Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hello Everyone,

       I made a thread for my FFS on the board dedicated to that topic but now it's time for my GRS. It's been a long time in the making! I'll start this thread now but I will update it as the healing comes along, up to perhaps 6 months or so. In my FFS thread I posted lots of before/afters and obviously that's not gonna happen here - too R-rated for you folks :) I'll just use as much descriptive language as possible and talk about the whole process.

       The first thing I wanted to say is that it should stand for genital reassignment surgery, not gender reassignment. In my personal opinion, you don't need a vagina to be a female. Not everyone agrees with that, but I believe it's true and I completely 100% respect any trans woman who doesn't want the surgery. And if you ask me, FFS is the more important surgery since few people walk around in public without pants or a skirt. So if you're a girl with penis, you're a girl no less beautiful!

     For me however, I have intense dysphoria about my nether-regions. It never felt like it was a part of me from as early as I can remember. I would describe it almost like a sharp mental pain, with pangs of extreme discomfort everytime I see, feel, or use "it." To me, forgoing GRS is not an option. I'm thankful that this amazing medical advancement exists, otherwise I don't know what I would do :(

     My road to GRS (or GCS) began about 7 months after I started taking hormones, just as I was beginning to live part time as a female. My amazing doctor at Lyon-Martin Clinic was able to put through a referral for a consultation with Dr. Marci Bowers. I waited 3 months before I was able to actually call up her office and schedule the consultation. I was taken aback to learn that there was a 5 month waitlist to see her. Having my heart set on going to her, I waited. The consultation came; we met. She was very nice! However, when she told me the waitlist was 2 and 1/2 years, I was in shock. It hurt so bad to hear that. I remember walking to the front desk after feeling beaten down and then I asked when they would call to schedule the surgery. They told me 4-6 months until they would schedule me! That's 3 1/2 years total! I felt so hopeless after that. My career/insurance was too unstable to depend on waiting that long. My dysphoria was nearly unbearable. I didn't know what to do.

     One day I was talking to my electrologist who routinely does pre- and post-op trans girls and trans guys. She knew my situation. She told me that she had worked on a few girls who had gone to a Dr. Thomas Satterwhite here in the Bay Area and she had also seen GRS results from all the main surgeons: Dr. Suporn, Dr. Meltzer, Dr. Bowers, Dr. Crane, Dr. Brassard - all the "big" hitters. To my surprise, she said Dr. Satterwhite's results looked just as good. And as it turned out, his office was very flexible with taking insurance. So I decided to send an email to his office.

    They responded to me within a few days, I filled out paperwork and sent everything to them, and then finally talked to them over the phone. I only had to wait 2 1/2 months for a consultation and then 6 months after that for the surgery. It was like a ray of sunshine, forgive the cliche :) I remember meeting him for the first time and thinking that he was so cool! Not only was he completely down to earth and to the brim with compassion, but he also gave me all the answers I needed to choose him. His technique is a combination of many different surgeons. He first began his career doing FFS in Miami but ended up training for GRS with Dr. Harold Reed. He took some techniques from Dr. Reed. He came to the Bay Area and trained with Dr. Crane, whose practice he works in, who had traveled around the world doing fellowships with Dr. Miroslav Djordjevick in Belgrade and Dr. Preecha in Thailand. He was also friends with Dr. Bowers and had been in the operating room with her during her surgeries, borrowing aspects of her technique. He also knew Dr. Brassard and used aspects of his technique. He even traded notes with Dr. McGinn! Suffice to say, he's developed his own technique with what he thinks are the best technical aspects of all these surgeons.

     Most importantly though were the photographic results he showed me that weren't on the website (some are now). I was very impressed. Actually, I thought some were the best I had ever seen, in my opinion because they had really nice labia minora and lots of nice pink urethral mucosal tissue in between them. And there was an interesting detail to his technique that sounded awesome which was that he would actually do fat transfers to the labia majora/minora - something I had never heard of. He's proof that we shouldn't play into the Thai technique vs penile inversion, east vs west dichotomy. Dr. Satterwhite uses a hybrid technique, using both scrotal grafts for the inside of the vagina, along with inverted penis, but also uses skin from the penis to create labia minora. Check out his results. The best ones on there website are from Dr. Satterwhite (no offense to Dr. Crane who is more a FTM surgery guy).

      After I got final approval from Kaiser, and after waiting about a month, I was finally scheduled for surgery in 9 months, September 6th. However, I kept calling the office every so often to see if they had cancellations and sure enough I was able to take one for May 17th. So here I am waiting in anticipation. Super excited :)

     Thanks for reading all this, if you even got through it. Lots of detail but I like thick, qualitative descriptions :) The last thing I'll say is that lately there has been too much an emphasis on the "big hitters" of GRS, the famous doctors. This is just not sustainable in my opinion. No wonder the wait times are horrendous. Everyone is lining up around the block (metaphorically lol) trying to go to the best of the best of the best, the most experienced, and I don't blame them. But don't forget that these doctors share techniques and that we're going to be seeing a lot of new names. As more people come out as transgender, the community should welcome these new doctors and trust that they can do fantastic work, that they've learned from the pioneering and experience of all the doctors who have come before. These aren't "new" surgeons - they've been trained and are worthy of our trust and respect as a community. I'm thankful to them because they give so many what we humbly want - to have the body that was always meant to be.
     
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKnAG1MunM#t=82 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKnAG1MunM#t=82)
http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/ (http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/)

P.S. I finally got a call, 8 months after my consultation with Dr. Bowers to schedule surgery haha I was like thank you but I got mine coming in a few months, not a few years!

- Ruby



       

     My surgery is in two weeks. Another awesome forum-goer sent me this link :) someone was brave enough to post their 6 day post op pictures. Warning, it's a bit graphic but I have to say, I'm very impressed. Dr. Satterwhite continues to improve his technique. The results look very close to Suporn actually, with prominent labia minora all the way around the vulva, covering the introitus. The incisions are also done pretty far to the sides which is something he mentioned he would start doing.

  Dr.Satterwhite and Bowers with her new technique as well, are showing that there soon won't be much of a distinction between Northern American and Thai surgeons. They're catching up really quickly which is good because most insurance only pays for surgery here. For me, I literally only have to drive 20 minutes to the hospital where I'm getting my surgery. I'm happy I don't have to pay for a flight and stay in another country (having already done that for my ffs).

6 Days After:

http://imgur.com/a/RD94Z (http://imgur.com/a/RD94Z)

Full post
https://www.->-bleeped-<-.com/r/MtF/comments/4hmlz7/xpost_rasktransgender_the_last_week_has_been_the/ (//https:///r/MtF/comments/4hmlz7/xpost_rasktransgender_the_last_week_has_been_the/)

Also my surgery is May 19th now but in CPMC, a really nice hospital in Castro, SF.
- Ruby

The results look very good to me. I wish you a successful surgery. HUGS

Oh wow that looks fantastic!  Something I can show my surgeon and say, "HERE DO THIS!"  LOL.

Does he take insurance? Insurance is the main reason why I'm going to Bowers.

Satterwhite takes insurance.

Are you happy with the look of the clit ?
Its not visible ...


*hugs*

Like Jessica (hi jessica!) said, he takes insurance. In fact, a majority of his patients use their insurance. As for the clit not showing, could be because of the swelling. That's actually what I want though personally, for the clit not to be showing unless I want it to :) Keep it backstage until showtime. Actually, perhaps he's overcompensating. Previous patients told him there wasn't enough hooding so he's using more skin from above the base of the penis as extra hooding. In less than two weeks, I guess I'll find out haha.

Here's an example though of how he does the clit. Picture of the labia spread: 
http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/vag1yr2/ (http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/vag1yr2/)

Same vagina not spread:

http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/vag1yr/ (http://brownsteincrane.com/vaginoplasty-photos/vag1yr/)

He's changed his technique from this result though, which is over a year and a half ago. From speaking to him, he wasn't yet satisfied and constantly looking for improvement, which is why he is constantly sharing technique notes with Dr. Bowers, who is his good friend.

Personally I believe that he and Dr. Bowers are really trying to get the best of both east and west so to speak, to really transform the old penile inversion technique by learning from the Thai surgeons. Look at Dr. Bower's latest results on her website. It looks pretty different from what she was doing even a few years ago. Incisions practically invisible, labia minora all the around the entire vulva, and lots of pink mucosal tissue. A lot of people will disagree with me but I think this Thai vs North America surgeons is an obsolete dichotomy.

This surgery apparently took 5 hours. Looks like Dr. Satterwhite is putting extra time into his surgeries now (my preop papers say to expect 6 hours).
- Ruby

Quote from: jessical on May 06, 2016, 03:42:27 PM
Satterwhite takes insurance.

I'm going to look in to him. I'm still over a year and a half away from my appt with Bowers.

QuoteAre you happy with the look of the clit ?
Its not visible ...

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 06, 2016, 07:15:40 PM
As for the clit not showing, could be because of the swelling. That's actually what I want though personally, for the clit not to be showing unless I want it to :) Keep it backstage until showtime. Actually, perhaps he's overcompensating. Previous patients told him there wasn't enough hooding so he's using more skin from above the base of the penis as extra hooding.

Lol just meant to say that its not possible to have an impression of the clit yet so further information would be nice :)
The photo shows really well, thank you  :)

hugs

Michelle666 - Hmm the total wait time including consultation and scheduling for Satterwhite is probably closer to a year total now so it's up to you. Personally, if I were in your situation, I might keep the Bower's date because she's done thousands of surgeries. She's awesome! It just didn't work out for me. Who cares, a vagina is a vagina lol can't obsess too much, get er' done and move with the life.

