strength during recovery. The vocal folds are stretched slightly thinner as they heal together and strengthen. The result is vocal cords that are thinner with a shorter vibrational length, reminiscent of female vocal cords. This is all performed endoscopicly (down the throat) with no neck incision in about an hour and a half.