A question about surgery.

[Equestriaghoul]

I was just wondering, how high is the success rate of voice changing surgery?

I think that I might be able to get a passable voice without surgery, if I get blockers soon, but if I'm not satisfied with the voice that I get, or if it's too hard to maintain, than I consider surgery.

But I've heard that if the surgeon messes up, it could leave you mute, how often does this happen?

Thank you for your time.

[iKate]

Hey Equestriaghoul,

I have not had surgery yet, but I am confident that I will get at least a somewhat decent result. I am going to Dr Kim in Korea.

As with any surgery, a lot depends on the technique and the skill of the surgeon.

With some of them such as Dr Kim, there is a solid track record, and even some that have said they were dissatisfied actually sound pretty good. Also, the procedure is endoscopic which means they don't make an incision, so it is pretty safe.

With some of the other, older procedures, they are pretty invasive and less than effective. I believe this is why people have said that voice surgery is ineffective and risky. But we have come a long way since then, even though many surgeons are still doing the older procedures.

I would urge you to look through at least the Yeson and Dr Haben threads, as these are among the more popular options.

Also, if you say you are going on blockers, it seems as though you're a teenager? You may not need the surgery at all, but that is up to you.

[Equestriaghoul]

I'm 18 yes, I've noticed that most people's voices tend to keep changing into their mid 20s, so I might not need surgery if I get blockers within the next year or two, but again, I might not be satisfied with the voice I get, or it might be too hard to maintain.

[anjaq]

Hi.

I thnk with a skilled surgeon that has a reputation, the risk is very minimal. Dr Kim gives his success rate at 80%, the others think something should have been improved more or feel not enough change has happened - I have not heard of anyone actually getting much worse in the long run with him. However the fear is not unsubstantiated - some surgeons are less experienced or less careful and also there are different techniques - and I know that in those cases a voice may end up too high pitched, very breathy or hoarse, I know one case where a suture ripped and after that she had a lower voice than before, plus damage to the voice. I think they managed to somehow fix it, so the voice is back to original, but not improved. I dont know if someone really muted someone, but it can happen apparently that if its done badly the volume will be very low, making it hard to be heard.
So the choice of the technique and the surgeon makes a lot of significance for the outcome.

[anjaq]

With 18, you should get hormones, not blockers! 18 is still a good age, but a lot of damage already happened and if you want significant feminiziation, every month at that age counts - you could still grow breasts without needing silicone and maybe even increase hip size a bit. In terms of voice, I think most damage is done at age 14 or so. I have not really noticed that much change in people in their 20ies except maybe in the way they talk, but not in their voice...

[thegreenrabbit]

Just as significant as the surgeon is the attitude of the patient. If a patient does not follow the after care instructions of the surgeon then the outcome can be just bad. I would even say that most voice surgery has a good chance of success if the patient holds up their end of the responsibility.
Sometimes peoples attitudes can border on stupidity and it is quite often those that are the first to complain about poor results.

[anjaq]

Indeed - in many of the cases of bad results (but not all of them, some part still is luck and a big part still is surgeon skill) , people spoke a lot too eary, coughed a lot, screamed (which can cause the suture to rupture if done in the first weeks), smoked,... I think it makes a lot of sense to take the post op care instructions that are the most cauteous and follow those, regardless of which surgeon you are with. If he says "oh , you can talk now, its ok" after a week, I would rather just follow the instructions of Dr Kim saying you should not do so for 4 weeks. Just to be sure.

[iKate]

Hi.

I thnk with a skilled surgeon that has a reputation, the risk is very minimal. Dr Kim gives his success rate at 80%, the others think something should have been improved more or feel not enough change has happened - I have not heard of anyone actually getting much worse in the long run with him. However the fear is not unsubstantiated - some surgeons are less experienced or less careful and also there are different techniques - and I know that in those cases a voice may end up too high pitched, very breathy or hoarse, I know one case where a suture ripped and after that she had a lower voice than before, plus damage to the voice. I think they managed to somehow fix it, so the voice is back to original, but not improved. I dont know if someone really muted someone, but it can happen apparently that if its done badly the volume will be very low, making it hard to be heard.
So the choice of the technique and the surgeon makes a lot of significance for the outcome.

I know one girl personally who can now hardly talk due to voice surgery gone wrong (or so I was told). You can hardly hear her but she sounds female, but very weak and very hoarse. I have no idea who did it and what procedure it was. So yes, there is a risk of losing your voice permanently. But with some surgeries the risk is much less than others.