Laura7 -  I completely agree though, most of his results on the site you can't see the clitoris so I do wonder myself. Good obsveration - I hadn't thought about it. Another Satterwhite girl on the boards, JustASeq, posted on here somewhere (Post Op life forum) that her clit is really hidden. I don't want a super shy clit :D
- Ruby

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 07, 2016, 10:20:31 AM

I completely agree though, most of his results on the site you can't see the clitoris so I do wonder myself. Good obsveration - I hadn't thought about it. Another Satterwhite girl on the boards, JustASeq, posted on here somewhere (Post Op life forum) that her clit is really hidden. I don't a super shy clit :D
- Ruby

Well it should be possible to tell him beforehand how shy you want your clit to be ;)


hugs

Hah! "Hey Doc, I have an odd request for you..." ;) anyhow else have the problem of being completely distracted before the surgery? I've been doing a lot of self-reflection lately about how difficult the road has been for me to get here (for all trans people). Such an uphill battle that I've been hardened and ready for the next one lol another sweet lady on the forums saying that she had a hole in her (no pun intended) life after the surgery.

The emotional and mental space that trans people occupy before their surgeries - it's an interesting topic I think.

-Ruby

I saw this on your ->-bleeped-<- post and it had me thinking .... my penis is a virgin no playing with it or any sex with it (basically i am a true virgin really like a 41 year old virgin) ...  so what does he mean by fragile under the knife ?


"I tried to keep the tissue in good shape by masturbating on an every other day basis. I talked with the doc about it and he said that anecdotally he's noticed that girls who don't touch their junk tend to be more fragile under the knife"

Ready for the big day?

xxxx

:) I am very excited. The timing is perfect because my body is really rejecting the spiro. I've had to reduce my dosage multiple times but I keep getting side effects (low sodium and chloride blood levels). I need to get rid of my gonads lol because with this lower dosage, my testosterone is roaring back.


-Ruby

I wish you a successful surgery and swift recovery. I'll follow your progress :)

Thanks!

Quote from: TinaVane on May 07, 2016, 05:49:53 PM
I saw this on your ->-bleeped-<- post and it had me thinking .... my penis is a virgin no playing with it or any sex with it (basically i am a true virgin really like a 41 year old virgin) ...  so what does he mean by fragile under the knife ?


"I tried to keep the tissue in good shape by masturbating on an every other day basis. I talked with the doc about it and he said that anecdotally he's noticed that girls who don't touch their junk tend to be more fragile under the knife"

People some time ago used to stretch their p a while before surgery regularly with a towel.
Using coconut oil for example might additionally help, it has small molecules and may help soften the tissue.
You might talk about it with a surgeon.

hugs

Quote from: Laura_7 on May 14, 2016, 08:49:03 AM
People some time ago used to stretch their p a while before surgery regularly with a towel.
Using coconut oil for example might additionally help, it has small molecules and may help soften the tissue.
You might talk about it with a surgeon.

hugs

I meant to comment on this but wasn't sure what to say at the time. To be quite frank though, it makes sense that consistent masturbation would help with skin elasticity, if that what the ->-bleeped-<- poster is inferring. However that can be tough for many transwomen and so using a towel and coconut oil like Laura (probably most helpful poster on the boards imo) might be a good idea, especially for many transwomen with bad dysphoria.

Thank you *hugs*

Its not only supposed to help with elasticity. Its also hoped to help with length, if regularly stretched.

Just don't overdo it :) Its possible surgeons have further hints, if asked in that direction.


hugs

Good luck I hope everything goes well for you! I can't wait to hear updates. I am having my surgery with Dr. Satterwhite in 20 days so I'm going to be following your posts closely haha.

I'm sure glad I'm on his schedule in July. Let me know details everyone.

I almost abandoned this thread cause no one was looking at it hehe but I'll be glad to write more about it so you know what to expect. Had my preop appt today. I asked a nurse how long this appt was and she just said "as long as you need." He answered all my questions, great listener. Still loving Dr. Satterwhite. He's one of the most  approachable medical professional I've ever met. While I didn't learn too much new today, I was told that having all of the packing inside is going to push up against the rectum and so one of the first weird sensations patients get is the feeling of having to go badly to the bathroom. I'm also not looking forward to the catheter :/

   Going to try to relax in the upcoming days. It's really starting to hit me that this is going to happen. Mostly excited but a little nevous about having another surgery.

HouseHippo and WendyAnn.1969 - so happy for both of you! Feel free to ask me any questions on here on with a PM :)

-Ruby

From my consultation appointment I got the feeling Dr.Satterwhite was a really nice man who cares deeply about what he does. He was super easy to talk to and didn't act numb or non caring like I've seen other surgeons act. He's also very attractive :p.

I hope everything goes well!!

Thinking of you Ruby, best of luck for tomorrow, there will be an Angel watching over you, love and hugs xx

The big day has come :) I am sending you love and wishing you a very successful surgery. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. HUGS

Thank you! Getting ready real soon to leave. Phew, been waiting for my whole life for this. Still can't believe it :) See ya'll on the other side.

- Ruby

I'm so excited for you!

Thinking of you, sending positive thoughts :-)

Hi Ruby,

I just noticed you are online. How is your recovery going? I'm sending you love and healing thoughts...

Hope you have a speedy recovery   *hugs*.

You will find out in a few days how shy your clit is  ;)


hugs

Hey,

    Thought I'd post something short from the hospital. The experience so far isn't  good to be honest. Kaiser has been screwing my trans care by making random mistakes with my name. Came in and all the paperwork was in my old name when I clearly preregistered with my new legal one :( all in all I'm holding up barely, but I was getting pretty neglected by some of the nurses who were supposed to be watching me. I'm a bit scarred from the experience, especially when one of my nurses forgot to give me meds for pain, for bladder spasms, and didn't empty my catheter.  I tried calling the nurses over the intercom but nothing. I'm a pretty tough girl but when the pain got to a 10/10 I started involuntarily sobbing and crying in pain loud enough for someone to come by and ask where my missing nurse went. By the time I finally got meds I was feeling the full brunt of the pain. This was the first night too!

      After that I was scared one would disappear again. And it happened again! I woke up from a nap and somehow my catheter had come out. I immediately tried calling the nurse over the intercom but got a "your nurse is busy response." Obviously I was anxious because this was a priority. I thought maybe someone wouod cone soon. Nothing for 20 minutes. Nobody was answering the intercom and the pain got worse to the point where I got up and was starting walking the halls in pain, crying for a nurse to fix it. I had one nurse tell me to calm down only to disappeared too. Finally my partner came back to the room where she found me sobbing and absolutely pissed off about the situation. She tracked down a nurse but by then I felt so angry and neglected that I was speechless.

     This place sucks. I'm sorry but my experience has been ruined :( get me outta here! Dr. Satterwhite is kind and really talented but for some reason my personal experience is not so good. I'll report back when I have my catheter and packing removed on Wednesday.

-Ruby

Ruby, was this at CPMS Davis? OMG, that's where I'm supposed to go in July. My wife will have their ass if that were to start to happen.  Have you called the patient relations number and reported all of this nonsense? Hugs! 

Hey, yeah CPMC Davis.  Dr. Satterwhite is great, saw me three times after surgery in the first day and a half. But most of the nurses were not following his aftercare instructions. The food is pretty good! That's about it lol and I'm healing pretty quick, just in pretty bad pain. I talked to a head nurse I think and she apologized but they're still so disorganized and kept disappearing . Bring your wife, bring someone just in case!

I am sorry that happened to you and you should mention it to your doctor the next time you see him. In addition, the hospital has a quality control department but it will be called something else. If the problems continue, attempt to contact them. Your other option is you will receive paperwork on discharge where you will evaluate the care you received. It may not help you but it might help the next person in line.

Thanks Dena, I'll definitely fill out that paperwork for the next person. I know some people have had good experiences so my judgement isn't definitive. It is pretty bad constently though right now. For example, after waiting an hour for a nurse who said he would get me water, I gave up and walked to the sink and got my on tapwater. He eventually came back and said one patient was holding him up. I feel bad for the nurse actually. Nice guy. They must be understaffed :( anyways, I'll try to stay positive. I learned how to empty my own catheter lol that way I don't have to rely on them .

Hi Ruby, so sorry you are not being cared for properly, when will you be discharged?

Hi kittenpwer,  tomorrow thank God I'm getting discharged. Luckily one of the nicer,  more responsible nurses is on shift for the last part. Sigh of relief.

On the good side, I have almost no bruising or discharge, and I've been walking around since day one, that is when I'm under the right meds and doses. So it's been a lot of extremes, feeling horrible and then feeling pretty good. Glass half full I guess :) Dr. Sattewhite says it looks beautiful and I got good depth. Excited to see it myself and get the uncomfortable  packing out. Oh and Laura, my clit may be shy but I can feel it already lol nerves are already reconnecting down there.

Well, good looking vagina, sensitive clitoris and good depth... All that you could hope for. You will soon forget the nurses as you walk out of the hospital into your new life of a complete woman. Stay positive and heal fast. XXXX

It's true reborn, that's what really matters in the end. Still, gotta say, the food here is really good :) just ordered my final breakfast, then have Dr. Wittenberg of Brownstein Crane's office take a look downstairs, and get instructions about home care.  Hopefully my cats will be fine with me bringing another pussy (cat) home ;)

-Ruby

Lol they will love another pussy.

I'd say be a bit careful in the beginning .. usually people feel much stronger than they are due to meds.

Hope you have a fast recovery and the shyness of the clit turns out nicely  :)


hugs

They realistically only have about 9 more weeks to get this nonsense sorted out on their own.  Should they not have done this by the time I get there in July....they will certainly 'be sorted out' before I leave (or very much be wishing they were).  That much you can be assured of. May God have mercy on them - as my wife and I won't - if I end up having to walk the halls to get care with a cath out.  OMG

You need to file a formal complaint and most importantly make sure Satterwhite and the practice knows what is transpiring on the weekend at CPMS.

