Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hi,

I had GRS with Bowers about 10mons ago..

What I had to begin with was really, really small.  When she examined me she said "Oh my..  This could be a problem."
And she was right.  They gave me the smallest set of dilators and didn't give me the largest one of the set.  So I got the three smallest of the smallest set..  :(

I only have an inch, maybe two of depth and it's horribly tight, it hurts like hell to dilate using the smallest one.  I can not use the other larger ones.  I doubt it will ever even be possible.

The dilator I use is about the size of a quarter and it's really painful.

I don't believe I will ever be able to have sex with a guy because of this.  Anal, is not happening.
I'm afraid that my only chance at having sex now is for me to go lesbian.  And that would not be my first choice.

I'm also not too happy with the appearance.  I took a good look at it with a mirror and some bright lights and it's just plain old UGLY...
It doesn't look right to me.  I have no labia and my clit is buried deep inside.  My clit does work and I can get off by rubbing it but it just doesn't look normal or right.
So I'm wondering, can any of this be fixed?  I'm not too happy with things but I don't lay the blame on the doctor, I knew before I ever got on the waiting list that there wouldn't be much there for her to work with..

Thanks!  :)

Namaste....

by the sounds of it you got the short end of the stick by not getting a secondary skin graft during initial surgery...

which means colon segment graft as the usual way of revision (*could use oral mucosa graft but none of the known srs surgeons do it)

best bet would probably be Peter Walker in new zealand

Quote from: Flan on December 12, 2011, 01:48:23 AM
by the sounds of it you got the short end of the stick by not getting a secondary skin graft during initial surgery...

which means colon segment graft as the usual way of revision (*could use oral mucosa graft but none of the known srs surgeons do it)

best bet would probably be Peter Walker in new zealand

OMG.....  I'm in the US, there is no way I can travel to NZ..  Might as well be Mars..  :(


Oh. And she did say that she MIGHT do a graft with dead people skin but she would make the determination during surgery.  I expressed my disgust with that option and she said she wouldn't do it unless she had to.
I do not trust flesh from a dead body being sewn into me but I told her that I would reluctantly go along with it if it were absolutely necessary.
After surgery she told me she didn't need to do it and that she thought I would have enough depth.
But the tightness, I don't know why that has to be.  It's BAD..

there's probably a surgeon in the US who can revise it but it'll cost ya (a lot), neal wilson in detroit comes to mind as somebody who can hack it

if she thought she ahd given you enough depth then take her word for it and accept your problem being due to pain barrier being very low.
I had 7 inches immediately bandages were removed but a month later I was so sore I had to stop dilating for a couple of weeks which made it worse so eventually surgeon said lay down, take a deep breath, and he just shoved the medium dilator in to full depth.
I yelled loud enough to alert the entire clinic.  :D

Once home I made sure to take aspirins half hour before dilating as I find they work superbly with me and managed to keep the depth and size.

Quote from: Sandy2012 on December 12, 2011, 01:42:40 AMI'm also not too happy with the appearance.  I took a good look at it with a mirror and some bright lights and it's just plain old UGLY...
It doesn't look right to me.  I have no labia and my clit is buried deep inside.

Isn't labiaplasty usually done separately from vaginoplasty?

Quote from: Rain Dog on December 12, 2011, 04:21:12 AM
Isn't labiaplasty usually done separately from vaginoplasty?

for bowers yeah, supposedly it's (vaginoplasty) "good enough for most" but she offers it as a separate procedure (as do a lot of surgeons who otherwise do one step techs).

(unless i'm confusing her for what another surgeon has said)

Quote from: lilacwoman on December 12, 2011, 03:43:10 AM
if she thought she ahd given you enough depth then take her word for it and accept your problem being due to pain barrier being very low.
I had 7 inches immediately bandages were removed but a month later I was so sore I had to stop dilating for a couple of weeks which made it worse so eventually surgeon said lay down, take a deep breath, and he just shoved the medium dilator in to full depth.
I yelled loud enough to alert the entire clinic.  :D

Once home I made sure to take aspirins half hour before dilating as I find they work superbly with me and managed to keep the depth and size.

I met Dr. Bowers and many of my girlfriends have been to her.  I chose Dr. McGinn, because she seemed a little tougher on her patients and is more demanding in what she requires you to do. 

