Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hi everyone! I'm Emmy & I'm 21 years old, live in FL. I've been wanting to do srs for a while now and Brassard has always been who I've wanted BC of things of read, and seen online, also some Youtubers making videos and stuff about their surgery and journey.

So I'm just curious,
Do you recommend Brassard?
How is your new vagina?
Do you have sensitivity & also do you self lubricate? & How is your depth?
The cost will only be about 15k bc I believe its like 19CAD so converted to American dollar its not as bad.

Please help me, this is a huge decision. I looked into Bowers but she is a 4 year wait & Supporn i just don't really have any interest in doing it there at all.

I had my surgery the beginning of November 2016, which makes me 4 months post op.

I very much recommend Brassard.  I am very happy with the results.  The aftercare is one of the best, especially the time in the recovery house.  One thing that is not often mentioned, is his instructions for after care are the most detailed I have seen from any surgeon.

My only criticism is that they are not very organized with receiving the initial paper work and getting things sorted out before the surgery.  It is a common complaint from others as well.

I love my new vagina :)  I had lots of sensation, even in the hospital.  I am orgasmic.  I self lubricate.  It looks like a cis vagina, with a small labia minora.  I have nearly 6" of depth.

The cost when I had surgery was $20,000 CAN, which worked out to around $16,000 USD, which is very reasonable.

Quote from: jessical on March 10, 2017, 10:44:14 PM
I had my surgery the beginning of November 2016, which makes me 4 months post op.

I very much recommend Brassard.  I am very happy with the results.  The aftercare is one of the best, especially the time in the recovery house.  One thing that is not often mentioned, is his instructions for after care are the most detailed I have seen from any surgeon.

My only criticism is that they are not very organized with receiving the initial paper work and getting things sorted out before the surgery.  It is a common complaint from others as well.

I love my new vagina :)  I had lots of sensation, even in the hospital.  I am orgasmic.  I self lubricate.  It looks like a cis vagina, with a small labia minora.  I have nearly 6" of depth.

The cost when I had surgery was $20,000 CAN, which worked out to around $16,000 USD, which is very reasonable.

Wow, thank you so much for such a quick response!! Do you live in the states if so where? I'm in Tampa, Florida. And yes, 16,000 is very reasonable compared to other surgeons, I just always hear great things about Brassard's work. Sorry if this is personal but have you had sex? Have other people seen it, what do they say? Not like their opinions matter since its your vagina!

I am on the West Coast of the US, but I grew up in Canada.  My fiancee (a cis women) is familiar with it ;)

I went to Brassard in summer 2012. I am orgasmic, self-lubricating, and the aesthetics were good enough to fool a gynecologist; I have 5.5" of depth. I'm perfectly satisfied with my results. (I have a longer review in my previous posts, but that's the highlights.) I would definitely recommend Brassard; the aftercare was amazing, and both my vulva and vagina are well within cis norms. Not perfect, but no one's is, even the people who are born with them.

A friend of mine went to Brassard less than six months ago, too, and she is very pleased; she says he's refined the dilation regimen even further, so she never had to use the annoying fourth and smallest dilator. :)

Quote from: Jenna Marie on March 10, 2017, 11:36:44 PM
I went to Brassard in summer 2012. I am orgasmic, self-lubricating, and the aesthetics were good enough to fool a gynecologist; I have 5.5" of depth. I'm perfectly satisfied with my results. (I have a longer review in my previous posts, but that's the highlights.) I would definitely recommend Brassard; the aftercare was amazing, and both my vulva and vagina are well within cis norms. Not perfect, but no one's is, even the people who are born with them.

A friend of mine went to Brassard less than six months ago, too, and she is very pleased; she says he's refined the dilation regimen even further, so she never had to use the annoying fourth and smallest dilator. :)

Thank you for response, I greatly appreciate it..  Do you live in the states if so where? & have you had sex with your new vagina yet? Was it enjoyable?

Wait his cost is that amount [emoji51][emoji51][emoji51][emoji51] .... I wonder would he take CareCredit ... probably not !!! I'm calling tomorrow for my friend who just got approved for a 17k credit line


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I went with dr. Brassard - October 12 2016... my vagina looks alright... I've never seen a lot of vagina in person pre op but my bf says it looks comparable (I hope he is not just saying that) my only concern is depth... but I guess I wasnt endowed to begin with... so I'm only 4 inches... 3rd dot on the dilator... I'm not orgasmic yet... but there is sensation I just can't climax yet... but I know I'll get there...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome to Susan's Place. My surgery predates Brassard however I read a bunch of information about all the surgeons on the site. There are differences in procedures between the surgeon so I suggest you learn the details of each surgeon you are interested in. That said, Brassard is one of the top surgeons today and many people have received satisfactory outcomes with their surgery.

