Susan's Place Transgender Resources

First off, I'm sorry for opening a new thread on this topic as I am sure it is one that gets talked about almost constantly. Unfortunately the search feature on these forums is a little hard to use so compiling information from old posts is kind of difficult.

Basically, I'm looking at surgery. FFS I can probably go without, but I want to get an orchi soon (within the year?) and a couple of years down the line SRS would be nice. I've got a couple of questions about each of those. It's worth noting in relation to SRS that I'm asexual, so actually using the resulting vagina isn't that big of a concern to me. I would like to preserve sensation as much as is practical, though.

For the orchi:
- Is there any reason I should travel to get it, or would going to a local surgeon who offers it be okay? It seems like a simple enough operation, so I can't imagine I would need to go to a world specialist.
- I live in Massachusetts. If a local surgeon is fine, which places in the area offer it? How much is it likely to cost?
- If I do need to travel for it, where to and to which hospital?
- How long is the recovery likely to be? Should I expect to be up and about within a week, or do I need to schedule a large chunk of time off from work/school?

For SRS:
- I've looked around a bit and it sounds like the best (and most affordable) surgeons are in Thailand, with some other very skilled surgeons in the US (Bowers, Meltzer). Is there a (preferably readable) list somewhere of good surgeons with the pros and cons of going to them? All the lists I have found look out of date and/or unreliable.
- Suporn, Suporn, Suporn! I am constantly hearing people rave about Suporn. Is it worth it? How exactly is it different? If I want to get it do I need to go to the man himself, or are there US surgeons who use the same technique?
- I assume the recovery for SRS is pretty long. Are we talking an entire summer where I shouldn't expect to be fully functional? A month?

Thanks!

Edit: I forgot to add, I have also heard that getting an orchi can cause complications with SRS later on. How much of a problem is it?

Orchi can be done in-office but not many (doctor's) offices are equipped for this sort of minor surgery. I don't know MA docs that offers it. The biggest issue with orchi in terms or later reassignment complications is shrinkage of the scrotal tissue so that it's not as good of a graft material. Recovery from it is roughly a week or 2.

Most of the well known reassignemnt surgeons are ok at their craft and there is always risk with being that one who has complications or undesired aesthetics. Suporn is just better at advertising his services. Most of the north American surgeons use similar technique: inversion with a scrotal graft in a "pulldown." Recovery from reassignment varies a lot: I had a lot of energy at the month mark but aftercare made it so that I needed 5 months before I had the time to do things without being interrupted by dilation schedules. 3 months is a good estimate for work ready and 6 months for when back to mostly normal.

Thank you, Flan! That is very helpful.

I noticed on her website doctor Bowers says that she advises against orchies because she doesn't believe getting one does anything more than spiro, but she also says that they don't usually cause problems for SRS. That's good to know! Though I have heard anecdotally that they do have a number of effects, and given how spiro works I would think there would be some effect (it's a receptor antagonist, even when taken regularly it can't block testosterone completely...).
I'll have to think about whether or not I want to get one, though. It is more money.