Hi everyone on this section of Susan's Place.

I started earlier in the week this thread https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,208832.0.html

and this UK surgeon is only one of the three that I am considering for VFS.

They are Professor Remacle, Dr Kim at Yeson and Mr Sandhu at London's Charing Cross Hospital.

Mr Sanhu:  http://www.thelondonclinic.co.uk/consultants/mr-guri-sandhu

When I spoke to the UK speech therapist Christella Antoni, she said that I have an excellent phone voice which does tire through the day however.

Christella Antoni:  http://www.christellaantoni.co.uk/

When I am talking to people socially, I am fine at the beginning of the day but as the day progresses the voice tires and sometimes even breaks to a male voice and that is embarrassing to say the very least. I do have a relatively quiet voice because if I speak too loudly, it deepens and people with hearing problems cannot hear me too well without my shouting which, of course, is a 'No No'

So I have the usual problem speaking in loud places such as pubs, restaurants etc.

I always make some kind of excuse that I have a nodule on my vocal chord or something ... 

But I am tired apologising for my voice.

I transitioned in 1988 and have been having pitching my voice successfully ever since.

However when I was speaking on the phone to Christella this week she said that I have ' A hoarse voice' whatever that exactly means.

I have not had much luck with UK surgeons down the road of my transition and maybe you have read all about my problems with FFS since 2004, but at long last Facial Team in Spain have finally sorted my problems out this April, thank heavens. See:  https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,199847.0.html

My GP ( local doctor) is going to refer me to Mr Sandhu and Christella Antoni on the same day at the Charing Cross Hospital on the UK's NHS to see what is going in with my voice but I am far from deciding my best option as I only have the one voice and I am not going to prejudice it at my stage in life.

Also I worry that Christella may be biased towards Mr Sandhu.

Oh yes, I have a very wide vocal range and believe it or not can still speak in a chest male voice ( with difficulty though) rather than my female head voice.

I also used to be quite a good singer but cannot pitch my voice high enough to sing successfully female in places like church or even in the car.

I would really appreciate some advice please.

Thanks

Paula

PS.  I had a tracheal shave in 1989 which was a bit on the conservative side at London's Royal Nose, Ear and Throat Hospital which will probably need improving by Facial Team when I have a full face and neck lift in around two years time.

PPS. I am hoping to see Dr Kim at the WPATH conference this June in Amsterdam.

The website of the London surgeon does not say anything on the method or his credentials, experience, etc... So I cannot really comment much on that, but I would ALWAYS choose a surgeon who does any sort of trans related surgery by his results - ideally by personally talking to people who have been there or getting good contact online. This is more important than a well known name as seen on TV or location or price...

And yes - it does make sense to have a VFS even if you transitioned in 1988 - I transitioned in 1998 and asked myself the same, but just finally after all these years getting rid of that constant awareness of something being wrong and having to be kept under control is liberating

Hiya,

Thank you for your reply ... 

Quote from: anjaq on May 08, 2016, 12:48:43 PM
The website of the London surgeon does not say anything on the method or his credentials, experience, etc... So I cannot really comment much on that, but I would ALWAYS choose a surgeon who does any sort of trans related surgery by his results - ideally by personally talking to people who have been there or getting good contact online. This is more important than a well known name as seen on TV or location or price...

I will most certainly check Mr Sandhu's credentials out and also ask to meet or talk to quite a few of his post-op patients.

And yes - it does make sense to have a VFS even if you transitioned in 1988 - I transitioned in 1998 and asked myself the same, but just finally after all these years getting rid of that constant awareness of something being wrong and having to be kept under control is liberating

I bet and are you happy with your Yeson result?

Hugs

Paula

I would say I am 90% happy with the result from Yeson. Some things are not quite doing well enough for me - but I am not misgendered on my voice anymore and have not a single time been asked to say why my voice is as it is, or asked if I was trans because of the voice, or misgendered on the phone - also to myself the voice sounds good and more "right" and it is apparently very natural sounding. Only myself and others who have experience with voice and voice surgery can , if desired, find some flaws in it. Mainly I am probably still abusing my voice and not treating it well enough...