I'm scheduled for the same day of week for my surgery too...

You might ask Satterwhite personally on your post op visit if he thinks some chick named Wendy won't be able to 'fix them up' in July - if they dream of pulling that  kind of crap with me.  He he. [emoji56][emoji130]

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 22, 2016, 12:02:09 AM
It is pretty bad constently though right now. For example, after waiting an hour for a nurse who said he would get me water, I gave up and walked to the sink and got my on tapwater. He eventually came back and said one patient was holding him up. I feel bad for the nurse actually. Nice guy. They must be understaffed :( anyways, I'll try to stay positive.

On the positive side, this is likely no reflection on your surgeon. I imagine he knows whats going on and short of finding another hospital there's not much he can do. And that's easier said than done.

Your cats will be over the roof with the new cat in the house :) Just to remind you for the first 2 weeks try to spend most of the time in bed and walk only when you don't have a choice to make sure everything stays in place. You can easily get tears that can compromise the cosmetic outcome from walking. I'm sending you healing thoughts and lots of love. XXXX

Ouch sorry to hear you're having a hard time. I hope things get better for you.

 All these positive vibes must be really affecting me because I feel great. That bad experience is past me and now I've gotten into a nice mix of eating really healthy food, napping, and icing my crouch. I've had no problem with bowel movements too which has taken off a lot of the pressure from my downstairs area. Now I need to find the right amount of movement, not to compromise the incisions but also to promote energy. I'm actually good enough to make an easy quinoa/chicken dinner.

     Not sure exactly what's happening but my hormone levels immediately changed for the good. My boobs have never been this big and puffy haha yay for no more spiro. Now I'm just too excited for Wednesday to see Satterwhite again. Apparently the doctor I saw this morning, Dr. Wittenberg, is being trained for GRS too. She so nice and seemed extremely smart. My guess is soon every surgeon at the Brownstein/Crane practice will be excellent at GRS. More options means hopefully shorter wait lists.

Thanks again for making Susan's such an inviting, supportive place. Already, I've made some great friends here :)

-Ruby

I'm so happy to hear that you're doing better. I was worried about you. The more trained surgeons the better! Since I'm having surgery with Satterwhite in < 20 days is there any advice that you can give me? Anything that surprised you that I should watch out for?

Quote from: HouseHippo on May 22, 2016, 08:08:32 PM
I'm so happy to hear that you're doing better. I was worried about you. The more trained surgeons the better! Since I'm having surgery with Satterwhite in < 20 days is there any advice that you can give me? Anything that surprised you that I should watch out for?

Imo an experience like that with the nurses may have two reasons:
-the staff did not know how to handle transgender people.
Here is a brochure showing its normal people, which can be shown to personnel and is explicitly for healthcare staff:
http://www.gires.org.uk/assets/DOH-Assets/pdf/doh-transgender-experiences.pdf

-or they are understaffed.

Imo you might contact him as soon as possible and he should ask for those to be changed immediately.
Imo its no professional behaviour. You may even tell that you have concerns because of an experience of a patient and like those to be adressed.

hugs

I'm definitely going to contact Dr.Satterwhite and bring this up just in case. Thanks for the advice.

Hey,  I'll mention a little of my experience of CPMC to Dr. Satterwhite but I don't feel like it was representative for the hospital. I've heard good things before. It did seem a mix of both workers untrained with trans patients and also being understaffed, like Laura said. I usually have comically bad luck haha and it certainly played out that way. But now I miss the food there! Can't beat chocolate cake on demand. If there was anything I was hoping for, it was just getting the simple things done without having to remind them, like bringing water, draining the catheter, keeping to the pain medication schedule, and also not forgetting meds like the flowmax. I won't mention it on the thread anymore. It was very dissapointing but I'm done mentioning it here. It's got to be better on average!

     Healing so far is full of ups and downs. Quite frankly, I used to have a drug problem and I really don't want to be on painkillers but it's a must. It's similar to FFS, waking up ever few hours because the pain meds are fading.  And the laxatives help but I'm still backed up :( No matter the pain, it's hard not to positive that the deed is done.

    To the other soon to be and prospective Satterwhite ladies and gents reading this thread, his bedside manner is consistent with my first impressions of him as confident, humble, and incredibly empathetic doctor.

    I'm very curious about the aesthetics. He called it beautiful but what does that mean? And he said a good depth but what does that mean? :) I'll find out soon. It doesn't make sense to post pics privately or publically as he does that on his website but I'll have to do my best with written descriptions and thoughts and feelings. It'll be awhile before the finished results are apparent too.

    Just as I was finished writing this, I got kicked in balls that no longer exist. Damn phantom pains! ;) seriously though what a pain in the perineum.

-Ruby

Pain is relative. The only pain medication I had was what I received in surgery though once I was a awake, I could request it if I wanted it. If you are in pain and need medication, you should receive it if you ask for it. I seem to have a high tolerance for pain but not everybody does so judge your need for medication on what you feel and not what I did.

Dena - Very true. I wish the nurses weren't measuring me on their pain scales haha One of my biggest pains came actually came from bladder spasms. They knew I was having them, I expressed how painful they were, but the several of the nurses seemed indifferent. I had one nurse walk away from me as I was telling him I needed flomax and my scheduled pain medication and he gave me the back of his head while  giving me a "I'll be back in an hour." But I'm okay now. I don't want to think about it :(

Turning ones head while speaking on the way out the door in the middle of a conversation might get a reaction from my wife that he won't soon forget. God bless this will be a learning experience for some.

Thanks for sharing what you're going through. I hope you're getting better and better each day. After hearing your experience with the nurses I'm kinda nervous.

Hi ladies, don't be worried, you'll have good experiences. Don't somehow hit your catheters while napping haha and tell them to stay on your pain medication schedule or else :) that is if you need it. Dena is right. Everyone is different in terms of pain tolerance. Having packing in is actually not fun at all. I'm getting better everyday, stronger, but the packing and catheter I just want out of me. Oh tomorrom come soon. Feeling is coming back pretty quickly. I can feel warm flowing sensations from the vagina, I wonder if it's blood haha my partner says that's what her periods feel like. Hopefully you're ok with some TMI for this thread ;) not terribly disgusting, I just wouldn't be eating too much as you read ;p today's advice; Miralax is your new best friend. It might not be on the list of things you need but be prepared. Being backed up is bad normally, especially when it's caused by pain killers. But being backed up when you have this much stuff stuffed in you, well that's a recipe for horrible pain. Laxatives folks, they are a many splendored thing. Love them well.

-Ruby

Ha, I've been using miralax and prunes for 8 years already - just to stay regular since I lost 190 pounds. I guess it will be really bad for me.  Happy removal today Ruby! 

How did the packing removal go? Did you finally get to see what is good cosmetic outcome and how much is good depth? XXXX

Wendy, Reborm, hi and thanks for keeping up with me :)

So...I'm extremely happy. Dr. Satterwhite exceeded my expectations. Remember that ->-bleeped-<- thread that I posted up earlier (the pictures in it have since been removed)? Well mine looks very similar actually. The aesthetics as of now are blowing my mind. I got to see it when there wasn't too much swelling, right after the packing was taken out. One of the labia minora swelled up a bit within minutes. But the labia minor look really good and they go all the way down and extend around the vagina. In a previous thread, another forum goer expressed her concern with North American surgeons' results looking like there are two vaginas, in other words the labia minora end right before the introitus;  there is a hole just underneath where the lips end. Dr. Satterwhite and Dr. Bowers latest techniques are up there with Suporn has been doing for a while now. The labia minora are very realistic and generous, and even this early, very sensitive.

    But to back up and go through my visit. They actually saw me early. The moment I walked in they prepared a room, seeing that I was slightly uncomfortable. I got in stirrups, my nurse Kate came in and she cut off the sutures keeping the bolster dressing on. It was painless. Then, she starting pulling out the packing itself out and it was coming out for days. I got my first feeling inside at the entrance. Once she finished, she filled my bladder full of saline, released the balloon in the foley catheter, and I went to the bathroom to pee for the first time ever with a vagina . Ladies, don't worry if nothing comes out for a while. Don't worry if not all the liquid comes out at this time. And yes don't worry if it looks like fresh gazpacho. It did not come out clean and even now, peeing is hit or miss quite literally because of the swellingl It's fun to pee like a girl, although it's more work in some ways!

   Got back in and it was dilation training time. It's pretty intuitive. Put in at a downward angle and as it slides in slowly it will start to go in straighter as it goes around the pubic bone. It's actually much more sensitive in the first few inches than I imagined. Seriously, there is a G-spot right under the pubic bone. Definitely still erectile tissue or something (just like Bowers, Brassard, Suporn do too). And I've continued dilating and I can also feel my prostate as well. The vagina itself will definitely be pleasurable to penetrate :)

  Once the dilator came out, there was blood all over the labia minora. Kate took a wet wipe and starting wiping it down but I had to tell her to "stop! stop! it's too sensitive!" haha I can't believe there is erogenous sensation in them, all the way down around the introitus There is even erogenous sensation in the labia majora too. Maybe it's just my body. I'm thrilled.

   I feel much better too. Once the bolster dressing and packing come out, the discomfort level drops considerably. Don't get me wrong, it still hurts, particularly the sutures, but the worst is over.

   On depth, well it's pretty good. I was about 5 inches before the surgery, slightly below average, and my current depth is almost exactly the same, 5 inches. I'm fine by this. It's actually average I hear even for a cis woman. Does it get deeper after more dilation? I don't know.

