Quote from: Christine Eryn on November 22, 2015, 05:31:06 PM
Ugggh, I have thought about this exact thread for the past week or so. A few days ago, I had my 2nd FFS surgery and am still sitting around healing and recovering. My first surgery 4 months ago I was full steam ahead and had "braced myself to just make a smooth landing". This last time, I just wanted to get it over with and not look back and dwell too much on it. In the prep room I was even apprehensive and a bit nervous.

I now want no more facial surgery ever ever ever on my face. I am now strongly leaning towards not getting my planned breast augmentation next year or even putting off any GRS for the next few years. Us trans folks have procedures beyond what cis people have.

The results are 100% worth it though. I say that with swollen lips and my throat still bandaged. A little faith helps too. 

Surgery itself isn't as scary for me as the thought of general anesthesia; it's a scary process, because I do not like being unaware of what is happening.  Take care, and I hope you have a quick recovery, and are very happy with your results.

OP: I hear you. I have had SRS, trach shave, BA, and hairline transplants over the last 6 years.

Also in that time, I've had to have surgery on my toe and hand due to other random issues.

I'm considering FFS now as a final thing but I'm pretty sick of surgery in general....it's really annoying sometimes how 'no big deal' the doctors make it all sound like too. They always seem to play everything down and then the recovery is still pretty tough.

Quote from: kittenpower on November 22, 2015, 05:46:57 PM
Surgery itself isn't as scary for me as the thought of general anesthesia; it's a scary process, because I do not like being unaware of what is happening.  Take care, and I hope you have a quick recovery, and are very happy with your results.

I agree, the surgery I can deal with, the only part of that which scares me is that it could be too conservative and the risk of nerve damage. But the general anesthesia is what scares me the most, the possible complications and in worst case scenario dying.....

General anesthesia scares me too, as well as possible pain and other complications. But I've had one small surgery so now I realize it's not as bad as I thought. Just two more (FFS and GRS) and I'm done... until I get old and need open heart surgery or whatever.

Honestly what scares me the most is the thought of waking up during surgery.

I have had more GA's than hot dinners during my transition ...

Going to sleep no longer worries me and funnily enough I quite enjoy the relaxing sensation of going to sleep.

Am I a surgery junkie?  Probably !!!  Paula giggles.

Seriously though I now have the attitude that if anything happens while asleep, I hopefully will not know anything about it and have had a good life.

But I plan to be around for some time yet and when I hear of people who have had multiple operations ( 25 on one man I heard recently ) then all the surgeries that I have had is nothing.

Quote from: iKate on November 23, 2015, 10:45:15 AM
Honestly what scares me the most is the thought of waking up during surgery.

Back in 2007 when I had to have a pacemaker implanted, they were having a very hard time finding the vein to run the wire from the pacemaker down into the heart.  I was laying on the table and felt them tring to find the vein.  I said ouch and I looked up at the clock. I said looks like this is taking longer than you thought. They were pretty shocked that I was awake and I they did something and I went back to sleep. Very weird feeling.

Quote from: kittenpower on November 22, 2015, 05:46:57 PM
Surgery itself isn't as scary for me as the thought of general anesthesia; it's a scary process, because I do not like being unaware of what is happening.  Take care, and I hope you have a quick recovery, and are very happy with your results.

Thanks!    I have no fear of anesthesia, I saw FFS as one of the most crucial things I have ever done in my life and worth all the literal blood, sweat, and tears I put into my surgeries. I take back what I said about breast augmentation, I am a really really really big fan of boobies and even though HRT has given me a small C cup, I will probably find a way to get a boob job done by next spring.    Couldn't be any worse than anything above the collarbone.

Quote from: kittenpower on September 12, 2015, 08:58:58 PM
Thanks; Meltzer in 2007, Chettawut in 2011, and Dr. Zukowski. I'm a Melchettakowski girl
I'm going to wait a couple of months for the swelling to subside, before posting updated pictures.

Hello! I am looking to have scalp advancement in Thailand also and am wondering how the scar healed for you? Is it at all visible? How did you find dr chettawut?

Dr. Meltzer did my forehead which included a scalp advance; there was a lot of numbness from the hairline (forehead also, but since you specifically asked about the scalp advance, I will focus on that) to the crown, and it took a year to get most of the feeling back; I'm almost 9 years post op and I still have a bit of numbness at the crown. The scar has faded very well; it's very thin and light, and I didn't have any hair loss at the incision site. I had a good experience in Thailand, and Dr. Chettawut good surgeon; he's nice and caring, and his nurses do aftercare at your hotel on a daily bases, so that is an extra added bonus. Dr. Chettawut did my lip lift, tracheal shave, BA, and Lipo; I am pleased with the results, but as pointed out by Dr. Chettawut at my last follow up, before leaving Thailand, my left flank was not easy to Lipo, which resulted in a bit of unevenness compared to the right side; it's not overly uneven, but I notice it when a look at my backside with a mirror, and if the surgeon was in the area, it would be easy to get a revision, so that is definitely something to consider when traveling for surgery, because most of the time everything goes perfectly, but not always, and if it is something that needs some immediate attention, you have to scramble to find a surgeon who is capable (and willing) of taking on the case, especially if it is bone work; and there is also the added costs, and time involved as well, not to mention how stressful it can be. Type 3 forehead is a difficult procedure to perform, and there are a lot of risks with it, therefore a greater chance you might have a complication, so my personal choice was to have it done close to home; I am not implying that surgeons outside of the U.S.A, are not competent, or are not as highly skilled as our surgeons, because they most definitely are, but some procedures are so invasive, and you cannot predict how your body will react during the healing process, so if you choose to travel (even outside of your State) surgery (especially bone work, and SRS), it is to your advantage to stay in the area for post op recovery as long as possible; I think staying for a minimum of 30 days, would be optimal. 

I can certainly sympathize. I had FFS with Ousterhout in 2001. I have MS, and the recovery took more than a year. Not Dr. O's fault at all. Each of us has different response to surgery, at indeed, different responses depending on age, life circumstances, etc.

I have always been captivated by those who climb tall mountains, such as Everest. Its interesting to note, that one year someone might climb & not experience altitude sickness, the next would experience, etc. Not the absolute best comparison, but does demonstrate the volatility our health can have.