Yeson voice feminization surgery

[anjaq]

I am the same then - 2-4 months. At least he did not predict more. 2-4 month is pretty ok, if it works. But of course I hope for the 2 months or less - some were told the same and had big changes after 6 weeks already. I already am making appointments for speech therapy for the 2 month mark - she knows me from before, so she really wants to know how it will be. She usually opposes surgery, but in my case she was actually thinking it will help

[Cindi Jones]

I've been playing around with voice recordings and although I can do a pretty good job of getting "up there," it puts a strain on my voice and I can't maintain it. As soon as I get my passport, I'm scheduling. I've been looking at flights and it's almost impossible for me to get in before 3PM to catch their shuttle. Are there busses or other inexpensive ways to get to the hotel they suggest? Also, since the only other language I speak is Spanish, what sort of issues will I run into with the language barrier in general? Like if I want to go out and see the sites?

I'm staying wherever they recommend. This is a very special event for me and if it costs an extra thousand. I could care less. I haven't been able to do things for myself for way too many years. I've spent it all on a man for his Harley's (he got into that just 6 years ago) and he left me for a biker chic. I've been talking to my therapist and she says go for it. She's really happy to see me looking forward to something so positive.

[ImagineKate]

I thought the subway was available (cheaper than a cab) plus some people spoke English. I have that issue as well (language barrier).

To be honest the surgery is exciting but I'm also just excited about going somewhere far away. Haven't done that in a while.

[jessical]

Can Dr. Kim do a trachea shave at the same time?  Reading through the thread had some conflicting information about that.

[Cindi Jones]

Can Dr. Kim do a trachea shave at the same time?  Reading through the thread had some conflicting information about that.

Mine is fairly pronounced and I thought that it would be nice to get taken care of too, but you know what? I have never had an issue with that. No one has ever mentioned it nor have I heard any gossip. I have however been asked by my friends about my voice...  friendly banter about "my unusual birth defect I mentioned once." Nothing about Adam. I too want the trip to be exciting just for the adventure. It doesn't sound like I'll be miserable while I'm there. What a wonderful thing to look forward to!

I might fly into San Jose and stay with a friend for a couple of days and then catch a direct flight out of San Francisco to get an arrival time to catch their bus. That will cut down the time in the air considerably as well. And getting a chance to see my best friend for a day or two is a very nice thing indeed!

Cindi

[Wynternight]

Kim will do the shave and Yeson procedure at the same time.

[Cindi Jones]

Kim will do the shave and Yeson procedure at the same time.

Do you know how much extra that is? Dang, now I'm thinking of that too! It's like shopping for heels!

Cindi

[ImagineKate]

Do you know how much extra that is? Dang, now I'm thinking of that too! It's like shopping for heels!

Cindi

Email Jessie and find out.

[anjaq]

Indeed, I would ask Jessie (and Dr Kim through her) about the combination. They can do it, but he does not like to do it if it can be avoided as a trach shave is not so great for the voice procedure. Part of the voice surgery is that the vocal folds ate a bit tightened by the formation of the scars, that puts a bit of a strain on the cartilage and if that is weakened by a trach shave it could diminish the gain from the voice procedure.

The best way to get from the airport to the city is either take the subway/train, it goes directly into the airport. Or take an airport bus which drops you off in the city, there are several routes, I dont know which one will have stops close to the hotel, best to ask the hotel which is the best way to get to them.

Choose whatever hotel suits you. Yeson recommend one based mainly because it is rather ok (people have said it is not great but also not bad), not insanely expensive and most importantly it is like 10 minutes from the clinic by foot. I would go for what you feel is most important for you - being close to the clinic in gangnam, or find a hotel that has better accomodation or is in an area that you like more - seriously getting around in Seoul is not hard - either take a subway or a taxi which is not too expensive.

Language - well you cannot speak anyways after the surgery - Jessie will give you some pieces of paper with important sentences in english and korean on it, and some people will be able to read english - apparently they can read it better than listening to it anyways, which is convenient for a temporary mute. So either get a notebook or a smartphone and type-and-show in english and in many places it will work out. Hotels will have english speaking receptionists if they are decent. In restaurants you can also just point - or take a photo of the food from their menu and then show it to them. I still do that since - well - you still ar ein the same situation when you get home and cannot talk and order food, so I still do photos and show them... still I think it can help to bring someone, just in case something happens that is too complicated to solve by these means. But I think it can be managed well without a company. Make sure that the hotel air conditioning is not bothering you - you dont want a dry throat or signs of a cold at any time.