   A few more reasons I like the aesthetics so much. I love the clitoral hood. It looks very natural and there is an excellent level of detail there Dr. Satterwhite puts in. Currently, the clitoris is mostly hidden with a tiny bit showing but it doesn't take that much to get it out of hiding. More to report on the clit though. The other reason I'm so happy is that the doctor was able to put the incisions almost all the way in the groin crease. I really, really hope it heals like this because if it does, the scars will be almost completely hidden :)

    If you have any specific questions, let me know, I'd be happy to answer them if I can. Time to sleep!

- Ruby

So happy for you! And a big wow on happy penetration and erogenous labia! <blush/>.

I'm sending this right off to a friend who's both terrified of surgery and skeptical of us procedures. And I guess I'm calling the brownstein crane office this week :-).

I'm just so happy to hear that you're doing well. The fact that you're so happy with your results already is so awesome. Just hearing from you picked me up from when I was feeling a bit scared about recovery driving home tonight. Two questions I have for you is: I'm doing this alone sadly, so how are you able to move around and stuff? What kind of pain/what level of pain are you in? Thank you for sharing with us!

Hi again :) It's ok to feel a bit scared about recovery, you just want to be prepared and safe. You will be! Is this something that you can go through alone? For the most part yes! By law I'm pretty sure you need someone you know to pick you up from the hospital. I remember signing a document that said I had someone driving me home. But the reason I think you've be fine is that you can prepare for the hardest days by stocking your pantry and fridge with food that is nutritious and more or less ready to eat. You're going to want to stay home by yourself for a while and possibly call some friends and family over for some company. :hugs: you will be fine! If you really need someone, I live 20 mins away.  I could come help you :) Also, Dr. Satterwhite said that f you aren't feeling good by the last and third day at the hospital, tell the nurses and they will let you stay at the hospital as long as you need for recovery.

   The second question, what about the pain? I use the 1-10 scale the nurses were using. The answer is it's variable. Has is got up to a 10? For me, that only happened when the nurses were neglecting me and didn't come after I called them. Do not fall behind on pain medication. Be religious about it. Stay right on schedule, neither ahead, nor behind. If you do that, the pain will be considerably manageable, under at or under a 5 for me. Depends on your pain tolerance. Pain meds+ laying in right position+netflix or tv for distraction = perfectly fine experience. Walking and standing won't be comfortable and the pain will increase the longer you do it. Somethings will be very uncomfortable but not terribly painful, like going to the bathroom. Peeing a whole other future post. It's pretty uncomfortable, though not painful.

   A short update, including my current pain; percoset pain meds are not working well anymore so I decided to wean myself off of them to ibuprofen. Yesterday was kind of a bad day, pain stayed consistently above a 5 because I cut my dosage in half. The swelling on my labia majora and incisions got considerably worse. The swelling on the labia minora isn't so good either. My fine looking vagina turned it into a menacing monster! It's so sad to look at :( also dilating now kinda hurts because of the swelling inside. All this is totally normal, Dr. Satterwhite and his nurse told me beforehand.

    But there is a detail about the vagina and the clitoris that I noticed yesterday. When I put my smallest dilator, I can see see that dilator is actually very close to the bottom of the hooded clit. From the looks of it, the spacing is perfect. I shall see. I may actually be able to have an orgasm through penetration, since whatever goes in there will be slightly rubbing the clit :) On the topic, I was laying there horny for no reason and then I starting feeling blood heading down to the clitoral region. I must say it felt fantastic. Since it's only day 7 post op, I stopped all thoughts and actions associated with said lower region. I am waiting eagerly to report on the impending party in my pants :) I have such a strong female libido! Being able to express my sexuality in the right body makes all the difference. No more mechanical sex, just what feels natural and authentic to me<3

- Ruby

hi ruby.
thankyou for the thread.
I am still working out FFS but GCS is in the back of my mind. can i ask what sort of hair removal you had to deal with? this sort of surgery is still a minimum of 18 months away for me and unfortunately where I live in Australia the electrolysis path if few and far between so I am curious on how much preparation I will need to look towards.
ta
Dami

Quote from: confused_very on May 28, 2016, 06:36:19 PM
I am still working out FFS but GCS is in the back of my mind. can i ask what sort of hair removal you had to deal with? this sort of surgery is still a minimum of 18 months away for me and unfortunately where I live in Australia the electrolysis path if few and far between so I am curious on how much preparation I will need to look towards.

Facial Team for FFS and Dr Bowers for SRS are in Australia in December 2016.

http://facialteam.eu/international-consultations-list-of-cityes-and-dates/

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe most Australians go to Thailand for SRS, and some to Dr Ives in Melbourne.

Hey Ruby thanks for the reply. I was able to have a friend go with me for a couple of days while in and out of the hospital, so I'm covered legally haha. Thanks for the offer! It's nice to know that there's a friendly face close by if I need someone. I'm glad that your pain has been for the most part manageable. Could you expand on peeing please?

I'm sorry you had a bad day :(. I hope today is a better day for you! Swelling will go away with time and it will all be beautiful.

That's so exciting that the spacing looks perfect for you! Being able to climax through penetration would be amazing. Haha suppress those horny thoughts!

You Naughty Naughty Hippo   :)

   No naughty naughty me for a while ;) the problem with peeing has actually started to resolve itself. The catheter screwed with my bladder muscles. I would have to pee really bad but the muscles were too weak to get a sustained flow. Combined with all the swelling around the urethra and I would sit on the toilet for 10 minutes just trying to get a little pee out. All is well now.

   I've been in a lot pain recently since I'm only taking Ibuprofen. The incisions are healing up ok but I get shooting pain in them so bad that my house is filled with random and creative expletives. Second post op appt this week. Hopefully they can tell me if everything is normal. I may have some necrotic tissue around the entrance of my introitus or it's just weird scabbing.

     I hate staying home :( anyone else find it extremely hard to find comfortable position? Sitting, laying down, walking...it all hurts. What's a girl to do :(

   Oh and my electro. Started last year, before I even got my surgery date. I got lucky and was fortunate enough to have almost no hair on my scrotum for some reason. It was pretty clear before surgery but let me tell you, that was painful as heck. Took about 7 months or so to clear everything. Also did 4 laser treatments for the dark hairs.

-Ruby

As I returned to work 4 days out of the hospital, I had 12-14 hours a day sitting or standing where there wasn't much escaping the discomfort. The remainder of the day I couldn't tell you because I was so exhausted I was out like a light and didn't feel a thing. Mostly it was moving the donut around to find a more comfortable position and then when I couldn't, I would sit without the donut for a while.

I found pressure as the result of swelling around the urethra to be the reason I had trouble peeing and it took weeks for it to fade. At the time, problems like mine were known but not common. We were not permitted to leave the hospital until we could pee and I had an extra long stay. Also at the time they thought we "forgot" how to pee which was far from the truth.

Dena, you are a tough lady :) allow me to borrow some of your strength. Definitely helps to be positive and thankful. So far, haven't been able to sit down without a donut at all. Like you said before, pain is subjective. My body has always be extremely sensitive to the point where everything tickles me haha I've built up my pain tolerance but this is actually worse for me than ffs. I wonder about my upcoming breast aug. Probably pretty easy in comparison.

The pleasure. Now that I am looking forward to, if it's ok for me to immodestly say here. Reading all these orgasm threads has me curious and excited. Already, I can feel during dilation that penetration is such a powerful, almost overwhelming feeling, for me at least. Can't help but yelp. When I put it in, the motion of it going under my pelvic bone gives me the feeling of a mini orgasm. It feel like the erectile tissue from the base of my previous genitalia. Then there's also the prostate, which I can tell will push the experience over the top. I used to be skeptical of posts that say that sex is better after. I thought, well maybe, for the reason that I won't have dysphoria and my female sex drive will be unhinged. That's true I think. But actually, the nerves are all there, arranged in a way that is more pleasurable, at least for me. I could never have stimulated that erectile tissue so directly. I haven't felt too much from the clit yet. It too sensitive to touch and I'll have to use the clitoral hood to stimulate it indirectly. The mucosal tissue feels so sensitive. I can imagine oral sex will be mindblowing.

    Ok no more words lest I wish for self-torture. It's too soon!

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 30, 2016, 12:57:54 PM
Dena, you are a tough lady :)

No, just dumb. I was unaware of the 4-6 week recover time before surgery as I was unaware that I still had about a month of vacation time left until they handed me this huge check after they canned me. I had asked my boss how much vacation time I had left and he told me very little. The personal office was 40 miles away from me so I didn't ask. I think the saying we create our own hell may be true in my case.

Quote from: Dena on May 30, 2016, 01:17:43 PM
No, just dumb. I was unaware of the 4-6 week recover time before surgery as I was unaware that I still had about a month of vacation time left until they handed me this huge check after they canned me. I had asked my boss how much vacation time I had left and he told me very little. The personal office was 40 miles away from me so I didn't ask. I think the saying we create our own hell may be true in my case.

Ohw :( what a story. Not dumb at all, but you faced an injustice even if you did at least get your vacation hours. From everything I've read, you're incredibly smart and courageous <3

-Ruby

Ruby... Thank you! Your,post,thread,story is a gift to me (and many others I'm sure). I have a consultation appointment with Dr. Satterwhite June 6th and your story is the best telling of his work that I have been able to find.  This my first post on Susan's. Starting with thanks seems a good way to go. Thank you thank you thank you

Quote from: TC on May 31, 2016, 04:45:36 PM
Ruby... Thank you! Your,post,thread,story is a gift to me (and many others I'm sure). I have a consultation appointment with Dr. Satterwhite June 6th and your story is the best telling of his work that I have been able to find.  This my first post on Susan's. Starting with thanks seems a good way to go. Thank you thank you thank you

Thanks TC, that's a better response than I could have ever expected. I just didn't see much yet online in terms of Dr. Satterwhite aside from a few good ->-bleeped-<- posts. I thought it would be nice to take everyone through my experience. I'm actually relatively new here on the boards too but I've really come to like it. Feel free to message me or post your questions/comments right here on this thread. Congrats on your June 6th consult! You're going to like him, I'm pretty sure. Ask for before/afters because they have a lot that they can't show on the website.

