I'm 7 weeks post op and have been sending pictures regularly to my physician to make sure it is all okay every time something new pops up in healing and he keeps saying it is okay but it's been over a week he hasn't answered my last emails and my next consult with him is in June 1st.
A flap of pink tissue started appearing, perhaps it was hidden due to being swollen before... and it is hanging over the vagina as a continuation of the skin color tissue surrounding the urethra.
At first it looked like two small flaps and one of them hanging to the left had a hole and I thought maybe the hole is a wound.
During the week the flap kept going down more and more covering more of the vagina and it seemed more and more possible that the hole is actually a continuation of the opening for the urethra... but it's not clear if that's the case, because the flap itself is currently symmetrical with the skin surrounding the urethra, but the hole hanging on the left side of the flap is... well, to the left. So if the hole would eventually become symmetrical with the urethra it looks the flap wouldn't, unless there is more hidden "flap" tissue to the left.
In general, I don't remember ever noticing on cis women such a "flap", like a door hanging from the top of the vagina.
When I dilate the "door" is just pushed against the top of the vagina.
Can anyone let me know if this "door" is supposed to be there and if this hole is normal and indeed a continuation of the tissue surrounding the urethra? I'm anxious to wait until my consult and the doctor stopped answering my emails because I guess he is busy and decided I'm a hypochondriac.
I'm also 50 days post op and it still hurts to stand up or be dressed in the area and was told that should have passed after 4-6 weeks. Am I probably going to have to wait 3 months post op for that to happen?
It quite common to hear of women having revisions to tidy things up. As long as it's something extra and not something missing it should be easy to fix.
So it's not supposed to be there? It actually looks pretty nice. Is it possible it will be able to just stay there without causing trouble?
It's a little tough to tell from your description, but unless it's hindering you from doing something just let it go and be patient. This is a long recovery and what you see now is a far cry from what you will see 3 and 6 months from now. I'm seven weeks post myself, and I think this idea that you need 4 to 6 weeks to "recover" from this surgery is a disservice to everyone who has it.
Seriously, what do people mean when they talk about "recovery"? Returning to work, driving a car, not bleeding, having enough energy to engage in their daily routine, being pain-free? The description is far too vague to have any applicable meaning for people who are in that situation. Plus, age, fitness, health status, smoking etc. play a huge role in your bodies ability to heal. My surgeon's post-surgery documentation says that you can't return to exercising for 10 weeks. She didn't set that limitation for the fun of it.
I totally understand where you are coming from and it doesn't help that we have all this time on our hands to sit around and watching the clock and every little detail of our surgery wondering if it's going to look presentable. I tell you, I've been through a lot of surgery before so I knew the routine and what to expect. For people who haven't had the experience of major surgery before this could easily feel overwhelming, depressing and even scary.
Don't do this alone people!
Here's another thing related to the communication issue. I can understand if the Dr doesn't respond to all of the emails personally because they probably do a lot of different types of surgery and there are a lot of other patients to deal with. Nevertheless, as far as I'm concerned, it's imperative that the surgeon has a strong patient care and follow-up team or person that can accommodate your questions quickly. The fact that you've heard nothing back isn't a reflection on you, it's poor patient care from them.
The main thing you want to watch out for are signs of infection. As long as that's not an issue, everything else can be fixed with time or a nip-tuck later.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on May 16, 2017, 07:51:39 AM
So it's not supposed to be there? It actually looks pretty nice. Is it possible it will be able to just stay there without causing trouble?
I didn't really understand your description, but I don't think it matters. If you like it and there's no problems then don't worry about it.
A friend says it might be the inner lips... but then why are they hanging off the top of the vagina instead of being attached to all sides? Or maybe I'm just seeing them pop from the top and there is more to come eventually from the sides and bottom?
It could be overhang from your urethra opening. It's difficult to say from you description. Either way, its nothing that cant be fixed.
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Quote from: EmmaLoo on May 16, 2017, 03:03:44 PM
It could be overhang from your urethra opening. It's difficult to say from you description. Either way, its nothing that cant be fixed.
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That's what it looks it might be to me.
If that is the case it will probably retract quite a bit as the swelling decreases and things heal. Even if it remains it's an easy fix.
Dont fret it.
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Don't worry to much about how it looks until at least 6 months post op. It may even change some after that.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on May 16, 2017, 03:00:36 PM
A friend says it might be the inner lips... but then why are they hanging off the top of the vagina instead of being attached to all sides? Or maybe I'm just seeing them pop from the top and there is more to come eventually from the sides and bottom?
sounds like the clitoral hood from what you describe.
No, it's way below that: below the urethra opening and attached to the top of the vagina, seems to be a continuation of the urethra opening so my guess is it can be either that or vagina inner lips still swollen or failed attempt at making vagina inner lips. The clitoris is just covered by white stuff.
There is a bit which looks very nice which seems to help the urethra opening look visually connected seemlessly to the vagina in a beautiful way and it kind of opens up and seems logical it would be there the more it goes from the left side to the center... only it's weird that it doesn't open up completely and has a bit of tissue keeping a part of it closed. I guess it is way harder to explain with words than to show pictures but I don't know if that's a good idea for my privacy or okay by the terms of the site.