[Cindi Jones]

Thank you Anjaq. If the subway goes to the airport that is definitely the way to go. I could get into the city close by and take a taxi. I did notice in the papers I got, they mention a less expensive hotel very near the clinic and they are pretty straight up about what it's like there. They recommend another nicer hotel that runs $150 a night which almost makes me choke, but i'll probably do that. For me, part of traveling is relaxing in a somewhat nice room. I like Marriot and Hyat. That level. I don't have a lot of money for this sort of thing right now, my life is up in the air as far as my financial situation goes... but hey, when I transitioned it was even worse and I have NEVER regretted that decision.

I do have the cash for this and if I put it off, I'll just regret it. I'm not getting any younger. I am going to wait until my passport arrives however. I just applied for it a few days ago. My mother has held four or five versions of her name during her lifetime and her "new" actually her original name is not the same name as on my amended birth certificate. Additionally, when I changed my name, I did not take the family surname. So I'm sure the passport people are going to have to sort all that out and it could take some time. Sadly, it's possible they can't. It would be easy to call the records office in Salt Lake City if they have a little ambition. The records office there is top notch and answer all questions very quickly. So, I think I'll wait and see.

Thanks again for all the answers. And yes, just like every other surgery I've had in transition, I'm going alone. Why break a running streak?

Cindi

[anjaq]

Well its not really the subway but some sort of train that connects to the subway system:
http://www.exploringkorea.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Subwaymap_Eng.jpg
the "airport rail" goes directly to the subway net. Yeson is at the orange #3 subway Apgujeong Station.

A good choice is to go to the city with the rail or bus and then take a taxi. But make sure to print out the adress in korean , the taxi dirvers often cannot read or speak english! We wanted to do that - use the express bus and then take a taxi, but we could not get a taxi that could read the english printout of the website of the place we stayed, so we ended up using the subway after all.

And of course - if you have the cash, take the nice hotel and direct flight - it makes things more relaxed and nice. i could not afford it so I went for Phil House and a cheap Air China flight which was quite a trip. But I maxed out my credit as it is for the surgery and the travel, so not much room for spending money on a bigger room with room service

[Melissa Forever]

I can't believe I am going to be one of the Yeson girls! I have been thinking about this for so long and it is finally coming true. My surgery is booked for April 30! Barely enough time to get my passport updated and do some shopping so I have a few waredrobes!

I am so so so excited!

[Agdistis]

I am the same then - 2-4 months. At least he did not predict more. 2-4 month is pretty ok, if it works. But of course I hope for the 2 months or less - some were told the same and had big changes after 6 weeks already. I already am making appointments for speech therapy for the 2 month mark - she knows me from before, so she really wants to know how it will be. She usually opposes surgery, but in my case she was actually thinking it will help

I can't wait to not have to worry about coughing so much, it's like I live in constant fear of it now!  The next month needs to go by quick!

[anjaq]

They never told me really when it is safe to cough or sneeze again. Just that I should best avoid it - probably for as long as possible...I dont feel so bad though if it happens now after 3 weeks, but earlier this week when I had to cough a bit harder, I noticed some soreness for some hours after that, so apparently it still is not something one should take lightly. I quickly ate some ice cream

[ReDucks]

Coughing was a fear for me too, but I try to do it without making any vocal sounds.  All that hacking and groaning we do when we cough is really unnecessary, it is possible to cough without engaging the vocal cords.  A friend showed me that years ago because she was afraid for my voice going out and my hacking sounds made her cringe.  Its the same throat trick as clearing without sound only a lot more air goes out.

[anjaq]

Yes - its possible but sometimes the reflex of the body still makes me cough with some sound. It took me a day or so to get it working mostly without sound, but occasionally it always happened to me, especially if I had a lot of phlegm or if I mis-swallowed something. Especially after the Botox, swallowing was in some way harder for me. I hope this goes away before the whole Botox period.

[Teslagirl]

Forgive me Anja, but I'm posting this as a reply because I can't quite figure out how to post it normally.

Hi everyone.

Well Dr Kim looked at my vocal chord video and came up with the following comments. He seems decidedly cool on doing VFS for me and I'm not sure if he sees any benefit. What do you think? Any help decoding what this analysis really means would be much appreciated!

Thank you,

Sarah.

Please refer to Dr.Kim's comment below.

"Vocal folds assymetry along with muscle tension discrepancy are observed on your vocal folds. The contact of vocal folds is unstable and vocal tremor and voice break are at present.

This indicates that you have hypofunctional voice due to againg process and presbylaryngis. However, other organic voice disorders are not observed.
At the moment, you can have VFS surgery, however, post-operatively a long-term botox treatment through injection and medication are required.
Vocal function exercise must be accompanied continuously to adapt to using your new vocal folds.
Please take all this into consideration and make a decision."

[anjaq]

I replied to your separate post on this in the voice forum.

[Teslagirl]

Thanks Anja. Sorry to put it in two places.

[ImagineKate]

So before surgery did you have to stop HRT and aspirin only or all your medications? Can I still take spiro for example? I would really NOT like to get T back in my system...