My voice surgery was done by Dr Haben and while I looked at three doctors, the only one on your list was Yeson. Because my voice was Bass and my trained voice could only do about 190 HZ if I really pushed it, I the decision came down to one doctor. I wanted a doctor who could produce the most pitch change and a less invasive procedure. It was also nice that I could stay in the country as I don't have a passport and it was only a 4 day trip. You would have a longer stay and it would be out of the country.

My transition started in 1979 and I had what I thought would be my last surgery (srs) in 1982. It was a bit of a shock to me last spring that I was even considering going under the knife again but the results were worth it.

Hiya,

Sorry for not getting back sooner and thank you for your input ... 

Would you mind sharing either here or by pm the 10% you are concerned about?

Hugs

Paula

Quote from: anjaq on May 08, 2016, 04:47:54 PM
I would say I am 90% happy with the result from Yeson. Some things are not quite doing well enough for me - but I am not misgendered on my voice anymore and have not a single time been asked to say why my voice is as it is, or asked if I was trans because of the voice, or misgendered on the phone - also to myself the voice sounds good and more "right" and it is apparently very natural sounding. Only myself and others who have experience with voice and voice surgery can , if desired, find some flaws in it. Mainly I am probably still abusing my voice and not treating it well enough...

Hiya Dena,

Many thanks for your reply and again apologies for not getting back sooner.

Yes Dr Haben is the other surgeon that I know of and is located in the USA, of course.

I do have great friends in the States as a result of my facial surgery in 2004 and I am sure could stay with one of them after VFS.

I did have a good singing voice and would like to sing again at higher levels, so it will be interesting to see how my tests go when I see Christella Antoni - speech therapist - at London's Charing Hospital for an initial assessment.

I will let you all know how that goes but it will not be for a few more months yet. 

Hugs

Paula

Quote from: Dena on May 08, 2016, 04:51:32 PM
My voice surgery was done by Dr Haben and while I looked at three doctors, the only one on your list was Yeson. Because my voice was Bass and my trained voice could only do about 190 HZ if I really pushed it, I the decision came down to one doctor. I wanted a doctor who could produce the most pitch change and a less invasive procedure. It was also nice that I could stay in the country as I don't have a passport and it was only a 4 day trip. You would have a longer stay and it would be out of the country.

My transition started in 1979 and I had what I thought would be my last surgery (srs) in 1982. It was a bit of a shock to me last spring that I was even considering going under the knife again but the results were worth it.

Quote from: Paula1 on May 13, 2016, 03:06:19 AM
Would you mind sharing either here or by pm the 10% you are concerned about?

Well , maybe its just 5 % - its mostly that I personally struggled and still struggle to use my voice properly. I am very critical about myself. My voice is presently to my knowledge 100% recognized as female, but sometimes I fall into old speech patterns and this hurts my voice. I had a rather long recovery time and had to take clonazepam beyond the 12 months mark, which bugs me  bit. I think the surgery was absolutely ok, but the recovery was not easy. One thing that bugs me a bit is that the pitch increase was a little less than expected.
Its really not much to be critical about - honestly I reached the pitch I was hoping for initially and my voice is always female now - I just always find some little things to be critical about.

If I compare it to the voice surgery options I had in Germany, I would say i am 100% happy

Hiya,

Thanks for coming back to me ... 

95%, I reckon to be an excellent result ... 

Hugs

Paula

Quote from: anjaq on May 14, 2016, 04:48:47 AM
Well , maybe its just 5 % - its mostly that I personally struggled and still struggle to use my voice properly. I am very critical about myself. My voice is presently to my knowledge 100% recognized as female, but sometimes I fall into old speech patterns and this hurts my voice. I had a rather long recovery time and had to take clonazepam beyond the 12 months mark, which bugs me  bit. I think the surgery was absolutely ok, but the recovery was not easy. One thing that bugs me a bit is that the pitch increase was a little less than expected.
Its really not much to be critical about - honestly I reached the pitch I was hoping for initially and my voice is always female now - I just always find some little things to be critical about.

If I compare it to the voice surgery options I had in Germany, I would say i am 100% happy