Not too much news, the pain is finally waning but I have a long way to go in terms of healing. The surgical site has become quite gross looking from all the scabs, necrotic tissue, swelling, redness, and dissolving sutures. I hope it all comes together in the end. I had a rough time healing from the FFS. Got my 2nd post op appt today and I'll come back and post what the good doc says. Probably nothing new so it'll be a short update.

I just want normalcy again. I mean, it's nice being able to watch the whole Game of Thrones series for the first time but I'm an outdoorsy kind of person. If you're like me, be prepared to feel down from the lack of mobility. I keep telling myself that soon I'll be out and about again. Not only that, but in less than 2 months I'll be in Buenos Aires for a vacay and my ffs revision and breast aug. If you found this thread useful, feel free to check that one out too! Link https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,189339.0.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,189339.0.html) I'll be updating both of them :)

- Ruby

Also thanks, learning of a great practice with < 2 year wait times is wonderful news, I'll be calling them tomorrow to schedule consult.

Awwww Ruby, your story was better than I could have hoped for.  "Satterwhite" is a really good search word so I found this thread straight away. I'm still struggling with Susan's navigation but this seems like a most convivial place. I'm surprised I took so long to come across a link to Susan's. Your generosity in sharing your story really helps those of us coming after. Your prose is clear and I feel tremendous empathy when reading. i hope you continue.

Yeah June 6th is kinda like a holiday and i'm 9 years old. We will see if/when I end up on his surgery board but I've seen 6, 8 month and even a year wait times posted for him(thats gonna be rough) but a brilliant surgeon that is in my network will be worth the wait. I'm Kaiser NorCal also (Isn't the MST amazing???) so trying to use insurance on what I can (electrolysis, speech therapy and HRT so far) I'd love a heads up if you know about any other services they might have.   

Bed rest is going to be rough. I've been trying to increase my activity in general (I'm in horrible shape) I can keep a jog 4mph so I cover 2 miles in about 30 minutes but its getting easier. So going to staying in bed for a few weeks is going to hurt that progress plus the stir crazy effect. I'll definitely read your FFS thread(exotic travel & surgery) and start taking that in, but I think I want to get my voice tweaked first as most of my friends are cis women and I feel like my voice is what separates me more than my looks right now.

Game of Thrones??? girl don't get me started ok maybe start me a little if you ever want to rant/talk about it, I'd love that. I love and sometimes hate that series. I'm sure you have seen Sense8 ..... if you have Netflix you must watch Sense8. It is written in the translesbian manual somewhere as a requirement.

Hi Ruby,

I seem to be following in your footsteps...I'm 6 months post FFS, I also did BA 3 months ago ;) Congratulations on your next step!!

Thank you for posting your experiences, I had no idea about Dr. Satterwhite and the hybrid technique he and Dr. Bowers were doing these days. It's really great to hear actually. I'm with Kaiser SoCal, currently on the list for Meltzer with a consult scheduled for 8/10. I'm just starting to research GRS surgeons, with SoCal Kaiser, Meltzer the only provider right now although supposedly that's changing. But anyway I'm looking into other options because I lost my employer paid insurance so I'm on COBRA and it's too expensive, so looking into ACA options, which could open up other possibilities besides buying a Kaiser plan and staying with 2 stage Meltzer. I've been chatting with friends who're really happy with their results from Suporn, but like you, I already traveled to BsAs for FFS and not really wanting to go overseas again, and for this surgery it would be almost 6 weeks.

I called Bowers on Monday and found out she's booked 2.5 years out of consultation date!! I will definitely be looking into your surgeon...please keep posting as things heal up :)
-Allie

SadieBlake- It's so nice to have a great surgeon without a horrendous wait list. However, I talked to Dr. Satterwhite about this and he's worried that his wait list will reach the same. He's getting really popular and the demand is huge. It's so sad!

TC- Thanks again for your words of encouragement. Empathy is my strong suit :) Sounds like we have a lot more in common than just living in the bay area. I got my approval for this GRS at the Multi-transitions clinic and they were awesome. I remember clearly they brought out tea for everyone in the waiting room. I was so excited about getting the surgery eval that I spilled my tea all over the crotch area of my pants lol I'm was like a 9 year old on a holiday too for all the big steps of my surgery. I'm gonna post a pic or two of me right before my surgery. It's funny and endearing :)

For the different services they offer, I've done lots of electro for srs and face recently, and also a voice therapist. I even met with a voice surgeon at Kaiser as well! That's my last surgery and even though Kaiser would do it with a technique very much like Dr. Haben, the surgeon was too new. I have a lot to say on this matter and eventually I'll do one final thread on voice surgery. I'm pretty sure I've settled with Yeson. You're right though, voice is as important as ffs. In fact, I do get clocked  because I can't keep a female voice :( It's a big issue.

Oh I forgot to mention. Kaiser will do your ffs for free. No kidding. There is a surgeon named Charles Shih and he would do it, including type 3 forehead contouring. I met with him to check out the issues with the titanium in my forehead. With Kaiser, they are changing their policy. FFS is not cosmetic anymore, it's considered reconstructive surgery. Same goes with breast aug. You can literally get every surgery done at Kaiser NorCal if you wanted, including GRS. I had one of their surgeons try to convince me to be one of his first patients because he had no wait list.

Oh and I will start Sense8 since it's in the translesbian manual. It was created by the Wachowski's (I find it cool how they went from being brothers to siblings to sisters). I would love to chat up more with all things trans and more. Once you get 15 posts, we can PM! You're pretty darn cool :)

Allie- Dr. DiMaggio did incredible work, I'm blown away. You're so beautiful in your avatar pic, seriously. Congrats! So I've heard about Meltzer but I am not a fan of the 2 stage at all. It just doesn't make sense to me at all, personally. I've seen some of his results too that really lacked urethral mucosal tissue. His technique is way outdated. I would have gone to Suporn, his technique is the gold standard from what I've heard. It's like 18k though and you're right, you'd need a lot of time off. FFS is more painful I think, but GRS is really uncomfortable.  One thing about Suporn that I've always admired was that the labia minora is generous, wrapped around the whole vulva, the incisions are all the way in the groin, and the depth is amazing. In the end though, I'm extremely happy I went to Dr. Satterwhite because I have those features, perhaps minus the amazing depth. Suporn would probably have gotten an extra inch or two haha I don't care, I have the same depth as my partner and she's cis.

I'm sorry about your insurance situation :( it's okay, ACA is not bad at all and I think you can choose an option that Dr. Satterwhite accepts, if you choose that route. The good thing about him is that the consult is free so you can book now, fix your insurance by the time that rolls around (around 5 months from now), and then get on the wait list. In the end, you'd be about the same time as Melter, maybe less (Meltzer is over a year and then you gotta wait for the second stage). Good luck with everything, I'm excited for you. Your avatar, ahhhh, so pretty <3

So here are the pics my partner took. You can see the issues with my forehead that I need fixing. I rarely go out without makeup so posting these makes me feel kinda ugly. Still, they capture both my silly and serious sides :D

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2Fizxl7fm8r%2FIMG_8020.jpg&hash=80f41f902bf09b2dcf4d317d5e995d333564f1d8) (http://postimg.org/image/izxl7fm8r/)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2Fha6kzrty3%2FIMG_8018.jpg&hash=8c0a26beac0ef69ef1fabab7348ac8acd199180b) (http://postimg.org/image/ha6kzrty3/)

Oh and healing is going well. Still anxious for the pain to subside and to see what it looks like without the necrotic tissue and swelling. I don't hear a lot about that from others but let me tell you, prepare for a scary halloween-eque, Tales from the Crypt vagina, especially when healing is in full gear. Another post op appt on Monday so maybe more to tell. Have a great weekend ya'll. I'll be mostly indoors so go have some fun for me.
- Ruby

Hey Ruby I hope you're well. Try not to die of boredom!

Ruby OMG! where to start hmmmm

Kaiser MST is full of amazing people. I didn't get tea but got cookies! The surgery review board was kind of like talking to a nice group people that happen to like cookies and lab coats. I got lots of hugs (they are huggers there) and lots of smiles (do you think they send them to smile camp as part of their training??) .

Yeah I'm in electrolysis purgatory right now. I'm almost done with down stairs. All I can do is laugh that I make appointments so I can sit in stirrups for an hour while a mean lady(she's really not) stabs me with an electric probe. So I just follow the advice of the great Carrie Bradshaw and get a Belgian waffle(not really but I pretend I'm getting one).  Was the voice therapist a big Scottish Lass... can't remember her name. I'm looking at Yeson vs Haben too but you seem to be ahead of me on the curve in every way, so I shall attempt to purloin some of your knowledge as I can. Yeah I've been adopted by a group of cis women and we are having amazing conversations and I'm on the inside of the bubble (one of us) and a cough, laugh or loss of concentration (chest resonance comes out) and I feel like I just farted. Nobody says anything but there it is and there is no dog to blame it on :(

Kaiser will do whaaaaaaaat? *ouch* my chin just hit the table. I will be looking into this. Mind = Blown. Even BA? I need to get me head around this.

Lana Wachowski has been a hero of mine for a while (rainbow unicorn dreads FTW).When starting Sense8 people are usually pretty confused for at least the first 2 episodes but it all comes together wonderfully in the end(I promise).  I don't know how the Warchowski's sold Netflix on the budget but it shows (many locations and everything feels tight like a big budget movie). Come to think of it, you look a bit like Jamie Clayton (lead actress)

15 post seems to be the key to being a citizen here, so I'll work on it. I'd do something active this weekend but I'm still recovering from Bottlerock sunburn so probably a quiet weekend this time.