I know it is hard to explain when you don't have a picture. sounds like you need to have a talk with your dr when you see him next. After the swelling goes down more you can have a much better idea how everything is healing and you will look in the end.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on May 18, 2017, 08:21:48 AM
No, it's way below that: below the urethra opening and attached to the top of the vagina, seems to be a continuation of the urethra opening so my guess is it can be either that or vagina inner lips still swollen or failed attempt at making vagina inner lips. The clitoris is just covered by white stuff.
yep it's the clitoral hood. I know it sounds weird, but the clitoris ans urethral opening will shrink and move down to that little flap. I dont understand it either, but I have the same thing.
Wait a minute... Time out... As far as I know, clitoris above, urethral opening in the middle, vagina at the bottom... That's what I have. How can I have a clitoral hood between my urethral opening and my vagina? How can my clitoris move down there between the vagina and urethral opening? As far as I know this order isn't supposed to change. Are you saying this stuff I have now between my urethral opening hanging at the top of my vagina will somehow move up to my clitoris or that my clitoris will move down to be between my urethra and vagina?
Sorry if I sound a bit aggressive. I'm just trying to figure this out.
Well, we've had the same surgery and I circled mine in a pic and sent it over and asked Dr. Rumer's staff and thats what I was told. How it moves I dont know.
Go to google images and look at a few natural women's vaginas and compare them to yours, and you'll start to see what I'm talking about.
My mind cant wrap itself around the concept either, but I'll trust my doc and nurses know what they are talking about.
Perhaps you mean down in a different dimension than what I am considering up and down?
Like I'm talking up and down from clitoris to vagina but you might be considering the direction of my belly and intestines up and my crotch down? So the clitoral hood makes its way down and up to the clitoris?
If so... does that mean it will leave a hole where it is currently protruding to my vagina?
It all kinda shrinks and merges together and gets itself right as the healing progresses. Dont ask me, I am not a surgeon.
Well, it does look like what I would expect a clitoral hood to look like... except, it's blocking the way into my vagina. o.O
from what I understand the clitoris somehow slides down and behind the hood.
Are you sure of what you're saying? That's confusing, maybe you didn't understand what your surgeon said.. How can the clitoris go under your urethra? And most important, why??
Quote from: ClaudiaPitCar on May 18, 2017, 02:02:35 PM
Are you sure of what you're saying? That's confusing, maybe you didn't understand what your surgeon said.. How can the clitoris go under your urethra? And most important, why??
The clitoris in my case is where it should be. If I understood what she explained, the hood of the clitoris, not the clitoris, is being pushed by swelling away from where it should be and when the swelling calms down somehow the hood will end up covering the clitoris.
That does not sound normal or typical, no, but if you're happy with it, that's the important part. :) I do second the fact that swelling can make things look weird for a while, too; I've never heard of that particular issue before, and everything was in roughly the right *place* for me personally and just super puffy, but swelling can definitely distort the initial results.
I am also baffled about how the clitoris could be anywhere except for about an inch below the mons pubis, which is where it is on most cis women. (Then there's a couple inches to the urethra, which is positioned immediately above the vaginal opening.) There is really no anatomically correct way that the clitoral hood could be blocking the vagina, at least not that I can imagine. I'm hoping the doctor was misunderstood, because the clitoris also should be fixed in place.
perhaps you should get in touch with others who've had surgery from your surgeon? techniques differ, and so do surgical skills. having said that, it's important to realize 7 weeks is nothing when it comes to recovery from surgery.
my SRS is actually still to come up (funnily enough, in 7 weeks). but I've had surgery in April as well, they fixed my right shoulder joint by hammering in 3 polymer suture-anchors. this was done arthroscopically , so I've only got two minor incisions there, and spent 4 days in the hospital in total (it's called a bankart repair, look it up). in comparison, this is a minor procedure. yet: primary recovery is 6 weeks, light sports are allowed after 3 months and contact sports (I practice thai-boxing) only after 6 months.
so: if this takes so long, imagine what srs does to your system....
Well, I've had forehead, trachea shave and rhinoplasty and none of those surgeries compare to the limits SRS recovery is putting on me. I actually did breast augmentation together with the SRS, and I can feel the BA part was super easy.
Sure, there was swelling for a month or two and it did not look as good as the final result, but in a matter of days or a week tops I could do everything except sports and by the time a month was gone they looked pretty close to the final result.
With SRS, I was told it will be 3 months before it looks close to the final result and 7 weeks in and I am still most of the time in bed because it hurts not to lie down. So I understand your shoulder surgery was difficult but the surgeries I had, had so much easier recoveries than this SRS... especially the first 5 days, there is just no comparison how much pain I had in the first 5 days in the hospital to what I had in the other surgeries. Really a walk in the park.
My point is, just because your shoulder surgery was hard and my SRS was hard, it doesn't mean all surgeries are hard. At least, comparatively. They still had anasthesia and swelling and pain and discomfort and limitations, but the time and magnitude are completely different.