      She requires dilation 5 times a day (yes, that's a 5) for quite a while initially.  There's no time left for anything else.  She said that the first 30 days or so wouldn't be too painful, but after that, it will become very uncomfortable.

       That was an understatement.  I remember crying like a little girl over the initial pain of insertion of the dilating tools.  To say it hurt like crazy would not do it justice, it was worse than that.

       I've heard and seen of many patients who refused to do it and either left early or simply avoided dilating.   I knew I had one shot at this and had dedicated myself to do every last thing that the Dr. told me to do, knowing she was my friend and coach.  I only got the smallest 2 dilators from Soul Source, the OP probably got the same ones:

       http://soulsourceenterprises.com/html/products_grs.html (http://soulsourceenterprises.com/html/products_grs.html)

       I started with the smallest one (#1 purple) and the Dr. told me to go to #2 before I went home.  After I was home a short time, she told me to try #3.  Each time I went larger, it was more painful for a while, then I got used to it.  I'm on #3 (green) regularly now and am about where the OP is timewise.

       Just in the last few months has the pain mostly subsided and I've missed very few dilating sessions. 

       I've known a number of other post-ops with some similar problems and the answer is just what you said:  overcome the pain and dilate more often.   Yes, it hurts, it hurt me a lot.  More surgery will hurt more and may not be any better.  It's better to do what you can right now.  Skin does stretch eventually.  There may be minor bleeding, that's not unusual.

       Dilating now is easy for me and there's virtually no pain at all.  I'm even able to skip a session a few times a week and I'm fine.

       Try toughing it out and even going to the next size at the end of a session. 

       Regarding your "ugly" appearance--most vajayjays aren't pretty, anyway.  :o)    Getting that fixed may not be a big deal, getting more depth is and may cause more problems than you have now.   Sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease.

        This is probably not what you want to hear, but I think it may work.

those soulcentres look a better job than my solid hard acrylic.
my smallest is 25mm or just under 1 inch and almost 7.5 long.
     medium is  30                     1.2                     8
     large     is  35                          1.4                     8

I find that I have to attack from a low angle to get under the darn pubic bone but even so at 10 months post-op I still get a little pinkness from slight bleeds from stretching the tissues.
I think the largest is always tearing things as next morning it will feel grittyy in place and ff I don't use the biggest for two days it feels smoother inside so basically I think 35 is right at the top size for me with the rigid ones.
Just need to try a guy with a soft jelly willy.

Those who give up dilating from pain are making it harder to get it working without further medical aid?

Quote from: lilacwoman on December 12, 2011, 03:43:10 AM
if she thought she ahd given you enough depth then take her word for it and accept your problem being due to pain barrier being very low.
I had 7 inches immediately bandages were removed but a month later I was so sore I had to stop dilating for a couple of weeks which made it worse so eventually surgeon said lay down, take a deep breath, and he just shoved the medium dilator in to full depth.
I yelled loud enough to alert the entire clinic.  :D

Once home I made sure to take aspirins half hour before dilating as I find they work superbly with me and managed to keep the depth and size.

Not possible..  At 2 inches it bottoms out.  We're talking about hitting the proverbial brick wall.
The medium dilator, will not enter.  I can barely get my finger in.  Last time I inserted my finger I bled, a lot, for a week.  I am pretty darn sure I penetrated the penile skin inside with my fingernail.  It didn't hurt, it just bled a lot.  And I think I felt the end of my finger go through a hole, like when you put your hand in your coat pocket and your discover there's a hole in the lining that eats coins and keys.

Well anyway, it eventually stopped bleeding, I wore pads for a week, ugh, and after awhile it quit.  After that I didn't dilate for two months, I was afraid to, I didn't want to rip the hole any bigger.

But yeah, all I can do is the smallest one, the middle one is almost impossible and hurts terribly.  With a great deal of pain and distress I can work it in about an inch but that takes almost 30 minutes to get it in that deep.  It won't hit bottom, it's too big around to get that far in.  The biggest one, I may as well throw it in the trash.  It will NEVER enter my body.  It's enormous and it will not go in, at all.  It is physically impossible.
And the fourth and largest one, they never even gave me that one.  They removed it from the package before I even woke up from surgery.

