Two days ago, I had an orchiectomy performed by Dr Arnkoff. I was nervous in the month leading up to it because I'd never had surgery before, but I felt quite calm the morning of the procedure. I was told to be there by 6:45AM. When I arrived he was parked out front and we went in. He asked me some medical history questions, I signed the informed consent document, and he collected payment.
Once his assistant arrived I was brought back to the operating room and told I could keep my shirt and socks on but everything else had to come off. I decided to take my cardigan off because I was wearing a spandex cami. I would recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt because I got chilly and started shivering late in the procedure. After undressing I lied down on the table. The assistant came back and spread a brownish sanitation gel on my groin, thighs, and abdomen. The doctor came in, and asked me what kind of music I enjoy. Desiring something mellow, I requested folk. He then shot me up with a local anesthetic and told me he would be back in 15. I almost fell asleep on the table waiting. He came back and got to work.
I thought he was cutting into me and I started silently giggling. I was like, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Then I became a little nervous. My chin started quivering and I began to silently cry. Then he said he shot me up with a different anesthetic that would last longer so I could make a run to get my prescriptions and get back to the hotel before it wore off. I told him I thought I was going to faint. His assistant grabbed a packet of smelling salts and told me to crack it and inhale deeply.
I was back, but the calm had completely vanished as adrenaline flooded my system while he began to make the incisions. What the f--- am I doing?! I've never wanted kids, but there's no going back! I felt like I was slowly marching toward the edge of a cliff, and soon I would step off. I agreed to do it and there was no going back once it was done. Real tears started falling and I placed my arm over my eyes to block out the light. The experience was absolutely surreal! After a few minutes he told me the right testicle had been removed and that he was going to walk around and begin removing the left.
The adrenaline rush faded and calm set in again. I felt at peace while I waited patiently for him to finish. Once he said the left one was out I told him that the second one was way easier to deal with than the first. "Everyone says that," the doctor and assistant said in unison, which made me laugh. They stitched me back up and cleaned me off. The assistant put an adult diaper on me to prevent any blood oozing out and leaving stains on my things. She gave me a bunch of supplies and directed me on how to care for myself during the healing process.
As I walked out I began to get faint again. I was brought to a table to lie down again the doctor brought me a soda and the assistant gave me an extra bagel she had picked up on the way in that morning. They were so nice.
Post-surgery:
The pain sucks. Every time I stand up for the first time in a while I groan and whince. There's a lot of bruising. My scrotum has swollen to cartoonishly large proportions, about the size of an orange. When I walk, I feel like I have to hobble around it. The right side of my penis is also cartoonishly swollen, and when I walked to the shower while naked this morning, the tip jiggled around exaggeratedly, much like a bobble-head. I was told I could message the doctor pictures if I was concerned, which I've done yesterday and today. Both times he told me things look normal for this stage of recovery. The pain pills made me super constipated, even though I was taking stool softeners, so this morning I bought some enema kits and used one. It helped relieve some of the bloating. I've been regularly icing on and off every day. I was told it would be about 3 weeks before I can return to normal life, but it may take a couple of months for the swelling to completely subside.
When I told another trans girl I know all of the post-surgery stuff she asked if I felt it was worth it. I said, "Probably, but check back in a month."
