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Transgender "Specialists" vs Standard Plastic Surgeons

Started by TotheHorizon, December 06, 2015, 11:59:16 AM

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TotheHorizon

I have insurance that covers gender confirming surgery and I have a surgical consult with a surgeon on Wednesday about getting ftm top surgery.

I met with Dr Rumer about a year or so ago and did not like the surgical consult at all. I'm a guy with some existing health problems, some of which may complicate the surgery and healing. (I have a neuromuscular disorder that will NOT be dampened by anesthesia.) When I requested that she consult with my neurologist before we agreed on a date, she refused. Additionally, she wanted to set a surgical date when she only gave me a cursory exam, while I remained clothed.

Nope. I have enough experience with surgery - and an experience of going septic after a surgery - that I want the whole nine yards, done right, before I allow someone to put a scalpel to my skin. I've called other so-called surgeons who "specialize" in ftm top surgery and apparently Rumer's behavior is typical.

So I'm meeting with a plastic surgeon at a major research/university hospital who has done ftm top surgeries before. Her practice does take insurance, rather than have me pay upfront and then compensate on the back end, and I can probably handle payments the way I have with other surgeries I've had at major hospitals - just set up a payment plan with billing.

But I've never encountered anyone - ftm or mtf - who's just had surgery done at a regular hospital rather than these so-called specialists. (I say so called because there doesn't seem to be hands on aftercare, normal consults, etc that come with having, say, a specialist orthopedic surgeon do a standard hip replacement.) Off the bat, I'm happy that I've already been informed that I will be having a full exam (warned that I will not be clothed) and photography and measurements of the body will be taken. This is far more in line with what I've experienced even in emergency surgery  at hospitals.

I just wonder if anyone else has experiences to share? Or opinions on why the folks who specialize in surgeries for our community don't always follow the same practices as some/many other surgeons?

All I did was find the number for the office of plastic surgery with the hospital (my gp and specialist are also with this hospital system), call them, and ask for someone who can handle an ftm double mastectomy. The first woman I spoke to was super rude, but the second woman I spoke to connected me to an assistant of a surgeon who's done that before and got me a next week appointment and told me what to be prepped for.
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Dena

I am MTF and my surgery was a long time ago but my nose and neck surgery were done be a reconstructive plastic surgeon because we didn't have special surgeons. My GCS was done by Dr. Biber who was a general surgeon at the hospital with a side line in GCS. I received a full naked checkout so he knew exactly what he was getting to. I didn't need a physical because I had a current one but they did blood draws for their own needs.

I would think the surgeon is not important as long as you understand the procedure and what to expect for the final appearance. If you are comfortable with the scar placement and the amount of mass that will be left behind, the surgery should be equivalent to what you would get from another doctor.
Rebirth Date 1982 - PMs are welcome - Use [email]dena@susans.org[/email] or Discord if your unable to PM - Skype is available - My Transition
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suzifrommd

I actually was pleased that Dr. Rumer didn't insist upon examining me before setting a date. She required a physical exam 6 weeks before the surgery (conducted by my regular doctor) to ensure I was healthy enough for surgery. I don't feel like she cut corners at all, and I'm generally happy with the outcome.
Have you read my short story The Eve of Triumph?
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TotheHorizon

Do you mind if I ask why you're happy Rumer didn't give you a physical exam?

I've been involved in the disability community much longer than the transgender community, so I might be coming here with biases, but I would never go into surgery, unless it's a life threatening emergency, when the doctor did not know what my body looked like. The idea is anathema to me - how can the surgeon plan ahead and make sure I heal well/plan for bodily idiosyncrasies if she's never seen me ? The presurgicial exam is as much for planning the surgery as for verifying that I'm healthy (or not healthy as the case may be).
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suzifrommd

Quote from: TotheHorizon on December 06, 2015, 06:15:52 PM
Do you mind if I ask why you're happy Rumer didn't give you a physical exam?

