I have been in touch with Dr. Kimura in the last couple of months and have been planning for the clavicle surgery with him. Risks and complications aside he said the most important thing for international patients is that the patient must be able to live in tokyo for 6-12 months. He said it has to be inside tokyo, as he wants to be able to see you immediately regardless of business hours if complications occur. He has rejected many domestic patients in the past because they lived next to Tokyo or farther.

He said the reason why the patient needs to stay in Japan for that long is that depending on the individual, long-term complications such as inadequate bone healing is possible, and in case any revision surgeries would be needed he would not risk letting any other doctor interfere until you are fully healed.

In addition the procedure must be split into 2 phases, left clavicle and right, because daily activities would be impossible with both clavicles operated on simultaneously.

As to the amount of shortening possible he said based on clinical studies of this procedure in Japan, a reduction of 10% in length produces no side effects to the movement of the arm after healing. Movement is partially impaired when reduced more than 15%, and is generally not recommended. He said the maximum he would do is 10%, and will not go beyond that for any reason. He said some of his patients were happy that they were able to wear women's L instead of 3L after surgery.

Also a second surgery would be needed 2 years after the procedure to take out the screws and stuff that lock the fractures clavicles in place as they would no longer be needed once the healing process is done.

I talked to him on the phone and he was quite a talkative person. He gave lots of helpful information to me and after all I think it would be something I would like to pursue. He said the longest it took his patient to fully heal was 12 months, 6 months left and 6 right. It definitely is a huge commitment but I still think it is worth trying as I believe there definitely are people who have beautiful faces but cannot pass due to very broad shoulders. I cannot go to Japan right now as I have my FFS scheduled with Dr. Spiegel in March, but I am hoping to go to Yeson for VFS in April and after which going to Dr. Kimura in May if everything goes well.

Please let me know if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them as best as I can. I can read Japanese articles and do more research for you if you are interested.

Best,
Yuna


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote from: Daisy Jane on November 06, 2017, 11:21:33 AM
I think rather than clavical surgery, I would go with hip/butt implants to balance out the shape more. Way less risky, IMHO.

What a great idea!  Lateral thinking.  I think my shoulders are too wide, although balanced somewhat by my head being too big (physically, too - strange, as I sometimes wear a fedora that belonged to a Kenyan schoolgirl).  I used to be embarrassed by my big bum, but hip implants might be a good idea if I win the lottery (unlkely, as I don't play it any more).

I don't think your last post was a positive support, Mona.. I was aware it was a complex procedure, but the requirement of living so close by, for so long, due to complications is a large red flag to most.

I'm sorry you don't see any other options to this. I'm sorry you are so convinced it's needed.

Please do not see my previous post as a support for the procedure. This procedure is most likely too risky, unsuitable, and inaccessible by most, but I think it doesn't hurt to document it here. I think it is always better to give ample information for people to make informed decisions than forcing them to blindly go to third world countries to get procedures without any knowledge of risks and side effects. It is exactly because of how invasive and risky of a procedure it is that made me decide to document it here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These posts makes me sad as I realize how much we have to go through for things that others take for granted.  I wish you the best yuna and hope that you are complication free and happy with the end results. 

Quote from: Justarandomname on November 07, 2017, 07:10:44 AM
These posts makes me sad as I realize how much we have to go through for things that others take for granted.  I wish you the best yuna and hope that you are complication free and happy with the end results. 

I feel the same way.

Anyone know what happened to Yuna? Has she had her surgery yet? Is she okay? How does she feel about the results?

Also, I feel you, JessieBirdie. No opinion on whether or not such a procedure is a good idea. But I understand where you're at. I'm at a similar place. To get rid of the misgenders I'd really need to dress full on femme, and it just isn't me. I'm a butchy woman, and if transition is about nothing it's about being able to be yourself.

all the best,
joanne

How did you get in touch with him if you didn't speak Japanese?? I've been trying to get a hold of him to get the surgery done. Any tips?

And have you done the surgery

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of update. I just had my FFS done with Dr. Spiegel and got a reimbursement from BCBS of MA. I am scheduled to have VFS with Yeson in late July instead of April that I originally planned, because I had a trachea shave done with Dr. Spiegel, and Dr. Kim at Yeson suggested that I wait at least 4 months after trachea shave before I get VFS. I am getting FFS and VFS done first because I am trying to postpone the final decision on the clavicle surgery as much as possible, so that I have enough time to really think about it and gather enough information. I do plan to go to Japan to see him in person for a consultation though after I recover from VFS. Meanwhile there is not much I can do to accelerate the process, but if I have anything new I will definitely let you know.

Also even though I speak English, I am more comfortable with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, as English is my fourth language. I assure you that there was no translation involved or any sort of misinterpretation during my communication with Dr. Kimura. I might post the email responses I received from Dr. Kimura along with the translation if I can get his permission to do so.

He also added that he always tells patients who are not married that he strongly recommends against getting the surgery because their future partners will inevitably see the scars and have questions. Basically he is concerned that the surgery would make dating more difficult, and he thinks having an accepting spouse who is ok with the scarring will be easier for the patient in the long run.

He also mentioned the surgery will probably impose a limitation on personal clothing choices especially when it comes to clothing that exposes the shoulder area. He said he would feel bad to take away people's freedom to dress the way they like, and that he would rather operate on patients who are both more mentally and physically mature (maybe because he thinks typically people would prefer to dress more conservatively as they age?)

Please feel free to let me know if you have any more questions.

Best,
Yuna

Oh my.. is the scarring really that bad/noticable? Well if you've processed that and still want the surgery than I think it'll be fine for you. At some point srs was seen as invasive and still kinda is. It's just in an area a lot less people tend to see.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Quote from: yuna on April 26, 2018, 10:13:40 PM
He also added that he always tells patients who are not married that he strongly recommends against getting the surgery because their future partners will inevitably see the scars and have questions. Basically he is concerned that the surgery would make dating more difficult, and he thinks having an accepting spouse who is ok with the scarring will be easier for the patient in the long run.

Doctors sometime make me want to facepalm.  Your quote makes me think of something a certain trans blogger I personally know once wrote about a certain GRS surgeon who doesn't exactly have a good rep.
https://medium.com/@lifeafterdawn/the-surgeon-who-told-me-to-switch-my-sexual-orientation-76814ad5e37c

""Even if I do my best, you'll never be able to please a man," Doctor Dip->-bleeped-<- told me. As if pleasing a man was my ultimate goal."

Referring to not getting good depth or something like that.  Le sigh, I just hope this guy's surgical technique and care is better than his bedside manner--which hopefully is just a byproduct of Japanese culture (which is known to be slightly anti-feminist/misogynistic).

Anyway, that seems pretty intense all the same.  I'd only wonder if it's all worth it in the end, I'd like to see results and talk to people who have gone through it.

There's a YouTube video just posted about this surgery on a transwomen from Dr Leif Rodgers in Beverly Hills, USA.

I won't post the link since its got surgery footage in it, but it should be easy to find.

"Shoulder Width Reduction Surgery Before and After" by LeifRogersMD, published Aug 23 2018.

If you search you can also find a post on another site by the women who had the surgery.