We issue to all new members the following links so you will best be able to use the web site.

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,2.0.html)	Standard Terms & Definitions (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,54369.0.html)	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar) (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,114.0.html.)
Reputation rules (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,18960.0.html)	News posting & quoting guidelines (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,174951.0.html)	Photo, avatars, & signature images policy (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,59974.msg383866.html#msg383866)

I went to Brassard myself 2 yrs ago, and very satisfied. The orgasm is ahhmazing. Anyway you might want to look for tammy's world blog. She went there around 2-3 yrs too, and I believe she does have the regular sex and very satisfied.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Yes, I'm in New England; it was about a five-hour drive to Montreal. I was orgasmic in my sleep at 3 weeks post-op, but it did take me 7-8 months to figure out how to get it all to work while awake. Yes, I've had sex many times since I was cleared for it post-op (Brassard likes you to wait three months, but I think it was more like six for me). My partner and I had to adjust to the fact that the new equipment is more finicky, but now that I can orgasm consistently, it's amazing. (And the sex was fun even when I didn't.) There really is no way to describe penetration so that it would have made sense to my pre-op self, but it feels wonderful, and my clit sensitivity is also so good that I can't even be touched directly. I've been married for almost 17 years, though, so I didn't get the opinion of a bunch of random men and women on the results. ;) Still, I've seen a lot of vulvas over the years, and mine looks fine.

I do have a more detailed post on the specifics of Brassard's technique around here somewhere, too, because I actually obtained the full operation report. The summary, though, is that he uses penile inversion with a scrotal and perineal skin graft for the vagina and places the leftover urethral mucosa in places where cis women would have pink mucosal tissue (inner portion of the inner labia, clitoral hood), so that everything looks as close to cis norms as possible.

Quote from: jessical on March 10, 2017, 10:44:14 PM
I had my surgery the beginning of November 2016, which makes me 4 months post op.

I very much recommend Brassard.  I am very happy with the results.  The aftercare is one of the best, especially the time in the recovery house.  One thing that is not often mentioned, is his instructions for after care are the most detailed I have seen from any surgeon.

My only criticism is that they are not very organized with receiving the initial paper work and getting things sorted out before the surgery.  It is a common complaint from others as well.

I love my new vagina :)  I had lots of sensation, even in the hospital.  I am orgasmic.  I self lubricate.  It looks like a cis vagina, with a small labia minora.  I have nearly 6" of depth.

The cost when I had surgery was $20,000 CAN, which worked out to around $16,000 USD, which is very reasonable.

$20,000 in Canadian? I just got quoted $25,000 Can Feb 8th! I do hope that was a mistype. Anyhow, I have a question and it may have been answered before but I am new. I sent my paper work into them late Jan and haven't heard back from them yet. How long does it generally take to get a date after everything has been sent to them. I noticed you said they are a little slow with their processing. Thanks.

In November I paid $20,000.00 CAN.  It is possible they have since raised their prices.  That was the cost for just the GRS/GCS surgery.  If you combine it with something else, then the cost is higher.  It was 4 months wait for me, but I know the wait time has gone significantly up since then.

I had my SRS with him in 2005. Orgasms are great, I self-lubricate, depth is alright, started with 4.5 inches, now about 3-3.5 inches because I stopped dilating years ago.

I ended up with hairs inside my vagina as I did not get treatment (electrolysis) prior to SRS. The hair is mostly concentrated at the end of the vagina and Dr. B suggested I use a depilatory cream such as Nair to temporarily remove them. Plucking the hairs with my fingers didn't seem to help much. I strongly recommend electrolysis prior to SRS for this reason. I know of others who also have hair inside their vagina, some of whom had their op only 1-2 yrs ago.

My clitoris does not protrude as it would in a ciswoman. Dr. B admitted they have not found a way to make it look like in a ciswoman. So be it. It's sensitive though and touching it is somewhat pleasurable. I believe my clitoral hood is well defined. Outer lips are symmetrical and look great. Inner lips, somewhat thick and swollen as compared to those typically seen in ciswomen but the overall shape and look is quite good. I do have two scars lining the outside of my vagina, right and left but they are only apparent if there is no hair in the area. They are whitish and slightly raised.

