I'm trying to decide and on a surgeon. Can you share your experience? Who was your surgeon? Are you happy with your results? Did you need any revisions?
Thanks in advance!
Quote from: NYCTSGirl01 on February 17, 2013, 12:46:17 PM
I'm trying to decide and on a surgeon. Can you share your experience? Who was your surgeon? Are you happy with your results? Did you need any revisions?
Thanks in advance!
Hi there, since you are trying to decide on a surgeon, I will pass on this little bit of wisdom. Seek out a real in the flesh post-op from a surgeon you might be interested in seeing and try and get some idea of he pre-surgery, surgery and recovery period and after care, specifically vaginal dilating, frequency, and so forth. The last person I would trust to something this important is someone posting on the Internet. I am more than willing to share my experience with SRS surgery, but nothing beats in person. Short of that register for a TG conference and just go to meet the surgeons in person. Many will discuss the surgery with you and provide input. It won't be a full fledged consultation but being able to ask the surgeon first hand will give you a good idea of who you may want to choose,
I myself went to Dr Brassard in Montreal and what convinced me was seeing the results of his surgery up close and personal. I had a friend who volunteered to give m some idea of what the surgery would entail, after care and then she let me see her vagina. I was pretty much sold after that. Keep in mind this was a friend who was trying to help me pick a surgeon and doing something as a favor. When I was considering surgery it was Dr Biber, Dr Meltzer or Dr Brassard. I liked the one step procedure as opposed to a separate labiaplasty.
Dr Brassard doesn't require genital electrolysis but I went ahead and did it anyways because I wanted the whole vulva area nice and clean and hair free afterwards. I still have a bush up top, but not hairs below that. That was what I wanted. I also wanted smallish labia and not those big old lips hanging down, so that was another reason why I went for the 1 step procedure. So that I could have that porn star look :). So you can see, picking a surgeon is complicated especially if you know what you want. Most surgeons these days do a 1 step and can do labia changes later usually without anesthesia. It's really what you yourself want for an outcome.
I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but I believe I am speaking from the heart and trying to be truthful with you. What's a good outcome for me may not be a good outcome for you and vice versa. Find out for yourself first hand and then it will be easy for you to decide.
I myself have had surgery in both Canada and Thailand, so I feel I can speak for both countries and say that the medical care in either country will be too rate and after care will be excellent. Again this is nothing more than my opinion and my opinion only. Don't trust me, find out for yourself, that's how I did it.
Thanks Zumbagirl,
For sharing your experience. I'm in New York City and I don't have any TS friends who have had the surgery. But I will take your advice to heart in my research.
P.S. Congratulations on your transition!
Tristan,
Thanks for the message. But, I'm unable to reply.
NYCTS - after 15 posts several aspects of the site will open to you, including the personal messaging utility.
Who was my surgeon?
I honestly don't know to this day!
I went to PAI in 2004 and Dr. Pr's random practising surgeons operate on patients so i have no clue.
It is a little sad when i think about it.
How happy are you with the results? Do you want revisons? what was the experience like with PAI?
Do I want any revisions?
LOL girl, i had to have 4!! They were all functional revisions, not due to vanity.
Wish i could go back in time, i would have made different choices!
Wow,
Sorry to hear that.
I had GRS and FFS in August 2012 and BA last week with Dr. Christine McGinn in New Hope, PA. I wasn't comfortable going out of the country for my surgeries, even though many have had positive experiences. I researched the experienced surgeons that I found through research on the Internet and I then narrowed my search to two and scheduled consultations with each before deciding on Dr. McGinn.
I urge you to do your due diligence before deciding on a surgeon; these are life altering and expensive surgeries.
I wish you the best of luck.
Jamie
What was your experience like? How happy are you with the results? Do you want revisions?
OK, I am a little bit recent on this, but I had my surgery with Dr. Marci Bowers on January 15 of this year. At just under 6 weeks, I am totally satisfied, but still sore to some degree. The hospital stay in San Mateo CA was great, with a wonderful nursing staff that was on the ball and responded quickly to pain issues or cleanliness issues. I will not need revisions since Bowers uses a single step surgery that constructs labia majora and minora at the same time.
At 4 weeks I was up to the maximum dilator size, and have two more month to be dilating 3 times a day. (Intercourse can begin at 6 week post op, which reduces the number of times per day you dilate.) Then another 3 months of twice daily dilation. At 6 months post op, once a day minus days you have intercourse.