Indeed, Satterwhite's office just booked my consult for Oct 6 with an estimated surgery date in July  '17 so I guess his dance card is filling up some.

That timing works me anyway and I know there are other surgeons coming on line pretty fast now, Boston Medical Center has Drs Slama and Oates who are trained and in the process of setting up insurance. (I learned this talking to my health insurance co).

aww, thanks Ruby, I like hearing I'm beautiful, especially coming from a gorgeous woman like yourself. I'm really happy with my FFS results, there's a few little things but overall thumbs up for DiMaggio.

I'm excited for you and I'll follow along in your recovery, I hope you keep us up to date, so far I'm pretty impressed with Dr Satterwhite and your experience.

I have lots of moving parts going on right now in figuring out the who, when, how much of my bottom surgery..that said, at least I'm currently in the Meltzer pipeline but who knows where I'll end up  :-\

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 30, 2016, 11:16:25 AMOh and my electro. Started last year, before I even got my surgery date. I got lucky and was fortunate enough to have almost no hair on my scrotum for some reason. It was pretty clear before surgery but let me tell you, that was painful as heck. Took about 7 months or so to clear everything. Also did 4 laser treatments for the dark hairs.

Excuse my ignorance but do you need electrolysis no matter where you get SRS done? That sounds like hell!

Quote from: Ellement_of_Freedom on June 05, 2016, 08:08:05 PM
Excuse my ignorance but do you need electrolysis no matter where you get SRS done? That sounds like hell!

There's a few surgeons who recommend you don't have electrolysis, Suporn and Brassard spring to mind. I've heard of some people choose their surgeons because of this one thing. However even with them I've heard of people ending up with vaginal hair. In Suporn's case it was only near the entrance so easily removed, and there's one here

Hair inside the vagina and scars outside vagina
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=203188.15

Quote from: AnonyMs on June 05, 2016, 08:44:35 PM
There's a few surgeons who recommend you don't have electrolysis, Suporn and Brassard spring to mind. I've heard of some people choose their surgeons because of this one thing. However even with them I've heard of people ending up with vaginal hair. In Suporn's case it was only near the entrance so easily removed, and there's one here

Hair inside the vagina and scars outside vagina
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=203188.15

So better to have it done? But I want some pubic hair in the normal area.. just not in the vagina. Is that what normally happens?...

Quote from: Ellement_of_Freedom on June 06, 2016, 12:09:23 AM
So better to have it done? But I want some pubic hair in the normal area.. just not in the vagina. Is that what normally happens?...

I don't know about other surgeons, but if Suporn gives you instructions on exactly where to do it if you ask. Its quite a small area. I believe he also tells you not to do it within a year of surgery as it can damage the skin, and he's all about getting a good result.

Quote from: Ellement_of_Freedom on June 06, 2016, 12:09:23 AM
So better to have it done? But I want some pubic hair in the normal area.. just not in the vagina. Is that what normally happens?...

Yuppers most surgeons have a template for the electrolysis to follow for hair clearing. Dr. Satterwhite's office emailed one to my hair dominatrix

Ruby, excellent news. Please keep us posted.  The clock is still ticking down for my July GRS with Satterwhite. I hope I fair even 1/2 as well as you.  I'm obviously quite a bit heavier, much older, and then I'm so ugly - so there is all that.   Well, like I said. Keep us posted.  P.S. So jealous of those in CA will FULL coverage.  I only barely got GRS covered (9 months of fighting a trans surgical exclusion on my policy) , no voice coverage, no face coverage, no BA coverage, or even electro coverage...anywhere.   It totally sucks to not live in CA and be trans. For insurance reasons alone. Don't get me started about legal protections (of total lack thereof) as well as people's attitudes.  I had a coke thrown on me in the DFW airport - just for walking by some early 20 somethings. Perhaps they thought they could cure or kill me.

As far as electrolysis goes, I'm not quite sure why many surgeons don't just scrap the follicles out at the time of surgery. I think perhaps because it's more tediuous and they prefer to spend their limited time in an expensive OR focusing on all other aspects of the surgery. I don't know though because Dr. Brassard doesn't require it and does his surgeries in about 3 hours. It's confusing. If it were up to me, every surgeon would do what Dr. Suporn does not just because there is less pain, but because only at the time of the operation will the doctor know where the follicles should be scrapped. I've heard the contrary about having hair in the vagina though so this issue is complicated.

Every day I'm pushing myself more and more, not too hard I hope. I just can't stay inside! Too much energy. I still have a pain though, which I am controlling by taking lots of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, under doc's orders. It's the incisions that hurt because they are practically in the groin creases. When I walk, I can feel the dissolvable sutures poking out and rubbing against irritated and inflamed skin. Luckily Dr. Satterwhite took out a lot of those sutures in my 2nd and 3rd post op appt (last one happened today). He said it all looks fine, although I think it looks pretty scary. My left labia is swollen to like 3 times the side of the other one now :( I mean, granted it will go down but it's frustrating. Same thing happened with my FFS; my left side got very swollen while the right side stayed fine. Also the necrosis tissue is nasty, but I got it. Every time I change my pantyliner, I can see my body is getting rid of it. It's apparently normal but I don't hear a lot of people on the forums talking about it. Here is a linkhttp://imgur.com/a/FjzUC (http://imgur.com/a/FjzUC) to what it looks like for a Brassard patient. Beware if you are squeamish. It looks white/off white. My vagina looks quite different though as there is enough labia minora to hide the pink mucosal tissue and the clitoris is hooded (Dr. Satterwhite goes for only 20% of the clitoris visible even when you open the hooding. Most of it is hidden like a cis clit). It's going to be awhile before I try to actually use it. The frankenvagina just isn't very erotic nowadays, I've decided.

I get to see the doc at months 3, 6, 9, and also at a year. I'm sure there's more to report. Overall, very positive experience. Dr. Satterwhite assured me that those nurses at CPMC who weren't up to his standards will no longer be allowed to take care of his patients.

Wendy, sorry to hear about your difficulties with insurance :( different states, it's almost like we live in different countries. We're lucky in California no doubt. Times are changing, just not fast enough. If I were there with you at that airport with those bigots, best believe you would have to hold me back from kicking their butts :(

- Ruby

(Brassard operates with a second surgeon, which is how he achieves those times - he does the fine detail work and she does a lot of the rest.)

If you're referring to the white/yellowish stuff in those pictures, that's not necrosis, that's fibrin, which is a natural part of wound healing and you want to have it happen. It does look terrifying and gross, though. I know this because I panicked about infection and called in the nurses, and they told me it was fine. :) So maybe it will help to know that it's normal and desirable (necrosis generally ends up looking black, I think, as it's literally dead tissue).

Thanks Jenna :) I've read your posts about Dr. Brassard and he seems to be an incredible doctor with one of the most efficient, consistent, and affordable practices in the world. I didn't know about fibrin until you mentioned it by name, which helped me some research myself. As fascinating biologically as it is gross looking haha but I feel better now. Like you, although perhaps not as much, I have a lot of swelling. Patience is the key as it can take up to and more than a year to go down. Sometimes though I worry that the swelling will affect how it all heals in the end. Time will tell I suppose. Glad you're happy though! (P.S. I think I've seen some of your Youtube videos - those really helped me plan my transition so thanks again).

- Ruby

Ruby : Glad to help! I have never been on YouTube, though, so I can really only take credit for posts on Susan's. :) If it's any consolation, I didn't notice any issues with the swelling affecting the final result (except that it took forever to *become* final, ha!). It sounds like you've gotten a beautiful result so far, and everything is healing well, so that's encouraging.

Hmm, I'm flying out 4 days after my 2nd post op if I'm at all able as my wife has to return that day.  I guess I will have to talk to them about taking them out 4 days early before the 3rd appointment that I won't be around for.

Quote from: Jenna Marie on June 07, 2016, 06:22:36 PM
Ruby : Glad to help! I have never been on YouTube, though, so I can really only take credit for posts on Susan's. :) If it's any consolation, I didn't notice any issues with the swelling affecting the final result (except that it took forever to *become* final, ha!). It sounds like you've gotten a beautiful result so far, and everything is healing well, so that's encouraging.

Oh sorry, I believe then there is another person with your same name who also went to Dr. Brassard :) Oops. Thanks for putting that worry away for me. Actually, the swelling has really started to go down in the past few days. It's starting to look normal and the big incisions are already flattening out and fading.

WendyAnn - I'm pretty sure they mentioned that the 3rd post op appt is optional, or at least you can do a phone appt. with Dr. Satterwhite instead if you want. The sutures are dissolvable, they'll go away by themselves. The doc will decide if and how many he wants take out at your 2nd post op appt. July is coming up soon! Please let us know how it goes, on this thread if you'd like. It would be very helpful for others to know what your experience is like too :)

- Ruby

Hi Ruby, how are you? I've been busy with my own surgery so I haven't had time to check back in here! I would love to hear more from you.

Hi househippo  :) Everything's going okay. I've been up and about lately, busy with lots of work so I haven't had a chance to do a write up. The swelling continues to go down. I have a minor issue that Dr. Satterwhite says is normal, that half the patients get, which is some splitting of the tissue just under the labia minora, near the introitus. Dr. Satterwhite assured me that my body has not yet made enough collagen to seal up the area but I can see my body is trying it's best to heal. It doesn't look very pretty. I also have some necrosis of the urethral mucosal tissue around the hidden part of the clitoris, underneath the hooding. I emailed the doc and he told me that's normal and I'm actually impressed that he put mucosal tissue inside there and around the clit (like Brassard does). Even though it's not visible (the necrotic tissue is coming out very slowly at the edges of the hood), that's probably why there is extra sensation in the area.