Overall, an 8-8.5 out of 10. Dr. B takes the time to listen to your concerns, is honest and straightforward. My aftercare was very good. :)

I'm a brassard graduate as well October 12 2016... I just wish for more depth... it looks cute... Bf said it looks comparable...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote from: jujubes1986 on March 11, 2017, 06:39:41 AM
I went with dr. Brassard - October 12 2016... my vagina looks alright... I've never seen a lot of vagina in person pre op but my bf says it looks comparable (I hope he is not just saying that) my only concern is depth... but I guess I wasnt endowed to begin with... so I'm only 4 inches... 3rd dot on the dilator... I'm not orgasmic yet... but there is sensation I just can't climax yet... but I know I'll get there...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How long did it take for their office to respond to you? I have sent 2 messages/emails regarding info and costs & all that for SRS & They still haven't responded, its been almost 2 weeks & I'm getting impatient.

Quote from: Emmy on March 20, 2017, 07:41:24 AM
How long did it take for their office to respond to you? I have sent 2 messages/emails regarding info and costs & all that for SRS & They still haven't responded, its been almost 2 weeks & I'm getting impatient.

Keep bugging them. They are lousy with communications.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Quote from: jfong on March 20, 2017, 08:26:37 AM
Keep bugging them. They are lousy with communications.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

It's so frustrating!! I've already sent 2 emails.

Call them.

Quote from: Emmy on March 20, 2017, 07:41:24 AM
How long did it take for their office to respond to you? I have sent 2 messages/emails regarding info and costs & all that for SRS & They still haven't responded, its been almost 2 weeks & I'm getting impatient.

I sent my medical
Package late April and they responded late June


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I went to Brassard. 

Do you recommend Brassard?  Highly.
How is your new vagina? Better than I expected.  My primary Dr. is an OB/GYN and has delivered many babies and her first comment was "You would never know".
Do you have sensitivity & also do you self lubricate? & How is your depth?  Yes, very much so.  Yes, but not like my wife does.  Average ciswoman depth. (I've been married to my wife 26 years and she is the only one I have sex with, so I cannot speak about male penetrative sex)

I live in Missouri, and my wife and I drove up there for the surg.  She stayed in Laval and came to visit everyday I was in the hospital and then in the recovery center (Asclepiad).  I opted for the spinal and the twightlight method.  I woke up a couple times during the operation.  I felt nothing.  Brassard started the surgery, and then I woke up and Belanger was finishing up on me.  They tag team it these days.

We drove back late last year because my urine stream was very forward.  Dr. Belanger fixed it in a 30 minute operation in the OR using a local anesthesia.  No charge.  She is soooo awesome.  Now I pee in the water. lol

Their front office and clerical folks leave a lot to be desired. lol  I coordinated my entire surgery (both) via email.  Never called them once. Suzanne and Josie were pretty good getting back to me, however, I am persistent and advocate heavily for myself.  I suggest the same for everyone else. ;)

Quote from: ainsley on March 21, 2017, 09:41:11 AM
I went to Brassard. 

Do you recommend Brassard?  Highly.
How is your new vagina? Better than I expected.  My primary Dr. is an OB/GYN and has delivered many babies and her first comment was "You would never know".
Do you have sensitivity & also do you self lubricate? & How is your depth?  Yes, very much so.  Yes, but not like my wife does.  Average ciswoman depth. (I've been married to my wife 26 years and she is the only one I have sex with, so I cannot speak about male penetrative sex)

I live in Missouri, and my wife and I drove up there for the surg.  She stayed in Laval and came to visit everyday I was in the hospital and then in the recovery center (Asclepiad).  I opted for the spinal and the twightlight method.  I woke up a couple times during the operation.  I felt nothing.  Brassard started the surgery, and then I woke up and Belanger was finishing up on me.  They tag team it these days.

We drove back late last year because my urine stream was very forward.  Dr. Belanger fixed it in a 30 minute operation in the OR using a local anesthesia.  No charge.  She is soooo awesome.  Now I pee in the water. lol

Their front office and clerical folks leave a lot to be desired. lol  I coordinated my entire surgery (both) via email.  Never called them once. Suzanne and Josie were pretty good getting back to me, however, I am persistent and advocate heavily for myself.  I suggest the same for everyone else. ;)

Wow!! Thank you, I really want him to be my surgeon, I think he does the best and seems like a sweet caring person from what other girls have said on here. Why is it taking them so long to respond to my messages/emails????

Yes, it can be frustrating to wait for them to reply.  I understand and empathize with you.  If you feel so inclined, give them a call.  I am pretty sure there are some posts on this forum of me venting my frustration with their lack of response, too. lol  Maybe that is just part of the experience they offer?  Just kidding...I know, sorry. :D

Hang in there!  I bugged Suzanne to death sometimes. lol  I was ALWAYS polite, and wrote proper emails with pleasantries, though.  I jsut wanted to let her know I was waiting and eager to get the process rolling.

