Please be as detailed in your response as you can be and cite how long it could take to become one (or at least how long it could take to know the basics).

Also, when a MTF person goes to an SRS surgeon's office, can said person ask for their vagina--or vulva (I'm not knowledgebale on what the correct terminology is)--to have certain feaures or be done a certain way rather than the surgeon crafting what THEY think is appealing?

Twelve years of med school for starters.

In America, anybody with a medical degree (that is to say an MD or DO) can call themselves any kind of surgeon they want to. There is no board certification for SRS surgery, which is why it behooves one to research your surgeon and their training ahead of time. In practice, most SRS surgeons in the US right now were trained as plastic surgeons or urologists and are board certified in those specialties, though Dr. Bowers is an OB/GYN. To become a doctor of any kind takes at least 4 years of medical school usually followed by a long period of internship and residency training, so you're looking at 8-10 years.

It's not uncommon at all for people to make cosmetic requests, though there is a limit as to what can be done depending on donor tissue and such. I also don't think you'd find many surgeons that would do something anatomically incorrect or bizarre.

Quote from: AutumnLeaves on May 02, 2017, 02:32:05 PM. . . though Dr. Bowers is an OB/GYN.

Then how did she become knowledgable on how to transform male genitalia into female genitalia if she was trained to only deal with reproductive diseases and such of cis women? I would think that a plastic surgeon would be more knowledgable, but even then only a plastic surgeon who was trained on how to transform male genitalia into female genitalia.

(Please do not interpret my responses as me being argumentative--I just am confused.)

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on May 02, 2017, 02:27:25 PM
Twelve years of med school for starters.

Thank you, Devlyn. I would have appreciated an acknowledgement of the second half of my details, though. (Just some minor criticism.)

Use a jibberish screen name to ask an...odd question, get a short answer from a site Administrator.

Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: byukubkyvjyvujibn on May 02, 2017, 02:46:58 PM
Then how did she become knowledgable on how to transform male genitalia into female genitalia if she was trained to only deal with reproductive diseases and such of cis women? I would think that a plastic surgeon would be more knowledgable, but even then only a plastic surgeon who was trained on how to transform male genitalia into female genitalia.

(Please do not interpret my responses are being argumentative--I just am confused.)

Because that's not how medicine works. There is no "sex change surgery" class that "sex change surgeons" take. If you are trained in a specialty you get hands-on supervision during the training process that includes watching, then assisting, then performing various procedures yourself under the guidance of a more experienced physician. In Dr. Bowers' case she was an OB/GYN (which does include surgical procedures, by the way) who went to Dr. Biber and trained under him to perform SRS. My own surgeon for my upcoming SRS is a urologist who was familiar with the individual parts of the surgery but had never done one himself. He, too, trained under various people and then worked on cadavers before doing his first living patient. Plastic surgery is ONE of the surgical specialties that can be involved in SRS but it's not the only one and, again, anybody with a medical degree in the US can legally perform any kind of surgery. The trick is finding somebody who's good at it and is well trained. Since we're talking about the genitals and skin flaps it makes sense that plastic surgeons and urologists would be the most common physicians to tackle the procedure.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on May 02, 2017, 03:00:42 PM
Use a jibberish screen name to ask an...odd question, get a short answer from a site Administrator.

Hugs, Devlyn

I understand your feeling paranoid over my username, but the name I'm using is one I feel comfortable with. (I am not a troll, if that's what you're thinking.)

And about my question, though you find it odd, it was civil and valid; not one designed to harass or troll or do whatever you might be thinking the intention of my creating it was/is. You are essentially calling me "weird" overall for having traits you see as "different" and/or "uncommon"--which I find rude, but I suppose there's nothing I can do.

My apologies. You should know that spambots generate names and emails exactly like the ones you picked. You're obviously not a bot. I am confused why someone who doesn't know what a vulva or vagina is wants to know the path to becoming a doctor who creates the structures. But there's no rule against that.

Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: AutumnLeaves on May 02, 2017, 03:05:31 PM
Because that's not how medicine works. There is no "sex change surgery" class that "sex change surgeons" take. If you are trained in a specialty you get hands-on supervision during the training process that includes watching, then assisting, then performing various procedures yourself under the guidance of a more experienced physician. In Dr. Bowers' case she was an OB/GYN (which does include surgical procedures, by the way) who went to Dr. Biber and trained under him to perform SRS. My own surgeon for my upcoming SRS is a urologist who was familiar with the individual parts of the surgery but had never done one himself. He, too, trained under various people and then worked on cadavers before doing his first living patient. Plastic surgery is ONE of the surgical specialties that can be involved in SRS but it's not the only one and, again, anybody with a medical degree in the US can legally perform any kind of surgery. The trick is finding somebody who's good at it and is well trained. Since we're talking about the genitals and skin flaps it makes sense that plastic surgeons and urologists would be the most common physicians to tackle the procedure.

This is awesome; I feel like I'm understanding very well, so thank you so much. I think I might have more questions, though. Is the training that Dr Bowers did under Dr Biber referred to as an internship or residency training or something else? I really appreciate this so much, and I got very excited for your upcoming SRS. 

