Internal hair found post-op, anyone else with this problem?

[juliekins]

Recently after dilation, I was doing a sitz bath to clean things down there. I'm over 2 years post-op.

I've noticed an occasional 1/4 inch hair come out, but not much more. I thought even it could have come from the outer pubic area.

I was quite shocked to feel clumps of hair inside my vagina after inserting my finger. I felt some hairs 2-3 inches inside, and then a major clump in the deepest part of the vaginal cavity. I was surprised and admittedly concerned. I wrote my surgeon and asked if these were hair or undissolved sutures. He said that they were hairs, and that it would be difficult to remove these hairs, and should only be pursued if I was" very motivated".
He said it was not a medical problem.

This surgeon's protocol did not suggest genital hair removal pre-op. In fact, it stated that it should not be done.
I followed his suggestions, and now I have this issue.

Well, now a week after I got the surgeons tepid response, I again was doing a sitz bath. I had a small clump release and I was able to pull it out. It was about 1 1/2" or so around!

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, did you have genital electro or not? What did you do once you found out about this problem?

I'm not a happy camper. It would have been so much easier to have had the electro pre-op rather than try and fix this issue now post-op.

[Cruelladeville]

Sorry to hear that this is causing you some frustration....

I've never had a major internal hair issue, though I do have one single persistent hair that seems to fight on.....totally bleached now..... but I simply pluck it every 6 weeks or so when its a 1/4inch long.... and I can be ar#sed to find it!

However externally in outta lips (early on) I just found bi-monthly tweezing was good enuff over 18 months or so till the hairs simply got thinner, weaker and then gave up....

But possibly using an estrogen vaginal cream, or pessary might help limit/kill the growth for you?

[rejennyrated]

Yes! It's quite common.

The good news is if you pull the clump out you will find that only a few will regrow and if you pluck them out repeatedly after a while you will end up with maybe just one or two that need, occasionally to be pulled.

It is quite fiddly to do - easiest in the bath when everything is submerged but worth persisting.

Of the original small tuft 26 years on I now have just one irritatingly stubborn little white survivor which only appears every few months.

And no - I didn't do electro - nor indeed did I have those hairs before surgery so I think its may be an odd side effect of the healing process. What makes me think that is that with 99% of the hair, which as I say I never had beforehand, it only grew the once. After I plucked it out it was gone for good. The only one that remains is this solitary little white chap about half an inch in...

[Sandy]

Julie:

I'm sorry to hear that you have this.  But is shouldn't be too much to obsess over.

I did go in for some minor clearing prior to SRS and I asked the Dr about it afterwards.  Part of the procedure is to scrape the follicles from the other side of the skin once the penis and scrotum have been excised.  This usually gets most if not all of any remaining hairs.

Any hairs that remain shouldn't be too much of a problem as others have said, repeated plucking should diminish them over time.

They can be an issue if they become ingrown and infected so that is about the only thing to really watch for.

I've also heard that estrogen cream applied vaginally can help, but you would have to discuss this with the doctor.

-Sandy

[juliekins]

Thanks, everyone, for your answers. To be clear, these are not external hairs. They are all very internal, and would be nearly impossible to go plucking. It would a surgical procedure, I fear, that would involve more incisions and another recovery.

I'm frustrated because I followed Dr. B's protocol, and it let me down.

I will send him a pic of the small clump, and ask what my options are. I'll post his answer when I get it.

[rejennyrated]

Thanks, everyone, for your answers. To be clear, these are not external hairs. They are all very internal, and would be nearly impossible to go plucking. It would a surgical procedure, I fear, that would involve more incisions and another recovery.

I'm frustrated because I followed Dr. B's protocol, and it let me down.

I will send him a pic of the small clump, and ask what my options are. I'll post his answer when I get it.

Julie - Mine were very internal about 5 inches in to be precise!

I assure you plucking them can still be done - but its difficult you need to get them between thumb nail and forefinger nail - and it helps if you have the archetypal female long forefinger!

The way I used to do it involved lying in a bath full of water with one leg hung out over the side - not the most elegant pose - more like a contortion but it does work - The water makes it easier - and if you carry on doing it for a few times they will pretty well all be gone. I promise!

[rejennyrated]

Nope - its just a bit of a contortion act! A rather unladylike pose is required!

It can be done with a bit of patience and thankfully after a few goes they mostly seem to give up!

Oh yeah - and do it LEFT handed - its a LOT easier!

[rejennyrated]

Oh one more thing - probably obvious but just in case... NO TWEEZERS! Use fingers ONLY!

You don't want to tear or puncture!

[lilacwoman]

I'm not a happy camper. It would have been so much easier to have had the electro pre-op rather than try and fix this issue now post-op.

If you read the story of the saddo post-op who testified against Dr Reid a couple of years back she says her b/f left because he found she had a big bush inside her.
The surgeon I was referred to last year said he wasn't bothered about us getting bushes inside us!
The Thai surgeons seem to prefer scraping the flesh but the UK ones say they don't as it leaves the skin unable to bond inside!
So while I was waiting to so the next surgon I was having laser and orchie for my mix of hair but then he says he can't do an inversion and I will have to have a colon one so hair will not be a problem.