Here's a few photos of my dilators (nothing freaky) and a quarter next to the only one that does go in to give you an idea of scale.  http://imgur.com/a/qjhq9 (http://imgur.com/a/qjhq9)

And seriously, when I say it goes in two inches, I'm probably over exaggerating it by half.
I would bet that in reality it only goes in about an inch.  In my vag there's an open "pocket" that's at least an inch deep in of itself alone.  Inside there are three ugly holes, one with my deeply recessed but functional clitoris, my urethra and then my vaginal canal.  They all look the same to me.  There's no labia at all.  Just ugly holes.  $22,000 I paid for that sh*t...

I guess my saving grace is that at least it in no way resembles male parts and it makes me legally female now.  But outside of that, it's useless for sex, unless I want to go lesbian and then I don't think a natal female would want to be with me anyway, especially after getting an eye full of my alien gash..

Quote from: Flan on December 12, 2011, 04:25:38 AM
for bowers yeah, supposedly it's (vaginoplasty) "good enough for most" but she offers it as a separate procedure (as do a lot of surgeons who otherwise do one step techs).

(unless i'm confusing her for what another surgeon has said)

I was told that it was to be a one stage operation combining Labiaplasty and Vaginoplasty in one single procedure.  For $22,000 mind you...

Quote from: Re: Joyce on December 12, 2011, 04:48:11 AM
I met Dr. Bowers and many of my girlfriends have been to her.  I chose Dr. McGinn, because she seemed a little tougher on her patients and is more demanding in what she requires you to do. 

      She requires dilation 5 times a day (yes, that's a 5) for quite a while initially.  There's no time left for anything else.  She said that the first 30 days or so wouldn't be too painful, but after that, it will become very uncomfortable.

       That was an understatement.  I remember crying like a little girl over the initial pain of insertion of the dilating tools.  To say it hurt like crazy would not do it justice, it was worse than that.

       I've heard and seen of many patients who refused to do it and either left early or simply avoided dilating.   I knew I had one shot at this and had dedicated myself to do every last thing that the Dr. told me to do, knowing she was my friend and coach.  I only got the smallest 2 dilators from Soul Source, the OP probably got the same ones:

       http://soulsourceenterprises.com/html/products_grs.html (http://soulsourceenterprises.com/html/products_grs.html)

       I started with the smallest one (#1 purple) and the Dr. told me to go to #2 before I went home.  After I was home a short time, she told me to try #3.  Each time I went larger, it was more painful for a while, then I got used to it.  I'm on #3 (green) regularly now and am about where the OP is timewise.

       Just in the last few months has the pain mostly subsided and I've missed very few dilating sessions. 

       I've known a number of other post-ops with some similar problems and the answer is just what you said:  overcome the pain and dilate more often.   Yes, it hurts, it hurt me a lot.  More surgery will hurt more and may not be any better.  It's better to do what you can right now.  Skin does stretch eventually.  There may be minor bleeding, that's not unusual.

       Dilating now is easy for me and there's virtually no pain at all.  I'm even able to skip a session a few times a week and I'm fine.

       Try toughing it out and even going to the next size at the end of a session. 

       Regarding your "ugly" appearance--most vajayjays aren't pretty, anyway.  :o)    Getting that fixed may not be a big deal, getting more depth is and may cause more problems than you have now.   Sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease.

        This is probably not what you want to hear, but I think it may work.

I could not even force myself to dilate twice a day.  It hurt so f***ing bad that I would only dilate about 2 times a week on average.

When it came time, I would sit there on the edge of the bed and cry for half an hour just in anticipation of the unbearable pain that I knew was coming.
At first they gave me pain pills but they did not help at all and after the script ran out they wouldn't refill them anymore.

It got to where I was so depressed I became suicidal (well, thinking it at least) and went to dilating about once a week then every two weeks and now about once a month.  After I injured myself internally I quit for about two months completely and have only dilated two or three times since then.

It just hurts too much.

She warned me during examination that my cooch would not be up to par and that it would be abnormally small.  But what choice did I have?  Say no and keep that horrible thing that was there?  NO WAY...
Even all jacked up like it is, I would rather have it than not.

