Hey all! This is my first post here, though I've been reading / lurking for a while, especially on the threads involving the Yeson Voice Center. I'm writing from Seoul, South Korea right now, 4 days post op after receiving VFS from Dr. Kim at Yeson and wanted to post my story here like many of you who came before me as well as to thank all the other brave girls who have gotten the procedure done and shared about it here. The wealth of information really contributed to knowing what to expect during the consultation and post-op. I'm especially inspired by Jenny, Abby, and Sara, (hey girls!) whose pre / post op comparisons blew me away when I first saw them, as well as anyone I showed them to when explaining what kind of surgery I'd be getting. My main motivation was not having to out myself when I spoke, which didn't happen much at all in person as most people took my tomboyish, dykey presentation along with the lower pitched voice but happened every friggin time on the phone. I also didn't want to have to constantly worry about slipping up and dropping down into my natural masculine vocal range, which tended to happen after a few drinks.
Finally, I'm hoping to be able to jam out with my guitar to the Indigo Girls more naturally than before.
I arrived in Seoul from San Francisco a week ago today, had my consultation last Wednesday (July 9), and went in for the surgery on Friday morning (July 11). I'll be going in for my follow up and botox injection tomorrow (Wednesday), which is a bit early but was booked that way to minimize time off from work, though I got let go just before my surgery, but hey, I have new vocal chords so who cares??
So far, the experience has been commensurate with what a lot of the other girls have shared. Everyone at the clinic has been super friendly and helpful, especially Jessie and the nurse. I remember reading someone commenting about the nurse looking like a cute character from an anime, and she totally does, glasses and all!
During my consultation, I was told I had a set of very healthy,
very masculine vocal folds, and my untrained F0 was at 120, which after the 75Hz increase puts me just shy of the tail end of the female standard of 200Hz. My trained voice was 155, so with vocal training, I should be able to easily reach well within female range. I was also told that I had a tremor that manifested at the lower pitch ranges, which was most likely due to how I feminized my voice using muscle pressure around the larynx and increasing airflow, something Dr. Kim said wasn't the best way to go about feminizing my voice. He said the botox would be for my vocal folds to stay relaxed while I trained my new vocal folds to allow my brain to reprogram my full range without having the spasm inducing muscular tension my brain got so accustomed to while using my trained voice for a year. Then Dr. Kim shared some example results from the surgery, including Jenny, of which I told Dr. Kim I must have seen the video a hundred times.
I believe you are their star patient!
I did get anxious before the procedure while waiting in my recovery room (the one at the end of the hallway, farthest from the bathroom too dammit), knowing this was it, I was really doing this! The anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory they mixed in with my IV before the operation made me feel a tad drowsy / dizzy tho, so that didn't last long. It's an interesting feeling being on the O.R. table with the oxygen mask on giving Dr. Kim the thumbs up and then the next thing you realize, you're coming out of a very dark place and you can hear yourself being wheeling you into the recovery room. That sore throat was killer! The anesthesia was still wearing off and I felt super sleepy so I slept another hour or so before they came in with water and juice for me, then later porridge and ice cream. OMG the ice cream was so soothing. I did bump into another (cute lol) trans girl who I'm guessing had the same procedure while wandering the hallway toward the bathroom. Geez, that IV drip made me pee so frequently.
So far, the hardest challenge has been not coughing or clearing my throat. The constant presence of phlegm and the tickle in my throat drives me bonkers, and I did end up being unable to completely suppress a cough several times, though I did so extremely quietly and without phonation. Most of the time it was when lying down or otherwise shifting my position, causing the build up in my chest to move around. I also did whisper a couple times by accident because I tend to talk to myself but checked myself as soon as I heard anything come out of my mouth. I still have a slight sore throat, like one might have toward the end of a cold, and my tongue is numb along one section, but that's temporary. I'm worried that my coughing / whispering earlier might have caused problems, but from what I understand, I would know without a doubt if the sutures tore or something else went wrong as it's supposed to be extremely painful when that happens. I know I'm in the critical stages of healing and am doing my absolute best to follow my instructions to a tee.
Anyway, I hope to post samples of my voice as my voice heals to share my progress. Thanks again for all of you brave girls who went ahead without first having the advantage of foresight from others, particularly Jenny, whose video made my jaw drop when I first saw it. Thanks for sharing your adventures and trailblazing the way for the rest of us!