Regarding plucking though does the hairy skin's new post-op inside situation make it unable to grow new follicles after each is plucked out unlike when the skin was outside?
And for that matter pubic hair is a puberty marker so most post-op's won't have much testo anyway so that may ensure hair growth is minimal?
Maybe Susan's can do a survey of post-ops?

[rejennyrated]

If you read the story of the saddo post-op who testified against Dr Reid a couple of years back she says her b/f left because he found she had a big bush inside her.

As I am on record already that Dr Reid is a very VERY close personal friend, and Alison knew the person who testified against him, from her days running SHAFT, I would be extremely cautious about attaching too much weight to that particular testimony.

I also know many of the doctors involved pretty well although ironically some of them don't know that I was ever trans because I have met them at medical socials when I went as a threesome with Alison and Russell. (I get about)

Lets just say there were a lot of things going on in that hearing and most of them involved either people digging for gold or old professional rivals seeing the chance to put the knife into the wounded Ceasar and claim his crown. 

Having said all that as I have said, the hair really isn't a huge issue. It's more like a teething problem which once you have sorted it with the appropriate measures generally goes away. I will also reiterate that as I didn't have much hair growing there beforehand I can only conclude that something in the healing process stimulates otherwise dormant follicles to action. For this reason I doubt if genital electrolysis would have done much to prevent it because they simply wouldn't have found and treated any dormant hairs.

[Steph]

That's so unfortunate Juliekins.  I've heard of a few stray hairs developing after surgery but not to the extent you are experiencing.  I'm a Brassard girl and I've had no regrowth whatsoever.  It would seem that he really dropped the ball in your case, either that or you healed differently.  I remember that when I went to see Brassard for a consult prior to a surgery date he asked me where exactly I wanted hair to grow, be left in place, and at that time he assured me that I didn't need to have electrollysis down there, and in my caae it's turned out great.

Steph

[lilacwoman]

I stopped having laser and electrolysis after seeing the second surgeon on July 13 and him saying that cos I've shrunk he will have to use a peice of colon for my new vagina lining. 
Looking closely at my genitals now I see quite a few darkish hairs still growing close to the tip of my penis and quite a few white hairs still growing right up the centre of my scrotum and all these bits would have been inside in the usual surgery.
So the hairs really need to be permanently removed before surgery somehow unless the surgeon scrapes them completely away when he has skinned the bits.

[Suigeniris]

I hqve has about 4 months of electrolysis añd still have new growth I am going back for more .p...lilac may I ask who Is your surgeon ,is It in the us ?  I hear most don't want to perform that proceedure

[Renate]

Note: I was just confused a bit by the above posts.

These are two different people:

Russell Reid, a psychiatrist in London.
Harold Reed, a SRS surgeon in Miami.

[lilacwoman]

I hqve has about 4 months of electrolysis añd still have new growth I am going back for more .p...lilac may I ask who Is your surgeon ,is It in the us ?  I hear most don't want to perform that proceedure

He's Inglefield in London.  The other UK surgeons won't do colon ones either.

Dr Reid is lovely Dr Russell Reid.  Lots of websites mention him.

[Debra]

Scary! I've had a few sessions of laser already and will fit a couple more in before my surgery

[rejennyrated]

Note: I was just confused a bit by the above posts.

These are two different people:

Russell Reid, a psychiatrist in London.
Harold Reed, a SRS surgeon in Miami.

Russell Reid is now a happily retired psychiatrist and enjoying life in rather warmer places than London... as this recent pic shows...  Oh and you may even recognise the old bird on his arm too

[Renee]

I went to Dr. Meltzer, so I had to get electrolysis down there and it was not fun!  I have heard of other girls having regrowth problems with Dr. B, but not to that extent.  I am curious what your options are now.

[Nigella]

Hi, just thought this might be of use,

I was at my laser the other day having some laser on my bikini area after my SRS and I got talking with my laser nurse. The conversation turned towards others who had had their surgery a few years ago (the protocol then was that hair removal was not seen as necessary, now it is). Well she told me of another lady that had hair growth and infections inside her vagina (no names were mentioned) and she said she had to shoot the laser up her vagina to get at the hairs but it was doing the work blind. She didn't say if it worked or not. Just thought it may be useful even if painful.

On a side note, she said I had a pretty vagina and that the surgeon had done a good job. I said I know, lol. So I was over the moon, another woman saying I had a pretty vagina, I was waiting for an invitation to coffee, hehe.

Stardust

[NikkiJ]

I had already begun genital electrolysis prior to my consultation with Dr. Meltzer in April 2010, since I had read in the literature for his and another surgeon's practice of the need for it. When I spoke to him in April, he said that it didn't have to be perfect, that he'd scrape follicles off from the inside, but it really helps to have as much done. So I'm nearly done, just touch up now, and I'm going to do it right up to when I have to stop (3 wks prior to surgery) just to make sure I did all I could.

Heh, I tell my male friends, "Having electrolysis there feels exactly like you think it would!" Thank goodness for lidocaine cream. But sometimes that makes no difference, and I leave her office with raccoon eyes and soaked with perspiration.
Ayyy Yiii Yiii!