VFS after Loss of pitch following trachea shave

[Ritana]

Dear ladies

I find myself lost between Dr.Kim and Dr Haben.

A few years ago I lost pitch following a trachea shave with Dr. Bart. My rested voice is still gender neutral. I strain to
pass on the phone. However, I cannot shout or scream without it sounding male. I can no longer hit that high note anymore.


I like yeson because their method is less invasive and incision  free with no risk of losing one's voice. However,  for people like me who lost pitch through trachea shave,  Dr kim shortens the vocal cords a little bit extra, which still may not enable the revovery of higher notes.

Dr Haben on the other hand offers cta to fix the loss of pitch. However ,  his method seems a little more invasive and possibly riskier.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who's had vfs after having lost pitch following trachea shave.

Please do share your experiences, ladies. Special thanks to Anjaq, Dena and another lady (who sadly I can't remember her name for their very helpful replies so far.

Ritana

[jollyjoy]

Yeson actually doesn't recommend a tracheal shave before or after their surgery, which is why they've stopped doing tracheal shaves during their procedure. You should ask them how your previous tracheal shave could affect the final results.

[Ritana]

They said my voice is not deep-even after some loss off pitch from trachea shave-  and that I should have satisfactory results from.surgery. I just wanted to hear from girls in a similar situation who've had vfs with Yeson.

[PattyPat]

Hello,
It has been three weeks since my trachea shave (second one) with Dr Bart and I cannot speak as before ..! I have to whisper or the voice is really deep and manly otherwise. I had such a nice voice beforehand. Do you think it is still swollen and only temporarily..? But it's been over 3 weeks now. I am getting depressed 

[Dena]

Welcome to Susan's Place PattPat. Properly done a trachea shave shouldn't affect the voice but it might still leave a bump behind. My surgeon warned me in advance that he couldn't remove all of the bump without damaging the voice. What was left was small and hasn't affected my ability to pass as some CIS woman have small adams apples.

I am unsure why you had the procedure twice as one surgery should have done all that could be done.I would suspect you doctor might have remove to much material if you are having a problem and it would be wise to have it checked out if you can. If there is a problem, I know that Dr Haben can repair that type of damage with the CTA procedure.

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[Ritana]

It was Dr Bart who screwed up my trachea shave. I could no longer hit that high note. I also lost the ability to reach falsetto.

[PattyPat]

But how is that possible after all CT scans were done to detect the material to be removed? I am really sad and considering VFS unless it will settle. One lady mentioned she recovered her full range after 6 months post tracheal shave  but with different surgeon 

[Lara1969]

I also know a girl who lost pitch after tracheal shave but with another surgeon. I had mine done with Dr. Haben, I had the triple there.

In the end it is a matter of trust if both are willing to make the surgery. I think both are very good surgeons. I choosed Haben mainly because he is doing the triple and my voice was very low (110Hz). I am now at 200Hz base speaking frequency. And another readon was I only had my voice to rest for two weeks. In my job and with two smal childs it was not possible to rest my voice for one month.

[Ritana]

The problem with the triple is that it leaves a scar on the neck, which is a dead give away for being trans. I know you can help conceal it with make up, but it will always be there and will get uncovered in case you swim or sweat after exercise. That's why i went with yeson. A scar-free vfs!!!

[Dena]

The problem with the triple is that it leaves a scar on the neck, which is a dead give away for being trans. I know you can help conceal it with make up, but it will always be there and will get uncovered in case you swim or sweat after exercise. That's why i went with yeson. A scar-free vfs!!!

Pat already had the scar and there isn't a way of fixing a damaged larynx from the inside. As for the scar it's self, mine has never given me away. Most people don't know enough to look for it and there are far easer things to spot that will give you away that can't be changed. I didn't have the triple because I wouldn't have gained enough from it and I didn't want the loss of flexibility that the triple cost. Normally I don't take sides on which surgeon to use but Yeson doesn't like trachea shaves for this reason and might not even do the surgery in this case. CTA is the only option I know of to correct this problem.

[Paula1]

Hi Dena,

Your knowledge is awesome and I bow to you ... 

This thread really interests me.

I had a tracheal shave in 1989 here in London (via the neck incision which is not noticeable) with one of the UK's top ENT surgeons ( since retired I gather ) and my voice was never affected because he was good. He said that at my age (back then I was 44 ) there was a degree of calcification in the AA, so the procedure was difficult.

Anyway I am having a facelift/neck lift in 2 years time with Facial Team and the AA might need an extra shave because the conservative shave might become more noticeable.

This is a foto of me post FFS with Facial Team 4 weeks ago

and


BUT I will be seeing the ENT surgeon Mr Sandhu at London's Charing Cross Hospital in due course and no doubt will advise me if this a good idea or not to have a secondary tracheal shave. Their vocal coach/speech therapist says I have a hoarse voice now although my phone voice if I am not too tired is great. Pitching it up down the years has tired my voice though.

So I need to decide which VFS procedure is best for me?

The way I see it is this. If it's safe to do a second tracheal shave, then I need to go to the right VFS surgeon who will perform a second shave and VFS. I also would like to be able to go back to singing again but at a higher pitch ( not essential but would be nice ). I have a huge range still but too low to sing with girl groups.

This will save Facial Team having to bother with a shave during the face/necklift procedure.

I am hoping to consult with Dr Kim (Yeson) soon at the WPATH conference in Amsterdam next month and, of course, Prof Remacle is close by in Belgium.

So lots to research still.

Who said transition was easy .... LOL .... 

Pat already had the scar and there isn't a way of fixing a damaged larynx from the inside. As for the scar it's self, mine has never given me away. Most people don't know enough to look for it and there are far easer things to spot that will give you away that can't be changed. I didn't have the triple because I wouldn't have gained enough from it and I didn't want the loss of flexibility that the triple cost. Normally I don't take sides on which surgeon to use but Yeson doesn't like trachea shaves for this reason and might not even do the surgery in this case. CTA is the only option I know of to correct this problem.

[Ritana]

If you want a tracheal shave and vfs at the same time then you will probably need another surgeon other than Dr. Kim as he stopped doing both procedures at the same time.

[Paula1]

Hiya,

Thanks for the reply ... 

Of course when I have had my X-Rays done in London, they might say that no more can be removed from the AA, in which case I still have a choice of VFS surgeons.

Hugs

Paula

If you want a tracheal shave and vfs at the same time then you will probably need another surgeon other than Dr. Kim as he stopped doing both procedures at the same time.

[PattyPat]

Hello,
Just to update after 6 months post-op:
Voice is altered, I sound like I have hoarseness and cannot reach high note.
I really did not know who to choose and I couldn't bear the adam's apple anymore. Maybe facial team would have been more careful.. I am sad.

[Virginia Hall]

Hello,
Just to update after 6 months post-op:
Voice is altered, I sound like I have hoarseness and cannot reach high note.
I really did not know who to choose and I couldn't bear the adam's apple anymore. Maybe facial team would have been more careful.. I am sad.

I had problems after trach, but it came back after a time. Give your body a chance to heal.

[wilechile]

Omg I also lost pitch as well as power and the ability to belt after a tracheal shave.

I recently had glottoplasty with Dr. Haben so hopefully this'll help restore some of what I lost!