Had surgery with brassard, aesthetic looks very nice considering the time since i had the surgery. Only problem are lateral scars but ive heard they fade with time and that you can get additionnal surgery to hide them.

I self lubricate, orgasm on clitoris stimulation every time and i have 6.5 inch depth.   I havent tried the "full thing" yet due to little hypergranulation at the end of my vaginal cavity wich create discomfort and blood. Im waiting till i have no pain to try it and be able to enjoy it like a cis woman having first experience.

It was paid by provincial health care.

Hello elobo,

Could you tell please when you had your surgery with Brassard (I mean how long time you are post-op) ?

4 month ago . I also can "squirt" forgot to mention it ;p

Quote from: elobo on March 24, 2017, 09:04:26 PM
Had surgery with brassard, aesthetic looks very nice considering the time since i had the surgery. Only problem are lateral scars but ive heard they fade with time and that you can get additionnal surgery to hide them.

I self lubricate, orgasm on clitoris stimulation every time and i have 6.5 inch depth.

I had my SRS with Dr. B in late 2005. Those lateral scars you speak of are still there 11 yrs later and when I asked him if there was anything that could be done to make them less apparent, he said I could undergo surgery but that that there is a 50% chance, nothing would change.

I can rarely orgasm on clitoris stimulation alone and I started with 4.5 inches depth.

The rest is pretty much the same. :)

Hello Kay,
I believe that there are aesthetic/plastic surgeons who are able to have good results in smoothing scars. Did you try to consult some of these surgeons (Dr Brassard apart) ?

Lucie, i dont have enough post to reply to your private message.  Please pm me a skype id , email or facebook id so i can get in touch with you

Quote from: Lucie on March 26, 2017, 02:02:16 PMI believe that there are aesthetic/plastic surgeons who are able to have good results in smoothing scars. Did you try to consult some of these surgeons (Dr Brassard apart) ?

No, not yet. I know there is surgical tattooing and laser CO2 resurfacing.

Quote from: elobo on March 26, 2017, 07:34:27 PM
Lucie, i dont have enough post to reply to your private message.  Please pm me a skype id , email or facebook id so i can get in touch with you

You can't yet initiate a PM but you should be able to reply to PMs you receive.

Quote from: elobo on March 26, 2017, 07:34:27 PM
Lucie, i dont have enough post to reply to your private message.  Please pm me a skype id , email or facebook id so i can get in touch with you

They STILL haven't responded to my emails, this is getting frustrating

I would call them.  At least then you will get some ideal of the expected response time.

Hey, I had surgery on March 1st.
My file with them started in September 2016.
They called me in December to go over the file to make sure all the info was correct and then it gets presented to the surgical team. That is the surgeon and all the nurses that help out in the OR.
I got an email on January 11 2017 offering a cancellation date of Jan 23 or 25.
I could not do those dates and asked for March 1st.
Now I am laying in bed dilating...which is all you will be doing for the first two months after surgery.
CMC, delivers the fastest service possible...they are not slow.
It is a different culture in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada and USA so don't think that they are awful.
I flew there from Toronto, got picked up by the limo as soon as I got there and retrieved my bags.
You go to a bed and breakfast place to prepare for surgery.
You have surgery and stay in hospital for 48 hours.
You move on to the recovery house for 6 more days.
You go home if you don't have a major complication, which is rare.
The service from the nurses and staff is fine they are all very lovely, some especially so.
The food at the recovery house is good and plentiful, you will not go hungry.
Dr. Brassard is a very nice person, speaks with you very warmly and listens to everything you have to say.
I am now almost 4 weeks post surgery and everything looks very good health wise.
Esthetically I think the results are very good and I am happy.
But I would add that my happiness is not just about what is there but what is not there.
I didn't have huge expectations about appearance because I already knew that the results are generally very authentic. I wasn't afraid that it would look grotesque and even now there is still swelling and it looks good.
Sensitivity is still an unknown because one has to wait until 8 weeks post surgery to be making contact manually with the clitoris.
All the nerves are preserved so there should be some level of sensitivity eventually.
My depth is quite good at 6 inches.
Very important to do the dilations as per the schedule or more if you can. It is a chore but it is not agony.
Also do have the time off for the full two months, it might seem like a lot of time but it is not. Think of it as an investment for the future.
My female partner was doing an inspection for me because |I had some soreness.
She said everything looked fine, nothing looked really red and sore.
Her assessment of appearance was no kidding "It's a miracle".
Do call them instead of email, I dealt mostly with Suzanne but also with Genevieve
(Jenny). Be patient as it does take time, let them know you will take a cancellation if you can.
But understand that until you hear from the clinical nurse to go over the file you are still on the waiting list.
They will get to you, I got antsy too just wanting to know the date too.
Once they call you back everything happens faster.

