Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hello everyone!  :)

Firstly, I apologise if this thread is in the wrong forum, I was debating whether to place it in the SRS one, however it is a post-operative issue, so we'll see ^__^

So just to give everyone a bit of background, I had my SRS in 2009 with Dr Suporn at the age of 19, everything went very smoothly, I came home, healed, blah blah blah, no issues whatsoever. However, after a year or so, I wasn't completely happy with my cosmetic appearance, my main complaint being that everything was rather wide and 'open' looking and, to be frank, when my legs were spread apart you could literally see clitoris, urethra, and a gaping vaginal entrance. This, in addition to a couple of other small matters led me back to Thailand to have some revisions with Dr Suporn. Once again, I came home, gave myself time to heal etc, however I still felt my overall appearance was very open and 'gaping'. Eventually I decided to go back to Dr Suporn a year or so after my first revision, who completed a 'posterior commissure' to kind of bring everything together, so to speak, at the bottom of my labia/vagina. Again, I came home, healed, but unfortunately am now left with quite an apparent and unsightly scar between my vaginal entrance and rectum, and, rather sadly, the gaping entrance and open appearance still remains.

So, after having my main SRS and two subsequent revisions, I have since seen a leading UK reconstructive gynae consultant, who has agreed to perform a scar revision/perineoplasty which he believes will resolve my concerns, and I am aiming to organise having this done later on in the year. However...here is my issue/concern. Within the past year I have becoming increasingly aware after some research that I have what sounds like some corpora cavernosa tissue that still remains, which can make the clitoral area quite uncomfortable to touch when aroused, especially when my legs are open (which...let's face it, no one has sex or is intimate with their legs tight shut?!).

I am at a point where I don't really know where to go from here. I definitely want this perineoplasty/gynae revision to give me a much more desired appearance, however I feel that this corpora cavernosa issue does need addressing, as both are a barrier to intimacy and my relationships with men. I am particularly curious as to whether anyone knows and can recommend a good surgeon who can perform corpora cavernosa removal? Or if anyone has actually had this done I would really love to hear your experience. I have read a rather long thread (I believe it was named something like "Suporn's failures"?) where a fellow poster had a similar issue, albeit, rather worse than mine, however I don't think she is an active poster anymore. I am aware of Dr Miroslav Djordjevic in Belgrade, Serbia, who has performed several corpora cavernosa removals from, I assume Dr Suporn patient's, however the only pictures available are peri-operative and immediately post-op, which appear quite brutal, and I personally would like to see more longer term post-operative results before agreeing to subject myself to such surgeries...it also seems like quite an 'open' procedure with big scarring, which also concerns me and makes me questions whether this would 'undo' the work of a perineoplasty. I have been in contact with Dr Miroslav, however his replies are quite few and far between, as he is understandably quite busy and perhaps doesn't have time for my copious amounts of questions haha!

Not that age should really matter but, having had SRS at 19, and now being close to 25, this was something I honestly feel I should of moved on from long ago, yet now nearly six years on am still searching to resolve, therefore any assistance or advice in making a final closure to all of this would be so greatly appreciated!!! I am sort of sick of spending my youth saving my money and recovering from surgeries haha! It has really impacted on my relationships with men too because I almost fear and dread being intimate due to these issues...

Finally, I just want to stress that this is in NO WAY a reflection of Dr Suporn or my opinions of him. I appreciate everything he has done for me over the years, and am very close to several members of his staff to this very day. I have no ill word to say about him whatsoever, I am very grateful to him. I simply feel that these issues I am still concerned about now may be best resolved by a different surgeon.

So...I hope you can make your way through my jumbled rambling and I hope that sort of made sense?! I am sorry if it seems a bit disjointed, if any clarification is needed please do ask! I look forward to hearing some replies :)

xx

OK.... 
no  one  can  advise  you  medicaly  on  here,  and  my  opinion  is  in  no  way  medicaly  sound  advise. 
  that  being  said,  .....
  SRS/GRS  is  by  no  means  an  exact  science.   Medacine  is  always  refered  to  as  a  practice,  meaning,  results  are  never  guaranteed.  Just  like  a  lawyers  practice. 
  going  into  any  cosmetic  or  surgical  procedure,  we,  tend  to  get  a  minds  eye  picture  of  what  we  expect  as  a  final  result. 
  it  is  my  beleif,  that  there  in  lies  a  lot  of  issues  with  a lot  of  girls. 
  I  went  to  Schrang.  many  moons  ago.    his  words  still  linger  in  my  ears.  "  ever  result  is  different,  just as  every  'genetic  female'  is  different.  no  two ' cooter  cats'  look  the  same.
sensativity  also  varies  greatly  in  genetic  females .  some  are  extremely  sensative,  others,  not  so  much. 
  every  surgery  adds  scar  tissue  and  the  potential  for  additional  nerve damage. 