I just wish I could USE IT...  I really want to have sex someday and I do NOT want it up the butt!  I want to have normal sex with average guys, I don't want to have to put an ad on Craigslist, "Wanted, one guy with a shrimp d*ck."

This is really depressing.  :(

Thought about a skin graft?  I'm pretty sure they can do that, which avoids the nasty side effects of the colovaginoplasty, and the scar's no worse than the colovaginoplasty scar: usually they'll use abdominal, groin, or thigh tissue to make a tube of skin to put in there. 

OK hon,
for what ever reason it hurt you in the first place and you had VERY little dilating, the result is both lack of depth AND of course width.
I find it interesting to read this since in my case with Dr. Sanguan I went from #1 to #5 (he say #6 maybe later) 1 DAY after my 'wall-papering' op (6 days after the main op).
Ever since I go 3 times RELIGIOUSLY from #1 through #6 and it hurts a bit at times.

Two of my friends had 'colo' did not dilate really and now can't even insert their small finger.

Lastly, YES you can go for revision and have both depth and width fixed.

Axélle

Quote from: Axélle on December 13, 2011, 03:19:44 AM
OK hon,
for what ever reason it hurt you in the first place and you had VERY little dilating, the result is both lack of depth AND of course width.
I find it interesting to read this since in my case with Dr. Sanguan I went from #1 to #5 (he say #6 maybe later) 1 DAY after my 'wall-papering' op (6 days after the main op).
Ever since I go 3 times RELIGIOUSLY from #1 through #6 and it hurts a bit at times.

Two of my friends had 'colo' did not dilate really and now can't even insert their small finger.

Lastly, YES you can go for revision and have both depth and width fixed.

Axélle

See, that's what I was wondering about..  How the hell do they get inside there and make it deeper and bigger around?  Would they have to cut into me through my abdomen?  I can't imagine that they can just pull it back out, modify it and stuff it back in.  I would think by now my vaginal canal which was formerly that 'bad part', has now fused into my insides.  I just can't figure out how they can fix it and google hasn't been of any help at all.  :(

with the lack of vaginal vault (sorry) to work with, revision could be as "simple" as doing vaginoplasty all over again (with tissue graft from thighs or abdomen) or as complex as the various techs used on people born intersex.

Quote from: Flan on December 13, 2011, 03:42:40 AM
with the lack of vaginal vault (sorry) to work with, revision could be as "simple" as doing vaginoplasty all over again (with tissue graft from thighs or abdomen) or as complex as the various techs used on people born intersex.

Those are usually through skin grafts, though, unless they're harvesting parts of the labia majora and minora to add depth, and that sounds kinda scary.

Quote from: Flan on December 13, 2011, 03:42:40 AM
with the lack of vaginal vault (sorry) to work with, revision could be as "simple" as doing vaginoplasty all over again (with tissue graft from thighs or abdomen) or as complex as the various techs used on people born intersex.

I'm mystified as to how they can do it.  I mean what is the procedure?  How is it done?  How do they get inside to add depth?  My mind can not grasp how these things can be done.
The initial GRS was simple to understand and I had seen a very high resolution, very detailed video of Dr. Bowers doing the surgery, step by step.  The things were on the outside and she did a little origami on me then stuffed it up inside.  But now that it's inside, I presume it's in permanently now, fused into my insides.  I can't imagine that she could just fish it all out, chop-chop modify it and stuff it back up in me again.

Also I wonder how traumatic it would be.  I couldn't take another go of the post-op nonsense, three days in hospital and three days in recovery prison. (I did NOT enjoy my stay at the recovery house, at all..)
And then I wonder about the costs...  Surely it couldn't cost nearly as much as the initial GRS..  I would hope the hell not!

Quote from: Sandy2012 on December 13, 2011, 03:53:03 AM
I'm mystified as to how they can do it.  I mean what is the procedure?  How is it done?  How do they get inside to add depth?  My mind can not grasp how these things can be done.
The initial GRS was simple to understand and I had seen a very high resolution, very detailed video of Dr. Bowers doing the surgery, step by step.  The things were on the outside and she did a little origami on me then stuffed it up inside.  But now that it's inside, I presume it's in permanently now, fused into my insides.  I can't imagine that she could just fish it all out, chop-chop modify it and stuff it back up in me again.

