SRS result: Closed up

[umop ap!sdn]

So I'm a little more than 5 months post-op and I've almost completely lost my width. I did my best with the dilation and kept a steady routine - even coming home from work during lunch break and ending up being consistently late getting back. I started to have difficulty so I emailed the clinic and they told me to step down to a smaller dilator. That's when things all started going downhill; it didn't get any easier and the day came about a month ago when I could no longer insert the smallest dilator.

At this point in time I can't put my finger in there. Somehow I am able to douche but it's not easy. I've been trying to force it wider but when I do that I'm in intense pain the rest of the day. This can't be right, to be hurting real bad after 5 months? I don't know what to do. They told me do it a little bit, often, but how can I do that I have to look for work on top of all of this. I've got to get back into dilation again somehow.

They said my surgeon can reopen the part that's all constricted but I don't know how long it'll be until I can afford another plane ticket to Thailand.

Anyone else had experience with losing width? Were you able to fix it by dilating, and how difficult was it?

[Steph]

Who was your surgeon, and what procedure did he use?

Steph

[umop ap!sdn]

Suporn.

[Steph]

Have you thought of contacting a GRS surgeon in the US, I believe that is where you live, in Canada I know that Brassard does redo's.  It may be cheaper than flying back to Thailand.  Did Suporn offer any reason this happened.

Steph

[umop ap!sdn]

Said I didn't put enough "quality" into my sessions.... whether that means I didn't apply enough pressure or what is beyond me.

I emailed Dr Meltzer's clinic & they said they'd have to do a consultation. When all's I wanted to do was find out which would cost less. It's $1100 for a flight & the fix-up is free I'm thinking that amount wouldn't go very far over here.

[Steph]

I checked out the Suporn web site and there is not much detail on his recommended dilation routine or the number of dilators that are used.  I compared his routine with that of Brassard and there is quite a difference.  you can see Brassards dilation routine here:

http://srsmontreal.com/

There seems to be a significant difference.  You may want to try Brassards dilation routine and see if that helps.

Steph

[Sarah B]

Hi Dàwkbua

Sorry to hear that you seem to be having problems with your width.  I would also suggest that you have a consultation with a local GRS specialist that is well known and who is also near you.  Obviously to save yourself money in the first instance, so that you can ascertain what the problem is.  Then and only then will you be able to decide what you need to do.

Said I didn't put enough "quality" into my sessions.... whether that means I didn't apply enough pressure or what is beyond me.

To me this does not sound right, it sounds like a case of put the blame on the patient and not the doctor.  Although this could be one of the reasons.  However, one will not be able to find out until one consults a GRS specialist and you need to tell the surgeon about your dilation schedule and what Dr Suporn has said.

Take care, my thoughts are with you and let us know what happens in regards to to your problem.

Kind regards
Sarah B

[umop ap!sdn]

There seems to be a significant difference.  You may want to try Brassards dilation routine and see if that helps.

Wow they certainly are different. Suporn instructs his patients to use a stirring motion in order to stretch out the vaginal opening. That's where the constriction has taken place; it's scar tissue. Brassard's instructions appear to only be for maintaining depth. I know that Suporn detaches some skin and sews it back on during the procedure so that would explain the scarring.

To me this does not sound right, it sounds like a case of put the blame on the patient and not the doctor.  Although this could be one of the reasons.  However, one will not be able to find out until one consults a GRS specialist and you need to tell the surgeon about your dilation schedule and what Dr Suporn has said.

I think it's my body that's to blame. Maybe I just scar more easily than I should.

Take care, my thoughts are with you and let us know what happens in regards to to your problem.

Thank you.

In any case it's a real problem that I physically cannot get any of the dilators in (there are 3 sizes). I'm slowly losing depth as time goes on with this problem unresolved.

[Nero]

I'm really sorry to hear about this hon. If you can't get your finger in, there's definitely a problem. If you've been dilating, I can't see how it's your fault. This really sucks.  I hope you can get help.

[lilacwoman]

are you sure you don't have infections inside? to have such pain and swelling aftre surgery suggests infection.
In last two and half years I've had 7 deep incisions and all healed clean and quick with no pain apart from one that despite carefull pre-op cleaning got infceted with MRSA.   It was red and swollen for two weeks before that antibiotics took care of it.
Maybe a simple trip to a doctor or women's health clinic might be in order?

[Julie Marie]

Brassard told me directly and I've heard this elsewhere that lost depth can only be fixed surgically but lost diameter can be remedied with regular dilation.  But your situation seems the latter may not be true.

Right after surgery, Brassard recommends four dilations a day. A friend told me McGinn is now recommending six times a day. Both are tough to do if you're working. How long after surgery did you return to work? How many dialtions per day were you doing then? How long was it between dilations once you returned back to work?  Those answers could help understand if it was dilation problems or something else.

[umop ap!sdn]

I'm really sorry to hear about this hon. If you can't get your finger in, there's definitely a problem. If you've been dilating, I can't see how it's your fault. This really sucks.  I hope you can get help.

Thank you.

[umop ap!sdn]

are you sure you don't have infections inside? to have such pain and swelling aftre surgery suggests infection.

I do, actually, and I went to the emergency clinic. And oh do I ever have a story about that - incompetent doc misdiagnosed it then when the test results came back & showed I need an antibiotic he fails to forward my prescription that I don't know if I can afford to get filled anyway, so now 2 weeks out I am still untreated.... but that's only been going on since I closed up.

I still remember Dr Suporn telling me even if I have an infection to keep dilating anyway.