I'm still taking lots of ibuprofen even at a month post op. The incisions are flattening out and even fading at parts, but the friction of them against by thighs causes some pain. Also, I iust get tired easier. Changing those pads all the time too - that gets annoying fast.


Enough about me, how are you? I'm more interested in your experience. Hope it went ok :)

Hey Ruby,

thanks for the update. So of us (me me me) are reading your post with great alacrity. HouseHippo, do you have your own thread or maybe if Ruby is ok with it you could post here? Satterwhite is pretty dam amazing yet modest/conservative. I have to wait till friggin MARCH but thats the current schedule. He is doing 2-3 GCS a week and the wait time is still getting longer. I'm pretty local so I'm on the cancellation wait list too.  So FYI ladies, get on the surgery schedule asap, as it is going to take a while

I just booked a consultation with Dr Satterwhite for Oct 26, I was told right now they're booking surgery dates for May, 2017. I already have a consult with Dr Meltzer on Aug 10 so I guess it's Dr Satterwhite vs Dr Meltzer. Does anyone know how many vaginoplasties he's done? What his complication rate is?

Thanks Ruby for your detailed posts, I didn't even know about Dr Satterwhite until I read your posts. I'm really just starting to research myself even tho I booked my consult with Dr Meltzer last October...been recovering from the ffs and ba past 6 months.

Quote from: allie0365 on June 17, 2016, 01:09:35 AM
I just booked a consultation with Dr Satterwhite for Oct 26, I was told right now they're booking surgery dates for May, 2017.

I bet that's in large part due to these posts. Ruby should be getting a commission on it!

Quote from: AnonyMs on June 17, 2016, 01:50:37 AM
I bet that's in large part due to these posts. Ruby should be getting a commission on it!

Hah! No I don't take credit at all. When I first heard about Dr. Satterwhite, the wait time was only 3 months for a consult and 6 for the surgery. By the time I booked, which was after I posted this thread, it had gone up to 3-5 months for a consult and 9 months for the surgery. That's about what it is now. There's a lot of demand in the Bay Area. I think there is also a large trans population in California. Actually, I think that other ->-bleeped-<- thread is more convincing. Those pictures speak louder than any of my words.


[/quote]

Quote from: allie0365 on June 17, 2016, 01:09:35 AM
I just booked a consultation with Dr Satterwhite for Oct 26, I was told right now they're booking surgery dates for May, 2017. I already have a consult with Dr Meltzer on Aug 10 so I guess it's Dr Satterwhite vs Dr Meltzer. Does anyone know how many vaginoplasties he's done? What his complication rate is?

Thanks Ruby for your detailed posts, I didn't even know about Dr Satterwhite until I read your posts. I'm really just starting to research myself even tho I booked my consult with Dr Meltzer last October...been recovering from the ffs and ba past 6 months.

Yes of, course, no problem. I was just trying to be informative. I haven't seen much outside a few posts on ->-bleeped-<-, and a few good ones here too. I thought, why not. I'm not saying you should pick Dr. Satterwhite over Dr. Melzer because I went to him, but rather, I think his technique is in the stone age. Two-step procedures, in my opinion, are very outdated. There's no reason the labia minora and clitoral hood can't be made in the first surgery. I've seen some outcomes and I also think they are missing the urethral tissue in between the labia.

You're consult is in August and it's worth a go. But a friend (the one who did the tattoo you can see slightly in my avatar pic) waited 13 months after her Meltzer consult, meaning that you'll have to wait longer than July 17 for your surgery. And then, 3 months later, you'll need to go back for a labiaplasty. The total time for everything to be done might be the longer. Maybe it's different now that there are more options. Ultimately, you'll make the right decision for you because you're incredibly smart. You chose a wonderful surgeon for your ffs, I"m sure this one will go just as well :)

Quote from: SadieBlake on June 04, 2016, 06:39:56 AM
Indeed, Satterwhite's office just booked my consult for Oct 6 with an estimated surgery date in July  '17 so I guess his dance card is filling up some.

That timing works me anyway and I know there are other surgeons coming on line pretty fast now, Boston Medical Center has Drs Slama and Oates who are trained and in the process of setting up insurance. (I learned this talking to my health insurance co).

Why I so want to move out of Alaska and if I need a deeper cat bounce to Thailand which if I must I can use my credit card to bankroll my Thai srs. I wish I had stayed in New York City a bit longer before deciding to bounce to Alaska.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Ruby, I hope you're doing better with pain. I just wanted to say thanks again for sharing your experience. It was very helpful. Sorry it took me so long to update. I had lost track of my login information and was very busy. I finally made a thread with my experience if you are interested.

Hi, I saw your thread and will post on it.

For me, I've been busy using every bit of my ever increasing energy. However, it's been rough for a few reasons. I mentioned before I had a tear underneath my introitus, more precisely where the labia minora meet underneath it. I think it has to do with Dr. Satterwhite's specific technique, which is different from other surgeons who do penile inversion. There are a lot of sutures in that area, and according to the doc, it's an area where the tissue is weakest. The little tear became quite big and scary. In fact I could see my purple dilator through it! I talked to Dr. Satterwhite about it and apparently it happens to 50% of his patients and not a serious issue. I was conflicted in my head as to whether it's an acceptable complication. Dr. Satterwhite is a very calm person and seem nonchalant and confident that it would heal once my body can make enough collagen to heal the area. I trusted him and as it turns out, he was right. It's been a few weeks and it's closing up fast. If anyone here has the same issue, don't worry and listen to the good doc's advice. I've heard this happen to at least two of Dr. Bower's patients too. Don't worry folks, these things will heal (but talk to your doc of course).

    As for my clitoral hood, bad news on that sorry to say. A significant part of the hood died and fell off. There is still enough hooding to cover it from the sides, but it doesn't look amazing like it did in the beginning. Half of it survived, but mostly on one side. I don't know what's going on with it to be honest. I'll ask him when I see him next month. I think the problem was that I was circumcised. Had the skin been foreskin, it would have survived, but it looked like it was from the shaft under the head, not the prepuce. Alas much of it is gone :( I'll probably need a revision to fix the hood. Seems like my body really doesn't like surgery (had some complications with my ffs too).

   That was a few weeks ago. The rest has healed up significantly and it's beginning to look normal. Six weeks is a long time to go without stimulation down there so slowly I've starting experimenting. I'm struggling to relearn how to use the new equipment. It's too early. My clit is still healing, it's really hard. The doc says it'll take a bit before it softens. Anyone else have that experience? So far, I've been able to get maybe 60% of the way to an orgasm. It's so frustrating that I'm just going to lay off for a few months. Never again are the days of easily being able to rub one out haha I'm skeptical too when I read about post op orgasms being better than before. I'll believe it when I feel it. There was one spot under my genitalia of yore, the frenulum I believe, that may have gone on a permanent vacation. Without it (it might be somewhere hidden), I don't know if my post op O's will compare well to pre op ones. I hear Thai surgeons like Suporn and Chettawut use that. If my orgasms aren't the same without it, I might come to regret not taking a flight out there.

We shall see. Hopefully my next post will be my "OMG, I just had my first O" ;) Oh and some good news is that I get pretty wet when I'm aroused. Didn't expect that at all. Guess it's because my urethra is close to my clit and I always had a lot of precum before the op. Now I have enough natural lube just from that to get busy, sans penetration of course  ;D

- Ruby

Hi Ruby, thanks for the detailed update! I was wondering what Satterwhite does about the fourchette (where lips come together under the inroitus). I think Suporn creates the fourchette in a secondary revision, maybe to prevent the complication you had? I'm glad to hear Satterwhite does do it tho. I wonder if dilation stresses the area, potentially leading to that complication? In any case, so relieved to hear it cleared up for you. I suppose some necrosis is gonna happen..I was in Raleigh NC a few weeks ago and saw Shakina Nayfack's 'Manifest Pussy" show/musical/monologue...she talks about her clit hood having necrosis, she went to Suporn. You have quite a command with  anatomical parts! I had to look up frenulum! Do you think it wasn't used by Satterwhite? seems like good tissue...apparently that's what the fourchette is considered on female genitalia. As I've written before, I have Kaiser insurance so I'm hoping to use it for SRS but Suporn has always been my ultimate first choice. I was excited to learn from your posts that the differences in techniques between inversion and grafting are sort of becoming more hybrid-ized (?), but I'm still on the fence about what to do. The other factor is i'm pretty old, 51, and maybe I don't really need a rolls royce vag, maybe a cadillac might be ok for this old lady? who knows, it sure would be nice to be able to use my insurance for something tho.

Quote from: allie0365 on July 01, 2016, 12:56:18 AM
Hi Ruby, thanks for the detailed update! I was wondering what Satterwhite does about the fourchette (where lips come together under the inroitus). I think Suporn creates the fourchette in a secondary revision, maybe to prevent the complication you had? I'm glad to hear Satterwhite does do it tho. I wonder if dilation stresses the area, potentially leading to that complication? In any case, so relieved to hear it cleared up for you. I suppose some necrosis is gonna happen..I was in Raleigh NC a few weeks ago and saw Shakina Nayfack's 'Manifest Pussy" show/musical/monologue...she talks about her clit hood having necrosis, she went to Suporn. You have quite a command with  anatomical parts! I had to look up frenulum! Do you think it wasn't used by Satterwhite? seems like good tissue...apparently that's what the fourchette is considered on female genitalia. As I've written before, I have Kaiser insurance so I'm hoping to use it for SRS but Suporn has always been my ultimate first choice. I was excited to learn from your posts that the differences in techniques between inversion and grafting are sort of becoming more hybrid-ized (?), but I'm still on the fence about what to do. The other factor is i'm pretty old, 51, and maybe I don't really need a rolls royce vag, maybe a cadillac might be ok for this old lady? who knows, it sure would be nice to be able to use my insurance for something tho.