For pre-op, you see Dr. B. one or two days before the surgery, and check in the hospital on your surgery day. On the day before the surgery you do a bowel preparation and fast. 72 hours hospital stay post op, and then stay at a local hotel, or a special "companion retreat" bed and breakfast / boarding house establishment for another 4 days, an inoffice consultation on day 6 that will give you a time frame on going home.
Dr. Bowers and her office are on call after that by phone and have cooperated with my personal doctors beautifully.
I am sore on schedule, but very happy with what I have had so far. I missed being her 1,000 th patient by only a couple of weeks.
Im from NY also and had mine with Dr. McGinn... 5 months post op yesterday and I think the results are really really good...fully functional, orgasmic and all -- ;)
What part of NY are you in?
I'm out on long island actually ;). Used to commute into NYC but got a job out here which was more convenient for me.
hi good luck wherever you go. I would avoid thailand the flight is long and uncomfortable after surgery. I went to dr chettawat and was not happy .
The overall appearance is ok but not great.It could stand a revision. Both him and Suporn's post op results have the top of outer labia splayed open like a Y. Chet has problems with inner labia construction.
Also around the clitoris feels constricted. I would've been better off not having SRS.
Also 1 girl who went to him reportedly ended up with only 4 " of depth.another one had to get a colon cut at PAI because her graft failed.
Also pre op perenium electrolysis not laser should be done. unless you want hair in there.
Reed Center in Miami might be an a option. quite a few girls go there and seem to do OK. Meltzer is considered one of the best but very expensive
Quote from: victoria n on March 02, 2013, 04:54:41 PM
hi good luck wherever you go. I would avoid thailand the flight is long and uncomfortable after surgery. I went to dr chettawat and was not happy .
The overall appearance is ok but not great.It could stand a revision. Both him and Suporn's post op results have the top of outer labia splayed open like a Y. Chet has problems with inner labia construction.
Also around the clitoris feels constricted. I would've been better off not having SRS.
Also 1 girl who went to him reportedly ended up with only 4 " of depth.another one had to get a colon cut at PAI because her graft failed.
Also pre op perenium electrolysis not laser should be done. unless you want hair in there.
Reed Center in Miami might be an a option. quite a few girls go there and seem to do OK. Meltzer is considered one of the best but very expensive
. Can you go into more detail about chettawut? I scheduled with him on june the 3rd. How is your sensation?? And you speak on the appearance of the vagina, what makes it so bad?
Quote from: imperfectlyperfect on March 02, 2013, 08:30:54 PM
. Can you go into more detail about chettawut? I scheduled with him on june the 3rd. How is your sensation?? And you speak on the appearance of the vagina, what makes it so bad?
These are the kind of post's that I keep seeing that are of no help,and have no substance, I wouldnt pay much into it, as the poster of that probally wont even be back in the explain furthur, take it with a grain of salt
dear imperfect i will respond soon.
Some of the posters on this forum (not necessarily on this thread) seem to me to be shills that specifically try to talk you out of a particular surgeon possibly into going with another one... Suporn/Chet battle seems especially weird at times.... That said, Suporn did my SRS last August, and although recovery has been long, and hard, with a lot of dilation and a gradual improvement in comfort, after six months, I'm functionally pain free, orgasmic, with six inches of depth using a larger dilator, and aesthetically quite pleasant. No complications to speak of, apart from some unexpected swelling of one of the inner labia just after the surgery, leaving that side now hanging slightly lower than the other. Not enough to get me to race back to Chonburi ASAP, but the next time I'm in Thailand for fun (every few years), I'll do it at the ahem tail end of that trip; it should take 30 min under local in Suporn's office. The non surgical aspects of Suporn and his clinic are outstanding, and I spent a great month with them, feeling very cared for and in good, friendly hands. Good luck!
Quote from: imperfectlyperfect on March 02, 2013, 08:30:54 PM
. Can you go into more detail about chettawut? I scheduled with him on june the 3rd. How is your sensation?? And you speak on the appearance of the vagina, what makes it so bad?
Sure. I am not here to bash people or advocate any Dr.
my SRS was 16 months ago.
Dr. Chet is a nice man. his staff was attentive. However nice Drs.
don't always make the best surgeons. He uses the same technique as Suporn.
his clinic is in the middle of the city. Dusit hotel was nice, near shopping.no beach. my recovery was slow and somewhat painful. until i started walking on the treadmill. post op i felt very weak needed smelling salts when going back to hotel. heart was racing probably from dehydration.
