Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hi girls,

Payment, tests and preparations are all complete. Tomorrow I go under the knife.

It's "only" a bilateral orchiectomy. Yes I do really wish I was having the full vaginoplasty but I've consoled myself that this is the first of several surgeries. I couldn't afford the full works right now and, anyway, it kick starts a lot of things. My GiC consultant actually said to me, 'well gosh if you're seriously going ahead with this we may be able to get you a SRS in 6-8 months.' Interesting! Tomorrow's op is under General Anaesthetic so it's major surgery.

However my plan is actually the following:

Stage 1 Bilateral orchiectomy (tomorrow!)
Stage 2 FFS 1 jaw / rhinoplasty (October)
Stage 3 vaginoplasty (2017)
Stage 4 BA (need to leave my breasts to grow for another year first)
Stage 5 FFS 2 cheeks, eyebrows, forehead, hairline (soon as I can afford it)
Stage 6 Tracheal shave (ditto)

Well, we can but dream :D :D

So to tomorrow ... PAI have been brilliant so far. Just brilliant. I'll write it all up more fully but I cannot fault them for care and attention. It's little things that mean so much: like the fact they have twice picked me up from airports and that when a friend sent some flowers for me to the clinic they got one of their drivers to re-deliver them to my hotel room. They also answer emails very promptly, which matters to me: one well-known particular place is really poor about this, as well as curt, and it's what decided me against them.

Why a bilateral orchiectomy as stage 1? Because I hate piling in anti-androgens which have done me no good health wise. And although I will still be left with this little dangly thing down below, the fact is that removing the testicles is the hormonal equivalent to having a full sex change operation. Still can't wait to have my vagina though ;)

Love to you all. Hope it all goes fine tomorrow and that I'm back to tell you more :)

x

Hoping that everything goes well. Take care.

barbie~~

Congratulations and best wishes for a speedy recovery 😊

Thank you :) The support on this forum means such a lot. In fact I'm meeting up with a couple of members today too :)

Good luck to you, hope you have a fast recovery, keep us informed on how you are doing.

Good luck and bless you.

Good luck, I hope you recover well and soon.

Thank you ladies. I'm on my way to the hospital shortly :) x

Good luck!!  I will be following this thread as an orchi seems to be my path, as well.

Thank you so much. I am out of surgery: YAY!!

I will post a proper write up when I'm a little less groggy but just to say that everything went really well. Piyavate hospital is fab and, so far, everything PAI have done has been perfect.

More soon I promise but thank you for the sweet messages.

x

Hi there,

Glad it went well, Now let's see if your GIC can be as good as their word.

Hugs

Sorcha  ;D

Thank you everyone for your kind good wishes. Here is my report!

PAI care

PAI (Preecha Aesthetic Institute) have been outstanding. I am so glad I chose them. It's the quality and professionalism of the care which mattered to me and they have been brilliant. They met me twice at Bangkok airports, answered emails very promptly by either emailing me or sometimes phoning me. I was chauffeured by one of their drivers to all medical appointments. Bune, one of their delightful front desk staff, came to visit me in hospital with some fruit juice and a chat.

Seriously, we all want to praise our team for reasons that are understandable. But if safety and quality of care matter to you then I'd be astonished if anywhere is better than PAI.

The operation

PAI use Piyavate hospital for all their surgeries and they clearly have close coordination with staff at the hospital.  The hospital is excellent and I cannot fault it. I spent the morning being prepped for theatre in various ways which included removal of my piercings and nail varnish  :( Everything came around quickly and I was trolleyed down to theatre at 1.30pm. They operated on me earlier than they said: nice!

I reckon there was a team of around 12. Dr Sutin came to say hello to me beforehand which was a good touch. Then the anaesthetists took over. Now for all you girls thinking of Thailand as your option watch this one. Some places save money by not having a specialist anaesthetist in theatre with you. I can't personally believe how dangerous that is. The most life threatening aspect of our SRS surgeries is the General Anaesthetic. Piyavate put a team on and do it professionally and properly. GA is a weird experience: my legs felt very odd, my heart began to race. I stayed conscious for a good minute and then my lead anaesthetist just said, 'okay it's all looking good so here goes, night night and we will see you soon.' And that was it. I was under GA for 90 mins with the surgery taking an hour. Why so long for a bilateral orchiectomy?Well Dr Sutin did it carefully: he knows that this tissue is waiting for the full vaginoplasty.