Also I wonder how traumatic it would be.  I couldn't take another go of the post-op nonsense, three days in hospital and three days in recovery prison. (I did NOT enjoy my stay at the recovery house, at all..)
And then I wonder about the costs...  Surely it couldn't cost nearly as much as the initial GRS..  I would hope the hell not!

I mean, it's not that hard to get, for example, a vaginectomy done, even when there's connective tissue keeping the thing stuck to other pieces of the body.  I'd imagine it would simply involve a resection of the scar tissue, harvesting of the donor skin, and a recreation of what was done the first time around.  It's not as complex of a procedure as it sounds to do that, but in terms of recovery, while it wouldn't be nearly as bad as the first round of SRS (with the trauma of cavernosal corporectomy, orchiectomy, and radical rearranging of scrotal and penile tissues), the most intensive part of SRS is still there...and it'd likely involve a vaginal stent and potentially recatheterization.  I'd put a completely baseless estimate with no possible sources to cite of the price to be about $7,000 USD, but that could be completely wrong.

Quote from: Wonderdyke on December 13, 2011, 03:58:57 AM
I mean, it's not that hard to get, for example, a vaginectomy done, even when there's connective tissue keeping the thing stuck to other pieces of the body.  I'd imagine it would simply involve a resection of the scar tissue, harvesting of the donor skin, and a recreation of what was done the first time around.  It's not as complex of a procedure as it sounds to do that, but in terms of recovery, while it wouldn't be nearly as bad as the first round of SRS (with the trauma of cavernosal corporectomy, orchiectomy, and radical rearranging of scrotal and penile tissues), the most intensive part of SRS is still there...and it'd likely involve a vaginal stent and potentially recatheterization.  I'd put a completely baseless estimate with no possible sources to cite of the price to be about $7,000 USD, but that could be completely wrong.

$7k is doable...  Unfortunately I recently came into enough money to put me in the dreaded/hated 1% range.  My mom passed away..  :'(
While I can afford the surgery I really don't look forward to the extreme discomfort and inconvenience of it all.  BUT, if they can fix my stuff and make it look right and also be functional and usable, I'm willing to go through with it. I guess I need to call Dr. Bowers office..  I know last year they were shut down pretty much the whole month of December so I'll put it on my list to call them next month.  Not to set it up but to start asking questions.
I have many questions...   :-\

Sandy  are you sure that the little hole you thought you had poked through wasn't just the tightness of the big muscle?   It is seriously tight and does feel like a hole through the lining. I have no hole a lot of the time and especially each morning but at evening it relaxes ready for dilating.  beyond the muscle is the full length waiting you.

hard to imagine you putting your finger through skin anyway.

Have you called the surgeon's office to check notes to see what depth was put on your surgery notes?
Hard to imagine a reputable surgeon would attempt a full srs if there really was little to work with and have the state medical licence and insurance to think about.

Any chance you could go to a well-womans clinic for a quick check?

Sandy, you've just had 3 post-op women tell you things that you don't want to hear--it hurts to dilate, dilation is part of the post-op healing process and the less you dilate, the more it hurts.

      I'm going to really tick you off by telling you that I don't believe it will make any difference who does anything further to you surgically, you're going to have to dilate, it's really going to hurt and if you're not willing to do that, then don't do any more.   I've heard this music from the choir a LOT.

       I'd be willing to bet that the little hole you poked your finger into was your vagina and there's more to it than you think.

       The best thing to do is to book a followup with Dr. Bowers so she can see what's going on. 

       I cried when I had to dilate, I cannot describe the intense pain it brought to me.  I was directed to do it 5 times a day by Dr. McGinn, so I sucked it up and endured the pain.  This only lasted a few months and finally it got easier.

       I'm at 9 months and my pain is extremely slight when first going in now and only lasts maybe 10 seconds.  After that, there is no further discomfort.

       You appear to continue to try to coach others to tell you what you want to hear.  The 3 of us who have lived it will not do that.  It is what it is and it's painful and time-consuming.  But that is short lived.  The things that we prize the most are the things that cost us the most to get.  I'm not always talking money when I say this.  My own vajayjay is a very prized part of me.   It's wonderful, it's natural and it's very pleasurable.  I'm very proud of it and I'm extremely proud that I can now pass in the shower with the other girls and I can provide what every man wants. 