I've been involved in the disability community much longer than the transgender community, so I might be coming here with biases, but I would never go into surgery, unless it's a life threatening emergency, when the doctor did not know what my body looked like. The idea is anathema to me - how can the surgeon plan ahead and make sure I heal well/plan for bodily idiosyncrasies if she's never seen me ? The presurgicial exam is as much for planning the surgery as for verifying that I'm healthy (or not healthy as the case may be).

Well, she did give me an exam, but it was the day before the surgery. I said she didn't require an exam before she would give me a date. She looked me over quite thoroughly ahead of time and then offered me her prognosis (she didn't see any problems).

But I was glad I didn't have to travel more than a hundred miles without knowing whether the surgery would even be able to happen. I am a school teacher and needed the surgery at the very beginning of the summer. If she had not been willing to book that date, I wouldn't have been able to have surgery with her.

Does that answer what you wanted to know?
Have you read my short story The Eve of Triumph?
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FTMax

I have heard of a few guys having top surgery done by regular plastic surgeons. I had a consult with one (private practice, not at a regular hospital), and while I didn't foresee any issues with him I felt that there were better options available to me. I didn't want to travel terribly far from home to have mine done, and both Dr. Fischer and Dr. McGinn were nearby. I couldn't justify seeing someone with no extensive FTM experience when I had 2 great options in such close proximity.

In general, surgeons are free to consult however they like. I've heard of some only doing them over the phone, some want you to send pics before hand, some only do them in office, etc. For mine, I had to take my shirt off and let her take pictures and do some measuring. I would say that is pretty par for the course at some point in the process, but it doesn't shock me that some surgeons would wait until the day of to tackle it. Disrobing is typically not something that most of us enjoy doing, so I can understand wanting to hold off. All of them see you the day before or the day of before you get put under, so IMO it makes no difference whether they do their measuring and pics then or in advance.

My only advice for your upcoming consult would be to make sure you ask for a portfolio of work while you're there. I understand that this would be a very convenient option for you, but surgery is something that you want to get done right the first time. If they can't show you a lot of good quality, FTM-specific work, I would walk away from it. See this thread as well:

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,194660.0.html

This is only my advice for top surgery. I would not consider going to a non-specialist for FTM bottom surgery under any circumstances. Hysterectomy by itself, sure. But nothing beyond that.
T: 12/5/2014 | Top: 4/21/2015 | Hysto: 2/6/2016 | Meta: 3/21/2017

I don't come here anymore, so if you need to get in touch send an email: maxdoeswork AT protonmail.com
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Rina

I think most good plastic or urological surgeons would be able to perform cookie cutter variants of SRS in both directions, if they fully understand the procedure, even if they rarely do so. Yes, they're complicated, but they're not that complicated.

That said, the more a surgeon does a procedure, the better they get, and the fewer complications they experience (percentage-wise, obviously). As a heart surgeon I know says, even though some surgeons don't want to admit it, this is a law without exception. Of course, a surgeon could be so incredibly skilled that they'd get better results even if they do a procedure rarely, compared to an unskilled surgeon who does the same procedure daily, but the incredibly skilled surgeon would be even more skilled if they did the specific procedure more often, and the clumsy surgeon would be even less skilled if they did fewer. So in my case, while I might be able to get SRS done in my own country in a few years, they use regular plastic surgeons who don't specialize in trans surgery, and often only do around five MtF procedures a year, so I've chosen to get it done overseas since I'd rather pay myself and know that I got "the best" rather than end up with a suboptimal result because the surgeon spends most of their year doing other stuff.

Of course, this might be wasted money, since my result "at home" could've been just as good. Or I might be one of the very few unlucky who get a suboptimal result where I'm going. But either way, I'll know the money was in reality well spent - I pay to get a statistically higher chance of a good result, even though the particular outcome could be different. And of course it'll never be possible to compare the two results, since I can obviously only go through SRS once.
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