  at  this  point  in  your  quest.  perhaps  a bit  of  soul  searching  ,  taking  a  long  hard  look  at  your  expectations  and  relating  them  to  the  next  surgon,  should  be  in  order.    after  all,  if  im  reading  correctly,  your  done  #3  and  looking  at  #4. 

sans  extreme  pain,  extreme  cosmetic defects,  i  would  be  hard  pressed  to  go  back  under  the  knife  for  any  revision. 
  Dr  Schrang  made  a  statement  to  me  after  my  labia plasty.  I  honestly  feel  it  is  "Gospel"  when  it  comes to  transition  and results.
  "  Dont  spend  your  life  chasing  rainbows". 
  WE,  just  as  every  other  woman  on Gods  green  earth,  get  what  we  get.  A  walk  through  the  mall  or  walmart  will  reveil  some  GG  women  that  are  simply  butt  ugly.  others  seem  blessed  in  every  aspect  of  appearance.    blunt  but  true. 
we  dont  ,  as  they  dont,  get  to  decide  everything.  we  get  what  we  get.  be  it  fate,  carma  or  some  mysterious  design  in  the  cosmos. 
  Consider  your position  carefully.  consult  with  your  surgon,  being  sure  he/she  understands  your  concerns  and  expectations,  and  being  assured  that  they  are  realistic  goals  compared  too  his  ability.  understand  the variations  in  appearance,  and  what  is  available  for  the  surgon  to  work  with. 
  try  to  find  that  place,  where  your  end  result,  is  acceptable.  it  doesnt  have  to  be  spectacular,  superb  and  the  best,  it  simply  has  to  be  acceptable,  functional,  comfortable. 
 
I  know  mine,  it  took  a  long  time,  but,  as  the  saying  went "  it  grew  on  me".    I  thought  it  was  just  wrong,  yet  everyone  else,  mostly  genetic  females,   who  took  a  look  said  "  WoW,  your looks  better  then  mine...   

Surgeons are not God, and there is a limit to what they can do. No matter who you see, no one will ever make you 100% perfect.

When I had the phalloplasty, the clitoris was partially unhooded and connected to the bottom of the phallus. I experience no discomfort with that physically, and its the only thing that has erotic feeling. Maybe its just because I had it done so long ago, but I have very little feeling in the phallus. Cleaning out the hollow tube that the surgeon left in the phallus in case I wanted a hookup later, is painful. I don't know who good nerves work these days.

Like you, I was and still am appalled at having an open vagina. When I contacted several Dr.s who do the work, they said that they can't close the entire vagina. They said there was a risk of ruining crucial nerves in the pelvic area that might lead to incontenance. The most they could do was to make the opening smaller. When I was done in '89, I thought I'd go back and get the rest when I had the money. My surgeon also left the outer labia that hold the testicles seperate instead of combining the two and making a more realistic scrotal sac.

There are some things that we have to accept. I know its hard, and even with hormones, there are some normal secretions from the vagina. That has always been distressing to me. At some point, you have to realize that you have done all you could and find a partner who is willing to accept you.

That all may sound harsh, but I don't think you want lies.

sam1234

I  felt  it  prudent,  to  add  one  more  thought  to  this  thread.
  we  tend  to  see  doctors  as  honest  and  truely  careing.  it  has  to  be  that  way  in  the  big  scheeme  of  things.

  But,
if  you  complain  about  the  last  guy,  and  the  ones  before  that,  and  a  doctor  sences  you  " Urgency",  you  may  set  yourself  up  in  his  eyes,  as  easy  money. 
  sans  a  major  issue,  malpractice  style,  you  already  set  yourself  up  as  a  dis satisfied  3  or  4  round  client.    he  can,  simply  numb  you  up,   knock  you  out,  do  a  minor  nip  and  tuck,  take  your  money,  and  when  you  complain,  he  simply  points  to  your  track  record  of  being  unsatisfied,   and  discounts  the  complaint.  your  out  the  money,  there  is  no  recourse,  and  your  at  the  same  place  you  were  at  the  start. 
  think  it  through  really  good  before  you  make  a  move.
  i  paint  houses,  and  sans  a total  botch  job,  i  refuse  to  take  on  projects  where  a  client  is  simply  dis satisfied  with  another  companies  prior  work,  and  where  they are  asking  me  to  '  fix  it'.   long  history  on  that,  they  are  typicaly  never  satisfied. 

make peace with your body