I felt a little nauseous coming round in the recovery room but that soon passed. The first words I spoke were: 'I love Thailand.'  ;D ;)There was a dull aching pain but nothing too bad. I gave it a 5/10 on the pain level. The nurses seem to think I have a very high pain threshold. I'm not sure that's true (I used to hate back waxing). Update: I am on Etorixicib which is a 24-hour non-steroidal pain relief and anti imflamatory. No wonder I feel fine!

The ensuite private room (included in PAI's pricing) is lovely: very impressive. I would love to post pics if I can. I will try.

Nursing staff are lovely: both efficient and friendly. You have a call button and they immediately appear in the room. You can also talk to them over their intercom.

Practicalities

One thing I would say is that I had my op on Saturday and it did get quite quiet. That's great but if you want more food I think you need to order it before everywhere shuts for the night. Despite having a lovely poached salmon tea around 5pm I did get hungry later. If I had my time again I'd have brought some biscuits or something because I was mega hungry by the time 7.30 am breakfast came. I managed a fair bit of sleep but was woken at 5.30 for bp checks etc: standard hospital procedure of course. There's a hot water boiler in the room so I wish I had brought my portable Bodun coffee maker too. But there is a proper cafe downstairs so if you're like me and like good coffee a nurse will go and get you one.

Dr Sutin will see me shortly on his ward round and then I'll head back to the hotel. As I may have mentioned, I'm in the Salil Hotel 1 Thong Lor. You can get a room through PAI for 1700 baht or a superior room with balcony and view for 1900 baht a night ($50) including a sumptuous breakfast. I thoroughly recommend this boutique 4*-plus hotel. I've stayed there before and it's terrific value.

All-in-all it has been a great experience so far. I would unreservedly recommend PAI to anyone. I'm not a share holder lol and have no vested interest. I don't work for anyone. It's just my opinion that they are superb.

Congratulations, Richenda! I'm curious, why did you go with general anesthesia? Was local not an option?

Hi Emma,

They won't do it under local in Thailand. I was offered either GA or Epidural. As you know the latter carries more risk than a GA. But it's not that minor an op: Dr Sutin aims to tie everything off in such a way as not to impede future vaginoplasty, hence why they took an hour. I really don't think I'd want to be conscious for all of that. But then I was pretty chilled about the General and I know a lot of people, understandably, aren't. But if you want it done under local Thailand's unlikely to be an option.

Richenda x

How are you doing?  Hugs Shannon

Awww that's so kind of you to ask Shannon.

I'm okay. I was a bit wobbly yesterday which could be the meds as much as the operation: 2g a day of Co-amoxiclav penicillin is quite a big whack but it's the surgical level they have put me on [Mods hope that's okay as it's just a comment on the antibiotic not HRT]. But the body is also coping with a big hormonal change to its system. I felt stronger today and walked down to 7-11 10 mins each way because I needed some water.

I think if I had my time again, which I hopefully will do as I have other surgeries planned, I would either have a friend with me or employ a nurse for the week outside hospital. I'm fine and feel great inside but it's quite a big adjustment for the body :)

x

HI Richenda, I hope you are having a happy, speedy, and most of all healthy recovery. Can you give us a cost breakdown of the trip with the Orchie?

Hi, Richenda,

It seems to me that your SRS went well and you will be recovered soon.
Take care of yourself until you will recovered completely.
You are a courageous and smart girl.

barbie~~

Thanks Barbie: that's really kind of you. I had a few hours of pain yesterday afternoon but it's to be expected.