Fortunately once those first 5 days were over and they removed the packing I was no longer in constant pain and now it is more an issue of being limited to bed to avoid the pain. What I am saying, as limiting and serious as the SRS is, it is mostly a discomfort and annoyance and psychological torment to be so much in bed and feeling uncertainty if it will all heal well when it looks so swollen... but all in all, it's a pretty nice life to just sit in bed, play video games all day to pass the time until I heal. Sure, I need to dilate and I need to cook and clean but that is not as much responsability as working.
So it will take as long as it takes...
I was just disappointed because of my expectations. The doctors told me I should have been able to be up and about without pain 4-6 weeks after surgery, so I could get back to acting. There is a big show on June 1st that rehearsals started for on May 9th which is exactly 6 weeks after. I also asked here and people told me it should be usually 4-6 weeks. But here I am, more than 7 weeks after... externally I have seen many healing changes, but as far as how limited I am... I feel the same I did a month ago - I *can* walk and sit and lift and do everything, but it hurts to not lie down so I do at home or near home for short periods of time to cook, clean and buy groceries... but rehearsals where I go out of the house and take a bus, spend hours somewhere I can't lie down and then take a bus back home... Perhaps technically I *can* do that, but it would hurt like hell, and if it hurts like hell - maybe that also means a risk to interfere with healing.
But once I saw there is no chance I can come back to rehearsals in time then I accepted this is going to take as long as it will take, because that show in June 1st was the only thing I had that motivated me to recover fast. Now it doesn't matter. If it takes another month or if it takes another 4 months, so be it. I'll just keep on playing WoW, dilating, cooking, buying groceries and eating until my body sorts it all out.
I just wish I had an instruction manual about how things will look different and change so I can feel less anxious about how weird things are looking now that it is still healing. You're saying 7 weeks is nothing, perhaps it is nothing for SRS, but all the other surgeries I've had 7 weeks was plenty to see more than 90 percent of the result.
Update: it's been getting harder and harder to dilate, possibly due to the blockage of this tissue growing... but yesterday and today it's become a bit easier. There is a *second* new hole in this tissue... so I have absolutely no idea what it's function is supposed to be... whether it should be inner lips, something redundant or the clitoral hood as previously suggested.
One week till my doctor visit with the surgeon to hopefully find out what it is.
Ah, I bet this is sloughing epithelial tissue, the outer layer of dead skin. It sometimes winds up detaching as a large piece rather than the little whitish clumps, and eventually detaches completely. Your visit with the surgeon will tell for sure.
So I was at the doctor and I think the word he used was granulation.
He switched me from using an estrogen cream once a day during one of my dilations to hydroagisten twice a day during two of my dilations. It contains hydrocortisone acitate, or a form of cortisol. He said it would flatten the tissue that is blocking and interfering with dilation. He said we would need to make a balancing act and make sure we aren't going too far with it, so I should come back in two weeks.
Unfortunately, he was available to be seen again only in three weeks.
Anyway, the next day even before using the new cream, just stopping with the estrogen, I already felt so much better and much less pain.
Now a few days later I can get the big dilator in all the way, only this time without pain. It still takes a while to overcome the resistance, but it is just inconvenient, not painful. I also think my pain while not lying down has improved.
So turns out it wasn't tissue that had some special function, it was just extra growth promoted by the estrogen and whether it is the absence of estrogen, the use of cortisol or both, that tissue has definitely become less swollen and isn't blocking dilation anymore. It's not taking so much space and I'm not blocked anymore. In general everything is a lot less swollen, not just the vagina.
But because he said we need to make a balancing act I am afraid to overdo it to the other direction though I don't even know what the consequences would be of overdoing it.
Right now my plan is to keep using the cortisol cream for the 2 prescribed weeks and then do dilations only with the anti bacterial gel for a week until the next appointment. I am also applying a small amount of the cortisol cream to the dilator.
Since getting in touch with my doctor outside physical appointments is problematic, do you think I am right in my approach or should I use the cream more liberally and until the day of appointment?
The prescription says 2 weeks, but as I said the next consult is in 3. I also tried to understand how much I should put and the doctor only said "a bit".
Amyway, after the surgery things were getting better until my first consult when he prescribed the estrogen cream... then things started getting gradually worse and worse. I am glad to be back on the "things getting better" track. It seems it was just because of the estrogen cream that I didn't recover faster.
To be clear, this is cream used for vagina only. My general estrogen is a seperate issue. Actually in a recent post op blood test the estrogen levels were low so the endo authroized me to use a higher dose but this happened only 2 days before the surgeon consult that I raised the dose and I've been getting worse and worse for weeks already... and I've been getting better ever since I've stopped using the vagina estrogen cream despite raising my estrogel dose on body application.
The hydrocortisone controls swelling while the estrogen cream helps convert the tissue to vaginal tissue. Unless you are having a reaction to the base used in the estrogen cream, the estrogen cream shouldn't be part of the problem. If you have any food allergies you might want to check the label to see what the base is but this is something you need to discuss with your doctor.