My senation is good almost 2 sensative.
The appearance of the neo vagina is not hideous. The top is open you can see the clitoral hood. this happens with other Drs. also.
the problem is he could not seem to get the outer labia symetrical. one side is
quite a bit smaller. It is not that noticable now. The problem w/ this is the inner labia on the smaller side is also smaller. This labia stops half way down
but blends in where you can't see it. without the complete labia the inner labia
can't be closed at the bottom unlike in natal women. This also happens with other doctors. Kind of leaves the vaginal opening somewhat large. the only thing covering this is the outer labia.
Another woman who recently had SRS with him is having all sorts of problems
infections, tears. I don't think i can recommend this patient's site and won't.
So that's it . my word to anyone and everyone is, don't get SRS unless you feel you can't live without it. It is not easy especially if you end up with post op regret.
Fixed broken quotation
I visited with Dr. Brassard back in May of last year and while it may seem like I speak too highly of him, I promise you I cannot do so. But here's the truth. Unless someone had a poor experience with their surgeon, this is the woman or man who gave us what we needed more than anything else and if we are happy, we will praise our surgeons above all others. I've only had the experience of Dr. Brassard, so mine was (and is) amazing. Others I know have been to other surgeons and have had equally amazing experiences.
Investigate and find the surgeon who gives you the best vibe.
N.J.
I'm curious to see what the results look like in the flesh. Anyone know how to go about this?
I just had my surgery with dr chettawut , I will let everyone know how it turns out when I can
Quote from: calico on March 28, 2013, 10:46:48 PM
I just had my surgery with dr chettawut , I will let everyone know how it turns out when I can
Congrats!
I went to Brassard, and I was very very pleased with the results. I have no doubt whatsoever that all of the major surgeons will do a beautiful job; my main reason for choosing him was that I really liked the idea of the 24-hour aftercare in the residence. I'm kind of a worrywart, so having a nurse on call for a week afterwards did a lot for my peace of mind. In the end, the worst of it was the catheter; that hurt an awful lot, but once they took it out I was a lot happier. The level of care was fantastic, and they supplied absolutely everything I needed for the entire time I was there. I think I went through about 50,000 pairs of those mesh underpants, and several gallons of lube. :)
I had some issues with swelling in the very beginning, but once that went down the looks are gorgeous (my local doctor couldn't tell there was anything different about mine until he did an extensive speculum exam and saw scar tissue, and I was only four months post-op at that point). I am fully sensate, and was orgasmic in my sleep by two weeks afterwards. I had 5 1/2 inches of depth when I left, and as far as I can tell I've maintained it. I am also somewhat self lubricating; probably not enough that I wouldn't need to use some lube if I were with a man (I'm married to a woman), but certainly enough that he wouldn't be suspicious. At this point, I don't see any need for revisions.
Mr Phillip Thomas did my surgery at the Brighton Nuffield Hospital , UK and he was brilliant.
Quote from: Jenna Marie on March 30, 2013, 08:33:57 PM
the worst of it was the catheter; that hurt an awful lot, but once they took it out I was a lot happier.
Hi Jenna. I'm wondering what was painful about the catheter. I know it hurts at the point of being taken out, but I didn't know that there would be pain whilst it was in. I am delighted that you are very satisfied with your surgery.
Not everyone has problems with the catheter - in fact, I think most people don't. But I had bladder spasms, which basically meant excruciatingly painful bladder cramps every time I went to pee or my bladder started to fill (and we were supposed to drink a ton, to prevent UTI and keep things working, so that was almost all the time!). I did get painkillers for it and that helped a lot, so I don't mean to scare anyone. But that nonsense hurt 10X as much as the actual surgery site, I swear.
Thanks Jenna. Just trying to be circumspect and preparing for the worst. :laugh: Any chance of bearable sightseeing when discharged from the residence or am I mad?
When you're discharged? I would think so. I went home that day, but if you're sticking around a bit longer - yeah, you can probably manage a couple hours of light walking/sightseeing per day. You can expect to get tired very easily, though.
Congrats and good luck on the upcoming surgery!
