Hello Everyone!

After reading these forums for a decade I have finally registered and this is my very first post ever.

I have found a surgeon in Colombia Dr Alvaroh Rodriguez, who is WPATH certified. Dr Rodriguez is new (three years) to practice and says that he has completed about 30 SRS surgeries.  He is offering a penile inversion technique vaginoplasty for $8000 USD.

I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on this because to me at first it sounded too good to be true because the price is so affordable and Dr Rodriguez also told me that some patients don't experience Alot of pain. It sounds completely different from what I've always thought of SRS to be, which is; ridiculous expensive And also very painful. I could be wrong, I have never yet had SRS.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this surgeon or the price of the procedure? Is more expensive always best? Does the surgeon saying that there may not be Alot of pain show a sign of ignorance on his part ? Should I get the procedure? Is SRS something that I should only get from well known, famous surgeon in Thailand for example, or is it something that can be done and trusted from other less known Doctors? Any help would be appreciated as I am strongly considering Dr Alvaroh Rodriguez for my upcoming SRS. Thanks 😊

Welcome to Susan's Place. I haven't heard of the surgeon but I have a few thoughts on the matter. Pain is relative as some people feel pain more than others. I did my surgery  without pain medication however if you need pain medication, ask for it. There is no reason to suffer when the medication is available.

As for the costs, sometimes doctors operate out of a clinic instead of a hospital. This can reduce costs however should a medical complication appear during surgery, the help you might need may not be available. Also, the typical hospital recovery runs 8-10 days after surgery. Some doctors release you shortly after surgery. If this is the case, you might need to hire private help and pay for the room while you recover enough to travel. Knowing the detail that occur after surgery are just as important as knowing what your results will be.

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I don't think WPATH certified actually means anything. It's not that kind of organisation.

Some people have very little pain after srs, but I think that's more to do with them than the surgeon. Others suffer a lot, in which case you need good pain medication.

All up it seems very risky to me. There is a very large difference between surgeons, even the well known ones.

I had a pain pump for the first 2 days and the strongest I have taken since is Panadol/codeine mix and that was rarely with Ibuprofen and or Panadol doing a very adequate job. I still get very sharp 5-6 level pains as nerves knit back together. Pain is very individual but it is not uncommon as there is no bone surgery(way more painful) but sift tissue healing.

Liz

Hi, I'm from Colombia. Where is he located? I could help you investigate a bit. A friend of mine had SRS here years ago and she's super happy about it but I don't remember her doctor's name but I can definitely find out for you.

Thanks for the responses!

I'm strongly considering going to Dr Alvaro Rodriguez because of cost. He is located at cecmcolombia.com
If I don't go to him I will likely go to Thailand to PAI.
I think Colombia in general sounds risky for any procedure but there are lots of women who have gone to Colombia and had fantastic results. SRS also is something I hear requires revisions most of the time so I guess I'm thinking, hey if this is something that I will possibly need to do more than once, why not save money where I can? Any other thoughts? Please let me know if you check out this doctor and find anymore information. I would love to know his infection rate, how low it is and how satisfied his patients are after SRS.

Quote from: BecomingJasmyn on March 14, 2019, 08:50:47 PM
I think Colombia in general sounds risky for any procedure but there are lots of women who have gone to Colombia and had fantastic results.

How do you know that? Its seems impossible to find any of his results.

You can get a very well known surgeons performing SRS with that exact price in Thailand. With very well known and discussed results. Like PAI for example.

I didn´t have really any pain after SRS.

Thanks and yes, you're right; I don't know much about anything regarding SRS. Only that I need it ASAP lol. And yes it is true that I don't have any results of Dr Rodriguez to go on. But I did speak briefly with him on Instagram a few weeks ago and what interested me was that he said he could give me over 7 inches of vaginal depth.

I'm African American and from what I hear not all Thailand surgeons do great work on non Caucasian women. I heard that, now maybe it's not true. But my greatest fear about SRS is absolutely waking up to find out that I have a vagina that I can't use!!!

I'm also looking at Dr Thiti because on his YouTube video from years ago at least he does address vagina depth as  being a major part of his technique.

