Hi anyone still reading this, time for my 6 month check up post. I went to New Hope for my 10AM appointment without much of a voice. They all asked if I had surgery on my voice. No, I was just sick. It was nice to see everyone there. The office staff is so nice and so professional.
Okay, I'll give the straight scoop. Crystal was first in ( the P.A.) asking if I was having a revision that day. I told her I wasn't sure where the visit would go. She did a visual and took a reading on depth. I was off their chart which goes to 6 inches. I had followed her dilation schedule very closely and it paid off I guess. I think my original reading was 4 1/2 to 5. Point is depth can change either way. I did ask if I should change my cleaning style. I had been told to shower every day and use a soapy finger to clean as far as I could. This seems to have worked well but I had this thought that after a while the very inside might start looking like the back crack of a couch. She laughed and dismissed the thought of lost coins being down there. She said I could douche with water if I felt the need. She said most douches contain an acid and that I didn't want to use that. I haven't had trouble with smell or discharge luckily. My vagina has been the easiest part of the whole thing thankfully.
Dr. McGinn came in and did an exam. Now for my problem areas. I have a lot of scar tissue in the vaginal opening and in the lower vulva area. She said she had seen worse but that it wasn't typical. She asked if I had other scar areas. I have had trouble with my body some places creating keloids. She thought this was maybe the cause. I had used hydrocortisone 2 times a day since my first return trip to her office this summer. It did nothing to stop the spread. She said she would inject a steroid, so that meant needles in multiple spots. It was also numbing stuff so it wasn't too bad. The good news was that the scarring wasn't all down in the vagina just the opening. The bad news is there is no guarantee it will work to get rid of other areas.
We then went to the areas of scrotal skin I have described here before. The ones that are so sore along the long scars. It was explained that this was an unfortunate part of my anatomy presurgery, that my scrotal skin was very high up around the penis and it couldn't all be removed. If she tried to remove it now, it would stretch things too wide and the vulva would be stretched open to a big degree. Also, she could only do that in hospital. I didn't like the answer, but I understood it and realize I might have to just live with it. It seems less visually obvious as time goes on. It's still sore.
We then talked about labia and hooding. I don't think I understood my labia very well earlier. She pointed out that my labia minor were there and I then understood. The problem is that my outer labia areas were hollowed out a bit from lack of fat. She said that fillers and fat transfers never seemed to work for more than 6 months before the fat dispersed. So it appears to be another situation caused by my individual anatomy. I guess I could sit here and lament my lack of it being perfect, but I think that is pretty dumb to do. I am so lucky, I can live with some of this anatomy peculiarity I think. My granny porn business will have to suffer I guess.
We then talked hooding. I was given a choice. I asked if it would affect function and she said no. I said I did want it closed up a bit but not real far. I said a half measure was best, thinking about cleaning it and all. I still wanted to find it too. So she stitched it up. It wasn't bad except one particular stitch. I was still sore last night but feel better today. Still bleeding some, so I haven't looked at it yet.
One more anatomy lesson. She said my urethra was dissected and used in the surgery. It was apparently very large. I figure this is more tissue for natural lubrication. She said the down side was that with sexual activity, that area would tend to swell more. She said she could narrow it, but I didn't go for it. Like guys brag about the size of their penis, I guess Icould brag about how big my urethra was. lol
It was decided I would start a testosterone gel for sex drive. Mine is low and I think a little T won't kill me. Some of this stuff is pretty personal and I wrestled with not putting it here. I just know how lost I was with some of these issues and maybe someone else might have a similar question. I go back in June for my year exam. Hoping the scar tissue is better. It makes everything feel a bit tight, almost like it is a foreign object on my body sometimes.
A word on my experience for this visit. I found everyone very nice, very professional. There was some joking going around. It occurred to me that I went in there asking questions. Explain things to me, "I don't understand," kind of attitude. I guess I could have gone in there with a lot of emotion like, "This is a problem fix it." I don't think that would have been productive. Some things are beyond the control of the surgeon. It was a distinctly different experience from my facial surgeon. My McGinn experience isn't complete yet, but at this point I am very pleased.
Moni