    Of course, I tried to be as detailed as I can, even when it doesn't always flatter the surgeon or when it makes me sad to report complications. It's about being honest and critical, especially not overly praising a newer surgeon like Dr. Satterwhite who I really like a lot. For being newer, he's amazing and is only getting better with more experience I imagine. I guess he saw the penile inversion technique with new eyes and brought a different set of techniques, especially with using more of the penile skin for the labia minora, including the fourchette.

   The tear is closing up very fast now and is definitely caused by dilating. Not only is it a logical explanation, but the surgeon said it would have closed up already if I didn't have to dilate. The perineum skin is really thin and it's no wonder that Dr. Suporn chooses to wait for the revision to create it. Is it worth doing it during the initial surgery? I'll find out if it closes up without causing a major scar. Some of the results on my docs website have a red area underneath, I'm guessing it won't be perfect afterwards. If that's the case, that's another reason why Suporn's technique in the end produces the best results aesthetically with minimal scarring. But I have the fourchette now, and it's actually one of the more sensitive parts of my vulva :)

    Even though I'm a perfectionist, and I'll probably want a revision, the results are already good. What's left of the clit hood can be used in a revision, and besides that, it is still hooded. My clit is still really hard and apparently it will soften and get smaller and be better covered (says the doc). For me, I'm just a very sensitive person (before the surgery) and I might need the extra coverage to climax. It makes me feel better though to hear even some of Dr. Suporn's patients have some necrosis of the hood. Alas, death is a part of life ;)

   Good luck with your decision.  I hope your consult with Dr. Satterwhite goes well.

Oh and you're 51? No way...I thought you were in your mid 30s maybe. Girl you better get a Rolls Royce vagina commensurate to your beautiful Rolls Royce visage (haha don't mean to be awkwardly off with my sense of humor).

- Ruby

   

Hey Ruby, I'm really sorry to hear that you're having a rough time. Your complication sound really really scary. I wonder what he will say, and if there's a way to recover from that. I'm sure once you're more healed that orgasm and masturbating will be much easier :). I look forward to your omg first O post! haha. Thank you for sharing all of this information with us though. I think it's very important. I am really looking forward to hearing more from you.

I'm curious what your pain level is at this point...especially with sitting.

Hey Ya'll,

     Haven't been on here in a while so I'd thought I put up a quick post since Sadieblake is possibly looking to have surgery with Dr. Satterwhite. Just had my 5 month post op appointment. Looks like I'll be having a cosmetic/functional revision. It's not that the doc didn't do a good job - he did - it's that every time I have a surgery, something always seems to go wrong. It's not terribly serious, it's that my clit hood needs to be revised because it fused or something. Now it's uncomfortably tight. Also, there is a lot of extra labia majora, so the doc is going to use it to make more prominent labia minora, which I'm very happy about. As I healed, the previous labia minora shrank a lot. There is some extra urethra tissue as well that might be excised. Finally, my forchette also fused, making penetration painful (but also kind of pleasurable haha. I'll explain below).

   On that last issue about the forchette, some interesting news. It's extremely sensitive and actually can give me an orgasm. I had my first one 2 weeks ago. I was worried sick that I'd never have one again. I was even regretting surgery and started to get depression. Then I discovered that my forchette had the same sensitivity as the underside of my old equipement (the same as the spot right below the glans on the underside - an area that was my O-spot before surgery). Combined with the clit, which is very sensitive and the new equipment works. It feels different. Instead of being intense immediately, the intensity builds until you begin climax and then it feels like a very prolonged orgasm. Once I figured out how to do it, I was able to have a super long orgasm (or maybe I was having multiple orgasms). I don't get the same sensitivity afterwards so I can keep going :) Is it better than before? I don't want to compare. I've heard too much hyperbole on the boards. It's different and since there is no dysphoria associated with it, it's much more emotionally satisfying.

   I could probably go more in-depth. I find the differences between male and female orgasms fascinating :) But one thing is for sure; at least for me, it's no where near as easy to achieve.

- Ruby

Hi Ruby!

You have posted so much great info about your surgery with Dr. Satterwhite. I am scheduled for surgery with him in May 2017. Are you still healing well and happy you chose him as a surgeon?

Hi Camrynosu,

     Yeah I'm happy I chose him. With every single surgery I've had, I've had some kind of complication so I'm unlucky. I did have some issues this time but it had to do with how my body healed. My forchette and clitoral hood fused, and I have some extra skin for my labia majora. Honestly though, it looks pretty cis looking, and it's very sensitive. In fact, I have an incredible amount of sensation in the forchette area, which basically feels like the underside of my old junk. I have a good amount of labia minora too. The scars are practically invisible and close to the groin area. 

     Dr. Satterwhite wanted me to have a perfect vagina (his words) so he scheduled me for a labiaplasty to use the extra labia majora to create more labia minora and revise everything. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist.

     Of all the surgeons I've gone to, he's the most humble and caring. Anytime I've ever had a question, I emailed him directly and he got back to me within a day. I have zero bad things to say about him. His office staff, however, are overwhelmed as you might know. Nevertheless, I highly recommend him. Message me when after you've got your 15 posts if you have more questions, if you want to chat, or just need support in any way :)

- Ruby

Hi Ruby,

Thanks for replying! I am so happy to hear all the nice things you have to say about Dr. Satterwhite, really makes me reassured that I made the right decision in choosing him! That's awesome that he said he wants you to have the perfect vagina. I, like you, am a perfectionist as well so I totally understand the need and want for the revision!

I'm sorry to hear you've been unlucky with complications for all your surgeries! Are you planning on having any others besides the labiaplasty?

And thank-you for the kind words and support, I will definitely be messaging you once I reach my 15 posts haha :)

Quote from: RubyAliza on December 16, 2016, 07:09:43 PM
Hi Camrynosu,

     Yeah I'm happy I chose him. With every single surgery I've had, I've had some kind of complication so I'm unlucky. I did have some issues this time but it had to do with how my body healed. My forchette and clitoral hood fused, and I have some extra skin for my labia majora. Honestly though, it looks pretty cis looking, and it's very sensitive. In fact, I have an incredible amount of sensation in the forchette area, which basically feels like the underside of my old junk. I have a good amount of labia minora too. The scars are practically invisible and close to the groin area. 

     Dr. Satterwhite wanted me to have a perfect vagina (his words) so he scheduled me for a labiaplasty to use the extra labia majora to create more labia minora and revise everything. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist.

     Of all the surgeons I've gone to, he's the most humble and caring. Anytime I've ever had a question, I emailed him directly and he got back to me within a day. I have zero bad things to say about him. His office staff, however, are overwhelmed as you might know. Nevertheless, I highly recommend him. Message me when after you've got your 15 posts if you have more questions, if you want to chat, or just need support in any way :)

- Ruby

My spouse is considering Dr Satterwhite, but we don't have insurance. If you don't mind me asking, what was the price range for vaginoplasty with Dr Satterwhite? He seems like a really good doctor, but I can't find any info on prices. I wish our insurance covered this procedure.

Hi Marctravis,

     I had my insurance pay for it so I can't say the exact price. I know the surgeon's fee but I don't know how much everything would cost with anesthesia, hospital stay, etc. I don't see how it would be any more expensive then Dr. Bowers, who is also in the Bay Area. At this point Dr. Satterwhite has the most experience in the Bay Area aside from Bowers though. His wait time has gone up though - it's already in 2018. The new surgeon, Dr. Wittenberg, should be a fantastic surgeon as well though, with a shorter wait time. You might want to inquire about her at the office. There is one new detail though that everyone should know - Kaiser no longer does new referrals to him at this point.

  Quick update from my revision/labiaplasty. I had it done last Friday. It took 3 hours! Combined with the first surgery and it totals 9 hours haha (first one was 5 1/2 hours). He really took his time and it shows. The suture job was incredible. A week out and they've healed up, are completely flat, and already fading. I remember first seeing my revised vagina and thinking, "wow, that looks different!"

   The labia majora is nice and tight now, and he used all of the extra labia majora to create completely realistic labia minor. I had a chance to see it before the swelling fully kicked in and they are the absolutely perfect size, not too small, not too large, symmetrical, and sensitive.  They go down and around the introitus. Also, the clitoral hood has been redone. Since the scar tissue has been removed, and since there is a hood that I can use to stimulate the clitoris indirectly right on top of it, it all feels more sensitive.

   I highly suggest getting a labiaplasty or a revision if you aren't fully happy after the first surgery. It still needs time to heal. I'll post final impressions in a few months. Overall, I'm very satisfied.

- Ruby

Thanks for the reply Ruby. I'm glad you're pleased with your surgery. My spouse and I live in Louisiana, so no doctors down here. We've been trying to research the best doctors around the country. Your story really struck a chord with us and was beautifully written. My spouse came out as trans last summer and she is in a real hurry to get her surgery done. We don't have insurance coverage for this procedure. So, I'm trying to make sure she gets the best surgery available, but with a mind towards keeping costs down. The end result though, matters more than the cost. Thanks again for your response and I hope everything continues to go well with you.

I see, I'm glad I can help :) You're a wonderful significant other, so supportive and sweet! Best wishes for you and your spouse. Feel free to message me on here if you have any further questions.

- Ruby

Oh is there anymore information about Satterwhite? I'm having him in a couple days. Also, how is it now Ruby? Thanks!

I talked to Ruby a few months ago, she's very happy and doing well.

I am having surgery with Dr Satterwhite in mid March 2019   (less then 2 months ), I was wondering if there was anyone who has gone to him since he opened his new offices in San Francisco and used the recovery center ( forgot the name ) I was told  there will be 2 nurses on hand assigned to me there  24/7  ...Anyone ?