Dr. Michael C. Haben's triple VFS procedure

[Ritana]

I am very tempted to chose Dr Haben for my surgery. The reason being is that I lost some pitch years ago following trachea shave and I'm worried Dr kim's methode might not give me satisfactory results. From.what I've read. Cta might fix the lost pitch caused by trachea shave.

It seems that Dr. Kim compensates for this by shortening the vocal cords a little bit extra (for those who've been affected by trachea shave), which makes me have concerns that i might sound like mikey mouse.

I have been in touch with both surgeons. Dr kim advised that my voice is not too deep and that his method should be able to give me satisfactory results. Dr Haben, on the other hand insists that cta is strongly recommended in my case (plus glottoplasty) to undo the damage caused by trachea shave.

I am worried about the risks involved with cta. I have read that some people's voices got deeper and that it is irreversible.

Any thoughts on this, girls?

[isleeplikeacat]

Hey everyone

I just want to confirm that yes, my voice is fine. I sing correctly and never got misgendered on the phone even once, or even in the real life. Even when wearing a guy suit (I just tried that today lol I'm butch)

I don't know what happened. I had pain, and the voice went super slow - like it was before the surgery. I have a small recording I did at that time but I don't want to hear that ever again. I panicked and called Dr Haben and he told me that it was likely to be a stitch and to take 2 weeks of absolute silence to see what could heal.

In the end, maybe it was a stitch that healed well, or maybe it was just a panic. In any case I feel super relieved.

I took the time to create an account and post here for Roni who was still recovering. I was so afraid others would get the same sad fate for some unknown reasons. I had some luck but I don't want to stretch it (I won't shout for like a year a two !!). Neither should you. This voice is so precious.

Please girls PLEASE take super good care of your new voice! It's so depressing when it's there, then it's gone. Don't risk that. Don't talk for a week or 2, take your pills religiously, DONT RUN or get out of breath and go see a doc to get antibiotics if you get a cold. Your new voice is just too precious to risk.

[Dena]

I know that earlier voice surgeries sometimes failed but they have improved a good deal over the years and failures are rare. Should the surgery fail, it can be corrected with another surgery. The restriction is that the surgery can't be undone so it would be a good idea to be far enough in your transition that you know your mind.

[HollywoodPrincess]

Thank you Dena. I schedule maybe like 10 days ago. Is it rude or bad manners to reschdule?

[Dena]

Doctors offices don't like rescheduling close to a surgical date because it may be hard to fill the slot but they understand that it can happen for a number of reasons beyond your control. In my case, I scheduled 3 weeks off but I am not sure I could have gone longer without having to go a far longer period of time. For some reason there were two windows close to the time I scheduled. Sometimes they are booked up almost 3 months out. Are you willing to wait that long for surgery?

As for not having sex until healed, it's not a problem. If I haven't done it yet, surely you can do without for a few weeks for something as nice as this.

[jollyjoy]

So happy and relieved for you Isleeplikeacat! Your new speaking and singing voice sounds fantastic!

[audreelyn]

Isleeplikeacat!

That's fantastic news I am so relieved and happy for you. And you can still sing?! That's great news. Did you just get the glottoplasty or did you do the CTA?

I am at the point where I am freaking out and excited and happy and afraid all at once.

Btw, I wonder what I should wear going into the office... or should I just dress for comfort?

Audree

[Ritana]

I know that earlier voice surgeries sometimes failed but they have improved a good deal over the years and failures are rare. Should the surgery fail, it can be corrected with another surgery. The restriction is that the surgery can't be undone so it would be a good idea to be far enough in your transition that you know your mind.

Thanks Dena,

The thought of living with a deeper voice scare me so much! I know the surgery is irrevesible and that would be wonderful if a positive outcome is achieved! However, cta seems to scare me because of its risks. Do u know the success rate by any chance?

[Dena]

Thanks Dena,

The thought of living with a deeper voice scare me so much! I know the surgery is irrevesible and that would be wonderful if a positive outcome is achieved! However, cta seems to scare me because of its risks. Do u know the success rate by any chance?