[umop ap!sdn]

How long after surgery did you return to work? How many dialtions per day were you doing then? How long was it between dilations once you returned back to work?  Those answers could help understand if it was dilation problems or something else.

I returned the day before the earliest that I was supposed to, which is 6 weeks post-op. I did 3 sessions per day, anywheres from 6-12 hours apart.

[Kristyn]

I returned the day before the earliest that I was supposed to, which is 6 weeks post-op. I did 3 sessions per day, anywheres from 6-12 hours apart.

Firstly, let me say that I'm deeply sympathetic to your situation and I hope that you  can rectify this situation soon.  Secondly, this topic is extremely interesting as I've never heard of this happening before.  How far post op were you when you noticed this change occurring?

[FairyGirl]

I had my surgery just 2 months ago with Dr. McGinn; her dilation schedule calls for 5 times per day  for the first 8 weeks, dropping to 3 times per day until 6 months, then one time per day from 6 months to a year.  After that it's once a week.  Five times a day is rough!  Spread out over 12 1/2 hours with 30 minutes per session that's only 2 1/2 hours between sessions, not counting prep and cleanup time.

I'm sorry you're having such a time with it dear.  It's my understanding that the depth and width sort of happen together with the different sized dilators- the largest is 1.5" in diameter and at 8 weeks I'm barely able to squeeze it in there.  I also have a skin graft where scrotal skin is attached to the inverted penile skin inside my vagina.  That part where the graft attaches is like a ring and is very tight, and usually takes me 6-8 minutes to work the dilator all the way through.

Dr. McGinn showed me what it looks like inside using a speculum.  To someone untrained at dealing with post-op women she said it might appear as though there is an infection in there, but it isn't.  She said there is going to be white stuff that might look like infection to someone who didn't know what it was, but what it is actually is the skin on the graft sloughing off and becoming inside skin.  This will also come out and might look like an infection.  Did they do a culture test to see if it was actually an infection or just a visual inspection?

I hope you can get this fixed soon. I'd be trying everything I could to get something clean and sterile to go in there and keep it open in the meantime. Maybe just sit and try using you finger and push as hard as you can stand it with lots of lube until you can at least get it open again. If not, it sounds like $1100 for a plane ticket is going to be your best option. Best of luck sweetie, my thoughts are with you.

[Arch]

I'm sorry. Wish I could give you mine...

[lilacwoman]

I do, actually, and I went to the emergency clinic. And oh do I ever have a story about that - incompetent doc misdiagnosed it then when the test results came back & showed I need an antibiotic he fails to forward my prescription that I don't know if I can afford to get filled anyway, so now 2 weeks out I am still untreated.... but that's only been going on since I closed up.

I still remember Dr Suporn telling me even if I have an infection to keep dilating anyway.

that infection needs killing before it kills you.  I'm not joking.  If you are now so tight that you can't get anything inside then there are real possibilities of very nasty things going to happen.  If it's been festering merrily for a few weeks you qualify for A&E care.
whe I ha dmy ankle op with 3 incisions I had to bathe my foot in hot disinfected water and then wrap it sterile and even then I got MRSA in two cuts.  SRS must be more liable to infections just by the amount of cutting that is needed and the depth giving plenty of places for bugs to breed.
So beg borrow or steal the money to ge the antibiotics...or go to A&E if that is possible (sorry but I live in UK and we have totally free NHS - funded with $7.50 gas and diesel and $200 television licences).
what about squirting some Dettol  or other wound cleaner in with a thin tube and squeezy bottle?  Turkey basters come to mind.

[Kristyn]

that infection needs killing before it kills you.  I'm not joking.  If you are now so tight that you can't get anything inside then there are real possibilities of very nasty things going to happen.  If it's been festering merrily for a few weeks you qualify for A&E care.
whe I ha dmy ankle op with 3 incisions I had to bathe my foot in hot disinfected water and then wrap it sterile and even then I got MRSA in two cuts.  SRS must be more liable to infections just by the amount of cutting that is needed and the depth giving plenty of places for bugs to breed.
So beg borrow or steal the money to ge the antibiotics...or go to A&E if that is possible (sorry but I live in UK and we have totally free NHS - funded with $7.50 gas and diesel and $200 television licences).
what about squirting some Dettol  or other wound cleaner in with a thin tube and squeezy bottle?  Turkey basters come to mind.

I remember having dental surgery--twice. They did sections individually.  On my second go, my periodontist did not give me an anti bacterial oral rinse.  Needless to say I developed an infection.  I never knew it was infected as I thought that the swelling this time around was just particularly bad.  Over a period of time it was becoming increasingly difficult to open my jaw.  I woke up on a Saturday morning and I couldn't even yawn the swelling was so bad.  I immediately called my perio, who was unfortunately away, but his wife quickly contacted another periodontist who looked after me.  I booked a follow-up with my periodontist a while later and he explained to me how lucky I was to have had it taken care when I did.  The thing is I didn't feel ill or in pain.  Perhaps this is what may be causing your swelling.

[Nigella]

Hiya, Sorry to hear about your problem, I had problems the first week and eventually It was painful to dilate and get the things in. My specialist nurse suggested a ortho vaginal applicator. It is like a syringe and at first it is filled with lube and then placed in the vagina then you press the lube inside the vagina. This lubricates the inside much further in. I had begun to get a little tight on the outside which was rubbing the lube off while trying to insert. The applicators are only plastic and cost a few dollars/pounds from a pharmacy. I have had no problems since dilating that way. I was so thankful to the hospital when I phones panicking and fretting all at the same time. It may work for you.

Also as I believe you still need to get rid of the infection but continue to dilate.

Stardust