        Start today by putting a very clean, well lubricated finger inside of you and begin to stretch yourself out.  You are probably feeling the "ring" of scar tissue that connects your inside to your outside.  I know of other post-ops who said that dilating too little made it hurt more and when it hurts, the cure is to do it more often, for longer periods.

        I use the largest one of your tools everyday and I never use the smaller ones.  They're too small for me, but there was a time when they were too big...

        I wish you all the best.  I have walked in your shoes.

sandy
given the fact that u had very little to work with u shouldn't have gone to bowers, i've heard she has a bad reputation.
u should consider now colon vaginoplasty. if i was u i'd check out other drs with better reputation like suporn.

Quote from: lilacwoman on December 13, 2011, 09:56:24 AM
Sandy  are you sure that the little hole you thought you had poked through wasn't just the tightness of the big muscle?   It is seriously tight and does feel like a hole through the lining. I have no hole a lot of the time and especially each morning but at evening it relaxes ready for dilating.  beyond the muscle is the full length waiting you.

hard to imagine you putting your finger through skin anyway.

Have you called the surgeon's office to check notes to see what depth was put on your surgery notes?
Hard to imagine a reputable surgeon would attempt a full srs if there really was little to work with and have the state medical licence and insurance to think about.

Any chance you could go to a well-womans clinic for a quick check?

My previous, um, parts, the donor material, was really, really small.  I had absolutely no need to tuck as it was usually retracted up inside me like a clitoris.  When Marci examined me the day before surgery her words were "Oh my. Hmmmm...  Um, well, we don't have much to work with here.  This may be a problem."

Quote from: ananicole on December 13, 2011, 11:55:22 PM
sandy
given the fact that u had very little to work with u shouldn't have gone to bowers, i've heard she has a bad reputation.
u should consider now colon vaginoplasty. if i was u i'd check out other drs with better reputation like suporn.

There is absolutely no way I'm going to Thailand.

the surgeon should have advised she could only do a cosmetic slit with a clitoris which is what the first surgeon told me.  second one said yep, no way a vagina except by colovaginoplasty.  so I said yes please.

colovag is not good but what else can we do in these situations?

I'm not sure if deepening by using a skin graft will offer anything useful or not.   we need input from someone who has had one.

but as I've had skin grafts for old accident I have to say you'd end up with the big scars like the FtMs get from using arm skin etc.

I don't see why they can't take two long strips off lower stomach and leave them attached to stay alive, stitch them together to make a tube, invert it so bloody side is out and will bond with flesh of vagina incision,  and make a lining from them.  should stay alive and bond quickly but need tidying/cosmetic work after a couple of weeks or so.
two or even three stage op but would produce a lining with good feelings and survival and make size as big as possible.
just needs a surgeon and client willing to try the op.

the donor sites could be lessened by latticing the skin and stretching it over the sites.

This is another example of doing a consultation in-person with a surgeon before setting a date for surgery.  This was a fairly firm requirement of Dr. McGinn and I was very happy to comply.

      She checked me out physically and took photos so she had a reference point.

      Showing up for surgery and doing the initial consultation the day before hardly allows you enough time to research the different options available if there are potential problems.  There are not only size issues, but overall health and circulation issues to consider.   If the Dr. doesn't see you until the last minute, this only increases the odds of making a poor choice on both party's part.

        You only get one chance to do this once and it's pretty important.  This is a serious consideration in selecting a surgeon. 

        I wanted reasonably close to home for this reason, plus if something happens post-op, I can get back to them for after care. 

       Not everyone is a good candidate for this.  Dr. McGinn did a pretty thorough job of not only screening me, but also clearly communicating to me, in detail, what all would happen, what all could happen and what all I'd have to do on my part.  She told me there would be considerable pain and that it would be over a year to recover completely from the operation.

       This is not for the weak or the faint of heart.  :)

I agree I would consult with Dr.McGinn , she was my surgeon and I have to say she has been nothing short of Amazing as far as  details about the surgery and what can be achieved ,results ,sensation , info ,and post op care .