Hey again, I just remembered something that might be useful to know.
My surgery was March 1st, I was the only surgery that day.
Dr. Brassard saw me two days later on the Friday when I was to move to the recovery house.
He had to wait for me to transfer before he could go away for holidays.
He was off to Vale Col. to go skiing.
I don't know how long he was gone for but no vaginoplasty surgery would be happening if he is not there.
Probably he is back by now but the office staff would still be working.
It was very quite at the recovery house when I left, they were waiting for two trans guys to come over later that day.
Anyway you should just call and politely enquire.
Are you just making first contact with them? Have you sent in assessment letters stc.?

Quote from: jessical on March 27, 2017, 12:48:32 PM
I would call them.  At least then you will get some ideal of the expected response time.

I tried! No answer.. It says, press 2 for english then does nothing

Quote from: VivianJane on March 27, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Hey, I had surgery on March 1st.
My file with them started in September 2016.
They called me in December to go over the file to make sure all the info was correct and then it gets presented to the surgical team. That is the surgeon and all the nurses that help out in the OR.
I got an email on January 11 2017 offering a cancellation date of Jan 23 or 25.
I could not do those dates and asked for March 1st.
Now I am laying in bed dilating...which is all you will be doing for the first two months after surgery.
CMC, delivers the fastest service possible...they are not slow.
It is a different culture in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada and USA so don't think that they are awful.
I flew there from Toronto, got picked up by the limo as soon as I got there and retrieved my bags.
You go to a bed and breakfast place to prepare for surgery.
You have surgery and stay in hospital for 48 hours.
You move on to the recovery house for 6 more days.
You go home if you don't have a major complication, which is rare.
The service from the nurses and staff is fine they are all very lovely, some especially so.
The food at the recovery house is good and plentiful, you will not go hungry.
Dr. Brassard is a very nice person, speaks with you very warmly and listens to everything you have to say.
I am now almost 4 weeks post surgery and everything looks very good health wise.
Esthetically I think the results are very good and I am happy.
But I would add that my happiness is not just about what is there but what is not there.
I didn't have huge expectations about appearance because I already knew that the results are generally very authentic. I wasn't afraid that it would look grotesque and even now there is still swelling and it looks good.
Sensitivity is still an unknown because one has to wait until 8 weeks post surgery to be making contact manually with the clitoris.
All the nerves are preserved so there should be some level of sensitivity eventually.
My depth is quite good at 6 inches.
Very important to do the dilations as per the schedule or more if you can. It is a chore but it is not agony.
Also do have the time off for the full two months, it might seem like a lot of time but it is not. Think of it as an investment for the future.
My female partner was doing an inspection for me because |I had some soreness.
She said everything looked fine, nothing looked really red and sore.
Her assessment of appearance was no kidding "It's a miracle".
Do call them instead of email, I dealt mostly with Suzanne but also with Genevieve
(Jenny). Be patient as it does take time, let them know you will take a cancellation if you can.
But understand that until you hear from the clinical nurse to go over the file you are still on the waiting list.
They will get to you, I got antsy too just wanting to know the date too.
Once they call you back everything happens faster.

Congrats!!! I'm so happy for you, thats amazing & where do you live? america? how much did you pay for surgery, i'm 21 i want to get the operation already. & I haven't sent letters in because I don't know which are needed  & that is very helpful, thank you so much.

Hey again, I live in Toronto and travelled from there.
The provincial health care plan pays for our surgery.
The letters you need have to come from two doctors who follow the WPATH guidelines to do a readiness for surgery assessment which must include a diagnosis that you have persistent gender dysphoria.
I think the letters should be addressed to Dr. Brassard specifically as well vs a 'to whom it may concern'.
Hope this helps.

Quote from: VivianJane on March 30, 2017, 04:08:56 PM
Hey again, I live in Toronto and travelled from there.
The provincial health care plan pays for our surgery.
The letters you need have to come from two doctors who follow the WPATH guidelines to do a readiness for surgery assessment which must include a diagnosis that you have persistent gender dysphoria.
I think the letters should be addressed to Dr. Brassard specifically as well vs a 'to whom it may concern'.
Hope this helps.

Ugh, they STILL haven't responded to my emails, I'm getting sad.