I have you to thank for that, Jenna. Thank you very much indeedy! :-*
Dr Brassard in Montreal. I am very,very happy with everything and i am almost 4 months post and things have been on track. Atm i am having a little healing issue but seems no one feels it is a big issue and wait till i see Dr. B. next month. My husband is giving everything a 2 thumbs up. >:-)
As for picking who to use i would say it comes down to your personal comfortablity factor. Do your homework and do not hold un-real expectations. Remember it is a artful surgery and everyones body is made unique and will heal as your body will. Not everything in life is always as cut and dry as we wish it was.
Quote from: Nicolette on July 24, 2013, 07:23:51 AM
Hi Jenna. I'm wondering what was painful about the catheter. I know it hurts at the point of being taken out, but I didn't know that there would be pain whilst it was in. I am delighted that you are very satisfied with your surgery.
For me that was not that bad a issue. I hated when the flow stopped (when you used the plug) getting that sharp thump that got old fast. I would say the most pain and was so glad to get it removed was the surgical dressing that they stich fast to you. After a few days and things started to dry out and pull hard on the stitches OMG. For me i was totaly supprised on how i handled the pain, for me was not even close to what i thought before having it done. Walk in the park lol.
As I said in another thread I chose Dr Reed. So far happy with things although my body isn't very good at healing it seems (would go figure if I have a certain blood disorder he wanted me tested for).
Never had a real issue with the foley (catheter) other than pain from switching from a "day bag" to a night one if air got into the works or if there was tension on it. The way around this was crimping the output with one hand while coaxing the bag off with the other hand. The dressing change, (groin) drain, pullup stitches and labia stitches were... interesting to have removed (and then there was the foley...).
I am not even two months post op from Brassard.
The after care was amazing, second to none. My healthcare paid for everything. If I had to pay with my own dollar the only drs I would consider (other than Brassard of course) are Dr.Mcginn (i'd feel comfortable since she is trans) and Dr. Suporn since I hear so many good things.
Hi, I saw Dr. Brassard winter 2001. Twelve years later, all is well. I am so happy with his work. When I first visited my Gyno (teaching hospital) she gathered (with my permission) several residents & students to see what a good job he did.
My only problem was from the anesthesia. I lost a day because after the surgery I was delirious the whole next day. My girlfriend at the time was with me and did all she could, including fetch the nurse when I was really bad. The third day I was up & about, still a touch foggy but vastly improved.
Would recommend Dr. Brassard to anyone who asked me, and I would show her the results so she could make an informed decision.
K
Quote from: Kim 526 on July 26, 2013, 09:30:00 AM
My only problem was from the anesthesia. I lost a day because after the surgery I was delirious the whole next day. My girlfriend at the time was with me and did all she could, including fetch the nurse when I was really bad. The third day I was up & about, still a touch foggy but vastly improved.
Had you had any general anaesthesia experience before your SRS surgery? If so, was the experience the same, better or worse?
I had had general anesthesia many times before SRS with no problems. Have since had Fentanyl (sp?) twice with no issues, but those were for short endoscopic procedures.
Quote from: Kim 526 on July 26, 2013, 10:06:30 AM
I had had general anesthesia many times before SRS with no problems. Have since had Fentanyl (sp?) twice with no issues, but those were for short endoscopic procedures.
My experience seems to get better. Last year, I had a general that was 4 or 5 hours and I was eating very soon afterwards. Absolutely no after-effects, except urinal retention. But when I had my BA in 1999, I was vomiting. I'm hoping they are managing the after-effects better, now. But one can also have an epidural. Imagine that.
I totally agree with seeking out people in person that you can talk to about their experiences. SRS is a major thing and it's normal to experience fears and doubts about it (I did). But after having known a few girls personally who went to Suporn it really helped me have more confidence. I posted a video about some of my experience here on the forum that you can find if you look at my previous posts.
I wish you luck in picking the right surgeon for you!
I was hand built by Dr Brassard on 3 separate visits , worked from the top down , he did my face on one trip , breast on the second trip , srs on the third trip , and about a year later I was at the dentist , and he said ,, hey what is this tattoo inside your lip that says , Made In Canada ,, Hey this thread is kind of like , My Dad is better than your Dad :laugh: ,, but my reason for going to Dr Brassard was based on my wacky logic , who knows a vagina better than a Frenchmen :D
Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread so far.
I am 51 years of age and have been on my HRT for 1.5 years now.
I need to make a decision for my surgeon.
I live in Toronto, Ontario and would be extremely grateful if I could meet in person, anyone who had their SRS performed by Dr Brassard and also Dr Suporn. Please feel free to private message me and we can make arrangements to meet.
Thank you so very much.