So far I only know of one case where the thread used to squeeze the larynx failed but I don't know why it failed. It could have been because a material failure or because it pulled through releasing the squeeze. Several girls here have had CTA and are very happy with the results. I wanted to maintain the range in my voice so my plan was to avoid CTA if I didn't need it. As it turned out, I didn't need it but I was glad I had the option available.

[Lyndsey]

When I went out the first time in September of 2014 He did my voice surgery and the stitches Broke free. So after the normal healing time. I talked to him on the phone and my voice had not changed one bit. So I went back on April 29th 2015 and he did my surgery again and this time he put 2 stitches in place of the one and I did get a little results but still not worth the time or expanse. I have been getting voice lessons eve sense and i have had far better results with that. The surgery dose work to a degree But I have lost both top and bottom range and i now have a very narrow range to work with. Also mi voice is still healing at this time and at times it has been very raspy. Just take the voice lessons you can get a lot more for your dollar there.

[iKate]

When I went out the first time in September of 2014 He did my voice surgery and the stitches Broke free. So after the normal healing time. I talked to him on the phone and my voice had not changed one bit. So I went back on April 29th 2015 and he did my surgery again and this time he put 2 stitches in place of the one and I did get a little results but still not worth the time or expanse. I have been getting voice lessons eve sense and i have had far better results with that. The surgery dose work to a degree But I have lost both top and bottom range and i now have a very narrow range to work with. Also mi voice is still healing at this time and at times it has been very raspy. Just take the voice lessons you can get a lot more for your dollar there.

Everyone is different. Training did nothing for me. Surgery (Dr Kim/Yeson) was a life changer.

For some the surgery may not work and voice training may be better. But that is by no means universal.

[kwala]

Everyone is different. Training did nothing for me. Surgery (Dr Kim/Yeson) was a life changer.

For some the surgery may not work and voice training may be better. But that is by no means universal.

I agree with this.  Sometimes the surgery isn't worth the effort, but even the worst case scenarios seem to be that you end up back where you started.  If my voice doesn't see much change (still way too early for me to tell and still suffering laryngitis) I will for sure be very disappointed in the wasted time and money but at least I won't be negatively impacted in the end. I think each person has to weigh the pros and cons and I think it's a good idea to at least *try* therapy first. Ultimately it's a personal decision and many, many patients of Dr. Kim and Dr. Haben have had life changing results.  We all knew the risks going in, myself included, so just have to follow the instructions and hope for the best.  As I've said before, I really feel for anyone who hasn't gotten their desired result, and who knows- I may be in that boat as well.  If things don't turn out I'll go back to therapy and work with what I have

[Dena]

I had sufficient voice therapy to know my voice wasn't passable without surgery. I also understood my post surgical voice would need the trained voice in order to hit the pitch I need. What I didn't expect was my limited pre surgical voice would have a greatly expanded range after surgery. Pre surgery I could span little more than half an octave and post surgical I can span a bit more than an octave and a half. It might be something about my voice that was special, I don't know but I sure didn't plan on it happening.

[Greeneyes]

I've been following this and as someone that just had surgery with Dr Haben, I'd like to say that the surgery itself is something that definitely has the potential to change everything. The thing is, everyone heals differently and as a result, gets a different result. Sometimes this means an increase in pitch beyond what was ever expected. Other times, it means not much changes. I knew going into this that there was a possibility of getting little to no improvement and possibly losing some vocal clarity if healing doesn't go as expected. These results can't really be linked to the surgery itself. That on its own does nothing. It's the six month healing that creates the webbing and allows for the higher pitch. Aftercare is the most important part. I can say that so far my voice (what little I can get out) sounds perhaps a tiny bit higher, but may even be the exact same as pre-op. I will wait until the six months pass before making my judgement as to wether or not this procedure was a success. It's what I knew i would have to do going in. I hope I get improvement, but if I don't, I will be okay with it. I won't like it, but I won't blame anyone, not even myself. I chose to try it, and I'll never regret that.


~Evelyn