Dr. B-L moved from University of Maryland's health system to NYU's. I had a consultation with her yesterday. She was always my number one choice and after meeting with her that has been solidified. She's really nice and approachable. And extremely knowledgeable on phalloplasty. I had a list of questions and after starting with the first she'd just about answered them all by the end.
She has a team that includes Dr. Levine and Dr. Zhao, urologist and microsurgeon respectively. I was able to chat with Levine to and he's equally awesome. I am going back in February for a meeting with Zhao and to have some CAT scans on my donor site.
Dr. B-L went over RFF, ALT, and MLD. She does not recommend MLD and prefers to not use that site. Upon finding out that I had DI top surgery she mentioned that MLD can cause a drooping of the pec tissue on that side. She also says the nerve pulled from that area is the least tactile. Because I want a larger phallus and my forearms are on the thin side I have settled on ALT and I am 100% happy with that.
I am looking at 4 stages. Dr. B-L does a full meta for the first stage with a UL. So vaginectomy included. It is full closure of the vagina and removal of the mucosa. Stage 2 would be the formation of the phallus and the new urethra plus glansplasty and scrotoplasty. Stage 3 would be the nerve hookup and Stage 4 would be testicular implants and erection device. I will be discussing erection options next time.
She likes to do it this way because in her experience it reduces the risk of complications. She did say phallo has a 40% rate which is awfully high for surgical procedures in general. However, 20% of that 40% repairs itself. At minimum I have to wait 90 days between stages. Dr. Levine uses a state of the art robot to do the vaginectomy, also. I will have the hair on the outside of my left thigh removed via electrolysis or laser before stage two.
After stage one I have to stay in the NYC area for a week upon leaving the hospital. The hospital stay for each stage is 5-6 days, 3-4 days, 3 days, and 2 days respectively. It is out of network but her coordinator, Jesse, is submitting paperwork to get me in network. Jesse is on top of her stuff too. Very good at her job. I cannot schedule a surgery date until I get my final letter to them as required by insurance. When I go back next month I will discuss openings.
Dr. B-L has a short vid of an interview she did about GRS from where she was in Maryland. It's a good depiction of her personality. I did a write up of my visit with Dr. Rumer here the other day. After meeting with Drs. B-L and Levine though, it is clear to me that they are by far the better option. They also have a track record and a really good reputation. I will be able to use my preferred donor site and get all of the major things I want: stand to pee, good size phallus, sexual function and penetration.
Any questions just ask!
