Hi all, I havent been on here in a really long time but I felt it would be useful to make a post about my operation and my thoughts afterwards.
After a lot of consideration I decided on the pubic phalloplasty technique, my reasons for this were mainly to do with the resulting scar. For me personally the scar gained from pubic phalloplasty was a much more pleasing result to me then either using the forearm or the leg. I am not particularly good with dealing with wounds on myself so this was an important factor to me. I also personally prefer in general how a pubic phallo looks in terms of how it is joined to the skin. As it turned out at my resulting consultation with a surgeon I was not suited to other phalloplasty techniques anyways as my arms are too skinny and my legs too hairy
Because I am english I was put with the London Team. They consist of Mr Ralph, Mr Christopher and Mr Garaffa all very good surgeons. I am exceptionally pleased with my results but unfortunately it has not been plain sailing and this seems to be a communication/ organisation problem.
My first consult was with Mr Garaffa who was extremely brief (I can't have been talking to him for more then 10 minutes at most) he advised me to go away and put on a stone of weight. After doing that my 2nd consultation was with Mr Christopher who went much more indepth but told me he didnt think I needed to gain the weight I had done. It took me 3 months to gain the weight so that was 3 months wasted.
After my consultation I was asked how much notice I needed which I wanted at least 3 weeks and who I wanted to do my operation for which I asked for Mr Christopher. Both of these never happened, after a few months I was called with a date for the very next week which I couldnt do so then had to wait 4 1/2 months to be given another date which I had to chase them for.
On the day of my operation I found out my surgeon was not Mr Christopher but Mr Ralph, the only surgeon I had yet to meet. Although as I said I am very pleased with the results.
During my recovery, I awoke one night to find 2 night nurses trying to give me liquid paracetomol but they were unable to, they were messing about with the bag so im not entirely sure what was wrong but they decided just to not give it to me. One of the nurses told me to call them if I was in severe pain, I went back to sleep. The next morning I awoke in pain, the night nurse changed my dressings and seemed shocked that I had also had a hystorectomy she then said she would ask the doctor if she could give me some stronger medication (Tramadol) but after an hour of waiting I couldnt bare it any longer and pressed my button for assistance. The same night nurse came in with liquid paracetomol which she hooked me up to and apologised saying she couldnt find a doctor yet. Still in pain a few hours later I pressed for assistance again and a different nurse came (the other having finished her shift without getting me tramadol or passing on that I needed it), I explained the situation and within half an hour she came back with the pain killer. It took another 30-60 minutes for the pain to finally subside.
The next night the same night nurse who hadnt gotten me the tramadol took away my fluids saying that I didn't need it anymore. The next morning I awoke feeling sick, this led to lethargy and me becoming very pale. The day nurses repeatedly took my blood pressure and temperature whilst I was lying down, both coming up fine. I was given anti sickness tablets, after an hour or so and still showing no improvements they took some blood from me to be tested. A few hours later this came back clear as well. My feeling throughout this whole thing was that I was ill because they'd taken the fluid away. It made perfect sense to me especially since I had not been allowed to eat at that point for 3 days due to my bowls not yet being fully recovered from the anesthetic and I was only allowed to drink 60ml of water an hour. I didnt speak up because I didnt want to sound like I was telling anyone how to do their job, they were trained I wasnt so I felt they would know better then me. The physiotherapist then came to see me as I was supposed to start walking that day. I got sat up at the edge of my bed and my blood pressure plummeted so they had to lie me back down before I fainted. I believe the nurses then called Mr Christopher who came to see me and immediately said I needed fluids *insert sigh here*.
As you can imagine I was delighted to go home, unfortunately I have now developed an infection which started in hospital as a small amount of oozing where my phallus has been attached to my lower stomach. It has now spread to the incision along my phallus and is working its way towards the tip. The infection is causing my incision to spread apart, moving the stitches and re-healing. I am on antibiotics, nearing the end of my course and they are not working.
So after my operation and now in recovery....I am having serious doubts about going through with the more complicated procedures. Other then what I have mentioned the surgery just by itself was extremely tiring. A lot more so then I was prepared for. I find myself unable to enjoy the results due to my infection. I have also reached my limit in the amount of scarring I think I can cope with on my body, the idea of having another £5 note size scar on my forearm for a urethra is looking more and more like something I dont think I can deal with. More importantly now becoming aware that the urethra is not guaranteed to last and may need to be replaced in the future (probably from the opposite arm) and that many people despite having many sessions of laser hair removel/ electrolosis end up with hair growing back on their urethra which can cause complications all make me think I should perhaps not go through with this step.
In short I am tired, I am fed up and I am worried by my infection. Despite wanting everything at the beginning I now am coming to realise that for me at least the chances of complications and the further surgerys that may be needed are not worth being able to stand up and pee. I am also uncertain now about having an erectile device (pump not rod) fitted as again this isnt permanent and more surgery would needed in the future.
