I had a few questions about voice feminization surgery? They are kind of random (alittle inappropriate) but I think everyone's concerns about surgery should be answered no matter what they are. So first I haven't had voice surgery but I was thinking about it. Does it effect your tastebuds? Also I was curious if it made you more or less sensitive in the mouth? I've heard someone say they had a hard time swallowing during recovery but that could have just been because they were recovering. Also another thing was oral sex? Does the surgery effect your gag reflex? I'm not sure if it's even relevant or effects anything in the mouth but I am sexually active and my boyfriend likes oral. I wouldn't want a surgery like this to effect my sex life for the worse?

I would not consider the surgery if it effects you in these ways but it not I would consider it.

Thanks!

Short term your sense of taste can be altered and you may have injuries and pain in the mouth from the surgery. I would suggest you avoid oral sex for the first month or two as coughing and gaging should be avoided while the surgery is doing much of the initial healing but after that, you shouldn't see any lasting after effects.

I would for sure not do oral sex for the two months after anyways to be safe. But if I eventually do it again I'm scared it'll damage my results or I wouldn't be able to perform well? I heard Haben makes you wait 6 months for any surgery after his.

The 6 months before any additional elective surgery is or was a pretty common restriction that many doctors use. By spacing surgeries out 6 months, it allows the body time to heal and may result in better results with fewer risks. Some of he procedures I have seen on the site use spacing as close as a week or two and I am not sure how wise that is. Spacing surgeries close to together may make recovery more difficult if they are major surgeries. GCS can wipe you out for 2-3 months after surgery so having a second surgery close to the first may not be the best idea.

I just had VFS with Haben on the 19th and there are taste changes but he said they will fade soon. Trust me, you really want to give yourself time to recover from this one; I'm five days out and it's a bear so far. Having my gallbladder removed was easier than this.

I had no issues at all about my taste buds or tongue - but I know a temporal numbness may occur for a few days. I was scared of it, but told Dr Kim I was scared and he took extra care. I did have a bit of a stiff neck and jaw for some days. Other than that, I was up walking through Seoul to find dinner the day after surgery and sightseeing on day 2. It felt just like a minor throat infection for some days. I think oral sex should probably be avoided for as long as one has to be limiting sppech and other noises - all for the same reasons, to let it heal. After 2 months it is stable enough, at least with Dr Kim. They do advise to not have another surgery for some months because of the intubation - one has to use smaller intubators and insert them carefully and even if this is done, the vocal chords may suffer somewhat from it and be swollen or bruised - which should be avoided in the first months to not make the already long healing period even longer.

I'm feel like the voice surgery is the most difficult to recover from. I wonder if it effects your gag reflex? I don't know exactly where the vocal cords are I have to look it up but it's still scary knowing you can damage them before recovery

My gag reflex seems to be the same. The only thing was during Botox treatment, swallowing was more difficult. And If I mis-swallow now, it hurts more than it did before the surgery. Not sure why

Quote from: anjaq on October 27, 2016, 04:45:30 PM
My gag reflex seems to be the same. The only thing was during Botox treatment, swallowing was more difficult. And If I mis-swallow now, it hurts more than it did before the surgery. Not sure why

How long since you had the surgery?

It was about 20 months ago

No changes at all here.  I had some SLIGHT liquid swallowing issues the 1st week after botox, but that is all.  7 months post now (Yeson patient). I've choked on stuff, swallowed liquids the wrong way, screamed, etc. - no difference.