I did not mean to suggest Dr. McGinn as a possible surgeon to fix her problem.  I only brought up the concept of a consultation well in advance of the date of surgery for anyone contemplating GCS.

      Many of the difficulties I've heard about concerning GCS might have been avoided entirely if consultations had been done in this manner, as opposed to the last minute.  What is any patient supposed to say when they have surgery scheduled for the next day and the Dr. says, "Oh, I don't know about this"????   I'm certain that many Drs. might also perform some surgeries that they might otherwise decline to perform in these same situations.

       I can say without hesitation that Dr. McGinn is very clear right from the get-go regarding dilating 5 times a day, every day for the first 8 weeks.  At that point, the hard part is over (yeah, right), then it's only 3 times a day for weeks 9 through 24, then once every day without fail until a full year has passed.    That's dilating 805 times in that first year.  I know of no other surgeon who requires this much maintenance on the part of their patients.

       Most McGinn Girls will swear by her allegiance to her patients and her deep, caring attitude for them.  Yet, on the other hand, I also hear of potential patients who say that she barely would give them the time of day and was virtually rude to them.  I believe that the patient's maturity level or attitude toward this rigorous schedule and her other incredibly tough demands (yes, dilating so often is only one of her demands, there are many others) affects what she says and does. 

      She looked me in the eye in our consultation and told me that she's all military in her approach and if I wasn't ready to follow all of her orders without question, that I should walk out her door and forget about hiring her.  I told her that was the reason I was there.  I wanted a surgeon who would do that.  I was not there to dilly dally around...   

       This procedure is not for the faint of heart.  It's not a little lark adventure.  It is a life-altering challenge of your spirit.  It is like the challenge of climbing a mountain.  It separates out those who are determined and have the guts to see it through from those who are not.  Far too many people think they want this, when the truth is they lack the courage, conviction and fortitude to do it.   Why else would I hear so many stories directly from the surgeons themselves about patients who left for home as soon as they could walk to a plane after surgery?  Clearly, these unfortunate people found out too late that they were not ready for the pain and discomfort of the whole thing.   They wanted to have surgery Monday and go home and ride a cowboy on Saturday night.   

       I provide this information for anyone and everyone contemplating this procedure.  The United States Armed Forces has different branches of special forces units, such as the Army Rangers or the Navy Seals.  If you ask any of the trainers of a new class how many of these new applicants will graduate from the training, they'll give you a look of steel and reply, "as many as want to".  That training takes you to the edge and tests your will.

       I would never liken GCS to that training, for that would be disrespectful.  But, I will say the concept is somewhat similar.  GCS itself, the immediate pain from the operation and the subsequent difficulties and pain that must be overcome, both physical and emotional, will separate those who really and truly want it with all their heart from those who don't.

        I would expect little disagreement from you or most other successful post-op women who've climbed the mountain themselves.  It truly separates the women from the boys.   ;D

I agree with everything you have said Joyce .  and aside from that she is a very skilled surgeon so IIIII not you lol  recommend that she call Dr.Mcginn for a consult  .

Hi , Sandy

If all else fails go to Phuket & see Dr Sanguan  He ll fix most things with out ?   As i can atteast to ,
I was there & saw some of the things he did & check my Testimonial

As to here n N Z iv seen some of the botched surgery & one had to be compleatly redone because of said botch up & was not repaired here in N Z .

I knew Sanguan could do it & was done just after i was  over there  ,

Any way if you need info or help just email me ,

noeleens@clear.net.nz

...noeleena...

Usually for failed initial surgeries, surgeons suggest colovaginoplasty as a secondary procedure.

However, on Dr. Harold Reed's website there is a new technique he used with a few patients who had lost their depth and width(?) and they have been dilating fine and they have been successful with penetration.

And by the way, I realise you feel unkeen about overseas travel but if you do change your mind, Dr. Kunaporn is a good surgeon.

Dr. Suporn does not accept repair jobs...

I hope it all works out for you and wish you lots of healing

Love

I second Dr. Sanguan Kunaporn at PIH.
He has taken on many a 'repair job' as I'm told (even from SA!) He also did a fine SRS job for me.

Axelle