Hi!

Is there a change for transgenders at the moment to get a vagina from Tissue Engineering???
With real mucosa???

Is there any doctor out there who do this???

nice greeting

It's seems to still be very experimental. The first attempt was apparently just in 2007 and such research tends to move slowly.

http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/7/2025.full.pdf

Apparently one treatment for natal females involves harvesting buccal mucosa from the inner cheek to help rejuvenate the vagina, but that's probably way insufficient for MtFs undergoing vaginoplasty.

I'm researching this topic myself, Olele, as I'd be interested in knowing if this can be done. As others note, this would theoretically lead to no need to dilate or a greatly lessened need.

Women with MRKH syndrome typically only have a little bit of depth for their vagina so it's really not too dissimilar from SRS/GRS in some ways. Would be great if they could use our epithelial cells to help with vaginal surgery!

Quote from: Bella on February 26, 2013, 09:11:50 AM
What exactly would this mean? No dilating?

If I remember correctly, it means a self-lubricating vagina. As I understand it, that's not typical of most post-GRS patients.

Well dilation has everything to do with establishing and maintaining depth and width of this new neo vagina. Doesn't really have much to do with lubrication. How that impacts on the application of tissue engineering, I have no idea.

All I could say, if tissue engineering has anything to do with increasing depth and/or width, then to defeat the body's natural tendency to close up a wound, dilation would still be a requirement.

Huggs 
Catherine

The only problem is that the new tissue would probably not be sensate. Here is some more info I chanced upon:

http://transgirldiaries.com/?p=2133

Quote from: Michelle Stone on February 26, 2013, 09:14:34 AM
If I remember correctly, it means a self-lubricating vagina. As I understand it, that's not typical of most post-GRS patients.

I'm a Brassard girl (class of Sept. '12), and mine is self-lubricating... 

Quote from: Catherine Sarah on February 26, 2013, 10:05:52 AM
Well dilation has everything to do with establishing and maintaining depth and width of this new neo vagina. Doesn't really have much to do with lubrication. How that impacts on the application of tissue engineering, I have no idea.

All I could say, if tissue engineering has anything to do with increasing depth and/or width, then to defeat the body's natural tendency to close up a wound, dilation would still be a requirement.

Huggs 
Catherine

Sorry, I saw this thread and I thought it was different article. There was one very similar and they were talking about the benefits for self-lubricating.

Quote from: Colleen Ireland on February 26, 2013, 12:35:58 PM
I'm a Brassard girl (class of Sept. '12), and mine is self-lubricating... 

Quote from: Bella on February 26, 2013, 01:02:22 PM
I am very self lubricating. Very.

That's awesome to hear! I just read on a few sites about issues with self-lubricating and that many women had to use lube for intercourse so I was bummed... but you ladies made my day!

Quote from: Bella on February 26, 2013, 06:22:08 PM
and I have to say, that if anyone would choose mucosa skin graft (whatever it's called) over what's currently being done, sacrificing sensation over lubrication, it just goes to show how desperate we are to please. Why on earth would you replace sensation with lubrication, when you can just use lube if you don't get wet enough? What's the point of having a vagina if you can't feel anything?

If you're basing that off of my comment about the whole lubrication thing, I'm not 100% that's what this is. I just read an article that sounde familiar to the gist of what was being discussed. I was actually omw out the door and saw someone asked about what it was. I just assumed which I guess wasn't a good idea

I was somewhat reluctant ( I was specifically asked to keep this between "you and me" ) to post but I am curious as well.  My urologist brought this up with me during my last consultation, the method concerning harvesting buccal mucosa from the cheek.  As far as I know they harvest this tissue and cultivate it for several weeks before using it for the surgery.  Of course I am at full trust with this urologist, especially considering he has an extensive history of reconstructing genitals in sexually ambiguous persons.

As of now I am not sure the entirety of the specific details, it was brought up to me as somewhat of a surprise to me by my doctor who alerted that it was something he would highly suggest.  I should be able to offer more details after my second consultation with the urologist and the plastic surgeon he works closely with.

Any information would be wonderful since google seems to be elusive about this "experimental" method.

To add just a tiny bit, my urologist said that dilating is only done for about a month or so with this method.  Also it is not as sensitive as with the penile-inversion techniques, yet there is far more tissue/material to work with to create an aesthetically pleasing, functional vagina.  The trade-off is that you may be somewhat insensitive ( regarding pleasure ) to penetration however have a usable clitoris.

Quote from: harmonic_dissonance on March 05, 2013, 09:56:19 PM

As of now I am not sure the entirety of the specific details, it was brought up to me as somewhat of a surprise to me by my doctor who alerted that it was something he would highly suggest.  I should be able to offer more details after my second consultation with the urologist and the plastic surgeon he works closely with.

Please let us know if you get any more info from your Doc, this is very interesting!!!