Hi Jennifer, the cost may make your eyes water a little: $3800 for the orchiectomy. That includes one night in hospital. It's higher than Europe because it's done under a general anaesthetic out here and as I mentioned earlier you get a proper anaesthetist's team. Sure, you can cut that cost but I'd be really careful on the latter point: there have been reports of some Thai clinics using the general surgical team to administer the anaesthesia. There have been some notorious cases of people dying on the table including this one: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11185204/British-woman-dies-during-cosmetic-surgery-in-Thailand-by-uncertified-doctor.html. If I'm going under GA I'd never risk having a non specialist in charge of the anaesthetic. PAI / Piyavate had a proper team in place and my anaesthetist was fantastic. To anyone reading this thread in future months / years, please never ever compromise on that point.

In addition to that you need to factor in a hotel stay. PAI like you to be nearby for a week afterwards. Also if you need a second psychotherapist's approval don't forget that. I used Dr Graham Peveller who was excellent. I had 5 x 1 hour online consultations with him over 5 weeks for $200 and that led to a letter that was accepted alongside my GiC one.

You need to allow at least one full day prior to surgery for the hospital tests. They are very thorough. It includes all blood tests (incl. HIV) and a range of others. If you're over 45 you need to pay an extra $100 for a cardiology consultation which will include an ECG. You also need to be signed off by a Thai psychiatrist for around $40. PAI were super efficient with all of that: you get chauffeured everywhere but allow a full day. If you do have HIV you will have to pay extra for the procedure which is common everywhere in Thailand but I'm not sure how much that costs.

If you have the orchiectomy and then the vaginoplasty in the same place you can negotiate a discount on the latter.

Dr Graham Peveller: http://www.gendertherapist.com

Congrats, it all sounds wonderful. I can't imagine you wanting to get SRS back in the UK after that.

Hiya, no you're quite right. The trouble is, they may offer me it for free as opposed to the $8k here. Otherwise though you are spot on.

I had a bit of inflammation on my left spermatic chord so am on an anti-inflammatory pain killer. PAI whisked me straight to the clinic to be checked by Dr Sutin (no waiting time) and drove me back. I just think it's these touches that really make the difference. And being only 5 minutes away helps.

You're right AnonyMs: if I could afford it, which you never know, I'd now do everything at PAI tbh. I don't want to sound too evangelical about it but I just know it's the right place for me.

Happy :) Very happy  :D

so much love on this forum too.
xxx

I think it would be worth waiting and saving for a while to go to PAI. You only get one chance at this.

Hey thanks a bunch for your report. I'm sorry I couldn't say my good wishes to you before, but have my good wishes still :)

I plan to go to PAI next february for SRS and possibly tracheal shave. This surgery for me, like for most of us is something I have been planning on for years now with quite a few setbacks and your post has been very important and reassuring for me.

Thank you Bird and all the very best as you prepare.

AnonyMs, well I guess you're right really :)

Signed off today by Dr Sutin at PAI. They have been brilliant. I very much hope to be back  ;)

Quote from: Richenda on August 06, 2016, 01:48:16 AM
Signed off today by Dr Sutin at PAI. They have been brilliant. I very much hope to be back  ;)

Congrats!

barbie~~

Thanks for all the lovely comments.

A quick update 3 weeks on from the op. I feel fantastic in pretty much every way. During week two I still had some pain in the groin area still where the spermatic cords were cut and retreated but that passed and I never took anything stronger than paracetamol. This week has been brilliant and I've been living normally, just as a female :) I can't run for another 10 days or so but that's fine.

The biggest shock has been my libido. I expected it to disappear. The opposite has happened: I've had spontaneous erections and no issues at all. I don't want to be too graphic about it but, yes, I've also performed with my partner which I wasn't intending to happen so soon after the op but it did and it was more than fine. No issues whatsoever about functionality. Actually the orgasm was awesome: less focused on one spot and more whole body and intense, with clear liquid appearing. That bodes well for full SRS vaginoplasty, which I'm still soooooooo looking forward to having. Apologies if that's a little tmi but it might be of interest to those contemplating this route and for whom it's a slight worry. Still want the damned thing removed but I figure whilst it's still there ... and I now see it as something which will form my real new body self. After all, that 'thing' will help make my new clitoris so I look at it differently now. Yay.

The orchiectomy is one of the best decisions of my life.

Good girl. Hugs Shannon