Hello everyone. I hope everyone is doing well.
My wife is MTF and 12 weeks post-op with McGinn. At about 7 weeks, she noticed a lump beneath the skin of the incision on the right side, about the size of a quarter. She started back to work a couple of weeks ago and now the lump is swelling. It's about the size of a golf ball.
We advised the doctor's office when the lump started, and they told us it's at the place where the testicle was cut and that it was probably a leftover suture that hadn't yet dissolved. She doesn't have a fever, but the site of the lump is very uncomfortable and hurts. We are concerned about it bursting or becoming infected.
Has anyone else had something like this? Should we go see a local doctor? What type of doctor would we see? Should we request antibiotics? We don't live anywhere near McGinn's office or we'd go there. Thanks for any advice.
At 12 weeks it's time to have a gynecologist visit to check the healing and to check for granulation inside the vagina. At the same time the lump can be checked as well. Without a doctor taking a close up look and possible extracting a sample, it's hard to know if it's an infection or a suture. I don't think it will burst but should it be an infection, I would be concerned about it spreading within the body.
Thanks Dena. I wasn't sure if we should go to her regular doctor or something else. She hasn't visited a gyno yet, but this would be a good opportunity for a first visit. I really wish we could go by McGinn's office.
An infection that large would definitely be accompanied by a fever so it seems unlikely to me. Obviously I'm not a doctor. Have you sent mcginn photos? Where exactly is it located?
Definitely get to a doc to have it looked at.
Hey Sadie. Yes we did send pics a couple of times. Since it's under the skin it's hard to get a good photo. We're awaiting a response from our latest email but today is their surgery day. We will just have to watch for any changes and take it easy.
Hi marctravis,
I'm sorry that your wife is having some post-op difficulties. I really hope everything resolves itself soon.
If you're comfortable, I was wondering if you could share a bit about you and your wife's experience with Dr. McGinn (i.e. satisfaction with results, recovery experience, etc). I'm getting surgery with her this December, so I'm very interested in any McGinn patient experiences I can find.
Thank you so much!
Hey ashadyna. I'd be happy to share. We have been very satisfied with the results of the surgery. I am gay, so had a limited experience with vaginas. But from all the pictures I've seen, it looks really good. Recovery has been very smooth for the most part, up until this issue began with the lump at 7 weeks. Our local doctor (we live in the south) is prescribing an antibiotic drip IV that she will carry around for 14 days. I hope this is the cure.
Anyway, a little about our experience. The part before surgery was very smooth. That included getting approved, having phone conversations with McGinn, paying the fees, local doctor's visits, setting up a place to stay and rental car. We decided to stay at the Hampton Inn in Newtown b/c it's directly in between the hospital and McGinn's office. One thing we missed out one by doing that was we didn't meet any other girls going through the process. I know others were around b/c they were in the hospital at the same time. The Hampton made it easy b/c they had free breakfast, a very large 1 bedroom suite with kitchen and separate bedroom and it was a quick drive for me to the hospital. I only stayed the first night in the hospital, then for other nights went back to the hotel.
The hospital is very basic. They have a cafeteria, but it doesn't sell dinner, just breakfast and lunch. The nurses were very caring and nice. It's not a pleasant experience of course, but they make it as good as possible. Here we were mostly concerned with pain (not much), pooping (came quick) and getting up to walk. After we were discharged, it was on to the hotel where she stayed in bed alot but got up to walk as much as possible. She was not comfortable b/c of the packing and had to move very carefully. I made sure she got alot of food and water, plus all the meds they recommend or prescribe. Getting to her office for the two visits was a challenge. The office is really in a small town and from the hotel, even though the distance isn't that far, it's alot of small winding roads. Very beautiful though. And my wife was very relieved to get the packing out. She felt much better after that. They also showed us how to dilate, which went well. One thing, when they showed us how to dilate they used the number 2, so we thought that was the one we were supposed to use. Should have started with the number 1.
By the end of our stay, she had recovered quite a bit. Really, we could have used a few more days b/c the flight was not good. By the time we got home (5 hours in the air with a layover) she was exhausted and sore. But with her not having to go back to work for a few more weeks, she was able to rest and recover. It was slow, and is still ongoing, but the swelling went down, the wounds closed up and she felt better. But she really hates the dilation. It's very exhausting to do it 5 times a day. Her life was just mostly centered on dilation.
We had her 8 week followup appointment and had to have some granulations removed with silver nitrate. It stung a little, and she started swelling again and had some blood. They told us to use cortizone cream. Things got better.
To summarize, we are happy with the results. The recovery is slow. Dilation is a bitch. And just make sure you follow all the instructions for the dilation. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have. Just let me know.
Thank you so much marctravis for the detailed summary! You sound like such a wonderfully supportive partner! Your wife is very fortunate to have you :)
Just a quick follow up in case anyone else has a similar experience. We had a cat scan and the doc says it's cellulitis. I had never heard of it but it just means infection. So we are continuing on the IV meds and hoping it's not MRSA.
QuoteWe had a cat scan
How's the cat doing? :D