I think the concern is with people coming on here that aren't trans asking questions that sound like a school assignment or news article.  We don't know why you would ask such things....perhaps you are a bigot or transphobe looking for amusement or ammunition for a hate blog about artificial genitalia.  You can see why we would be skeptical or paranoid.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on May 02, 2017, 03:28:54 PM
My apologies. You should know that spambots generate names and emails exactly like the ones you picked. You're obviously not a bot. I am confused why someone who doesn't know what a vulva or vagina is wants to know the path to becoming a doctor who creates the structures. But there's no rule against that.

Hugs, Devlyn

Oh okay, no worries, haha! Yeah that's why I said I understand because I was aware people would likely think I'm a troll or something based on the name I chose, haha. Thank you for being so sweet, though.  **hugs you back** ^_^

Quote from: staciM on May 02, 2017, 03:34:43 PM
I think the concern is with people coming on here that aren't trans asking questions that sound like a school assignment or news article.  We don't know why you would ask such things....perhaps you are a bigot or transphobe looking for amusement or ammunition for a hate blog about artificial genitalia.  You can see why we would be skeptical or paranoid.

Hi, Staci. No I understood and do understand. That's why I told Miss Devlyn I understood her wanting to be reserved. I appreciate your taking the time to explain, however.

Uh-oh. . . . I also had a grammatical error in the first sentence of my first post. (I'm sure that didn't help either, haha.) That's corrected now, though.

Another error in my first response to Autumn will be fixed now (the ". . . are argumentative . . ." part).

Quotebut the name I'm using is one I feel comfortable with

So, how do you pronounce "byukubkyvjyvujibn"? 

-_- And now I'm fixing another error I spotted . . . the way I typed Staci's name in my response to her.

Quote from: AnneK on May 02, 2017, 04:09:34 PM
So, how do you pronounce "byukubkyvjyvujibn"? 

OMG LOL, hahahaha! Like this: beeeeyuckuhbkeeevijjjyeeevooo...jibbin. Lol! 

You're so funny, haha. (Your response made me laugh hard, haha.) And I think the life story you have posted in regard to yourself is lovely and beautiful.  ^_^ I hope all goes well for you. ^_^

Hello, monamtb. ^_^ Thank you very much for your detailed reply even though it was for AutumnLeaves to see.

At the moment, I'm unsure as to whether or not I have more questions, but if I think of any more I'll just come back here.

And just a note for the people who found me suspicious of being a troll or something: Though everything's fine now, I really advise you guys to not have a mentality of "guilty until proven innocent" when interacting with people who come here to ask questions. Though I empathize with your positions, I still think it would be beneficial if you all made an effort to not label people who you think "are a lot like the bad people" as "guilty until proven innocent." I truly was looking for info, and so could anyone who comes here, and I don't believe other people should have to go through this sort of issue just to get answers. I think just seeing whether or not someone's words are malicious to begin with should be enough to tell whether or not someone is out to be mean.

That aside, if anyone else has anything to add, please do so. This topic really intrigues me. ^_^

Quote from: byukubkyvjyvujibn on May 05, 2017, 04:11:46 PM
Hello, monamtb. ^_^ Thank you very much for your detailed reply even though it was for AutumnLeaves to see.

At the moment, I'm unsure as to whether or not I have more questions, but if I think of any more I'll just come back here.

And just a note for the people who found me suspicious of being a troll or something: Though everything's fine now, I really advise you guys to not have a mentality of "guilty until proven innocent" when interacting with people who come here to ask questions. Though I empathize with your positions, I still think it would be beneficial if you all made an effort to not label people who you think "are a lot like the bad people" as "guilty until proven innocent." I truly was looking for info, and so could anyone who comes here, and I don't believe other people should have to go through this sort of issue just to get answers. I think just seeing whether or not someone's words are malicious to begin with should be enough to tell whether or not someone is out to be mean.

That aside, if anyone else has anything to add, please do so. This topic really intrigues me. ^_^

I appreciate your concerns, and I'm sorry if you felt unwelcome, but I think you might to consider that there is a paternalistic, dare I say condescending edge to a lot of your commentary that I think might well be rubbing people the wrong way. When somebody brand new appears and proceeds to dole out advice to, and critique the messages of, long-term posters on how they should be posting and doing things, it can come across as ill informed. Many of your behaviours in your original few postings (as well as your screen name) did indeed strongly resemble those seen in previous trolls or people who with a hidden agenda, and it's perfectly understandable that questions were asked and that people reacted with concern. You are asking people to basically explain a lot of stuff from the ground up, including sensitive and personal information, and that is something based on trust and a respectful attitude....not something owed without question, especially if those involved had worries about the intent of the poster. My advice to you is to ask your questions and to step back and listen to the help and advice being offered to you, instead of looking for things to pick apart and find fault with. Perhaps it's not even intentional, but I think you will find that it will make a much more pleasant communication experience for everybody involves.