I'm only now realizing thanks to this site that Thai surgeons are similar in price to what Dr Rodriguez qouted me. But does anyone know where to go to get the best vaginal depth??  6 inches is simply not enough for me. I prefer as close to 9 inches of depth as possible, if possible. What do you ladies think about this?? PAI sounds amazing but I wonder if they can give me the depth I need.

The best known surgeons in Thailand are Suporn and Chettawut by far, followed by PAI, then Kamol, then a bunch of others most people have never heard of. The standard of medicine in Thailand is also quite variable, ranging from world class to really bad. You need to be careful.

I doubt there's any difference for SRS in Thailand for non-Caucasian women. With FFS the could be.

The greatest depth is with colon-vaginoplasty, but its not a common surgery. Personally I'd not do it. Also more expensive. Chettawut and PAI do it.

Non-penile inversion with Suporn and maybe Chettawut is next. Suporn averages 7" and occasionally gets 8.5"+, but there's no way to guarantee it and you probably wouldn't get it. Standard penile inversion is least, and is quite variable depending on the surgeon.

Thanks 😊 and thank you for the PM.

I'm learning so much about SRS on this site and ->-bleeped-<-! I mean I literally cannot put my phone down I always have something to read well let me ask you this question where do I get started for SRS isn't it true that first I will need to have electrolysis in my genital area is it possible to go to Thailand and have that electrolysis done using a pain pump or in a painless manner that would also I think give me an opportunity to have consultations with different surgeons in Thailand may be able to help me with my SRS I really am interested in death and I would love to have a colon vaginoplasty but is it possible to have a colon vaginoplasty do you know if it is my first SRS

As far as I know there's only one place in Thailand that does electrolysis, Yanhee hospital. They can do injections, but not IV. Its not really practical unless you live there though or have a lot of money - you need a lot of sessions spread over a long time. There's places in the USA that will do it.

Colon vaginolplasty is usually reserved for when you've had SRS and its gone badly wrong and you need to fix it. Some women get it done instead of the usual techniques. There's not a lot of info around on it, and while some say its great it does have a bad reputation. Wether that reputation is deserved or not its not really possible to work out as there's not enough info available on it.

Oh I see. Thanks. I'm going to have to travel to Thailand this year and have a consultation. I just feel like I should. Thanks.

Most of the post op results on his website don't look very promising. with $8k you can go to a more experienced Dr in Thailand.

Quote from: BecomingJasmyn on March 14, 2019, 08:50:47 PM
Thanks for the responses!

I'm strongly considering going to Dr Alvaro Rodriguez because of cost. He is located at cecmcolombia.com
If I don't go to him I will likely go to Thailand to PAI.
I think Colombia in general sounds risky for any procedure but there are lots of women who have gone to Colombia and had fantastic results. SRS also is something I hear requires revisions most of the time so I guess I'm thinking, hey if this is something that I will possibly need to do more than once, why not save money where I can? Any other thoughts? Please let me know if you check out this doctor and find anymore information. I would love to know his infection rate, how low it is and how satisfied his patients are after SRS.

That's not a great attitude to go into it with. Revisions after SRS are not uncommon, but in skilled hands major complications are uncommon and almost all reputable SRS surgeons will cover revisions after surgery as part of their original fee. If you go to the cheapest person you can find, however, to "save money" you may find yourself mutilated beyond repair and without any sexual sensation ever again. And, to top it off, you'd have to pay a fortune to another doctor assuming you could even find somebody to attempt to correct a botched surgery. There's a vast difference between the kind of common revisions you're mentioning (having to do with healing, tidying up labia, etc) that happen to even the most skilled surgeons and the "revisions" you'd need if you go to a hack that screws up the whole surgery. I don't know anything about this surgeon, and he may be great (or not.) I do know I wouldn't let anybody operate on my genitals or anywhere else if I didn't have complete faith that they knew what they were doing and that the outcome would likely be good, and that they could handle any complications that arose. Going for the cheapest surgery you can find to "save money" almost never ends well, and sadly this board (and others) is full of tragic stories of people who allowed a cheap price to lure them into something they later deeply regretted. If you're looking for a good surgery that is less than what is charged in the USA, look at Thailand. There is a difference between "what is cheap, and what is less expensive."

Thanks so much for all your help! I have decided to be wise and go to Thailand for SRS. I am always learning so much from this valuable forum and I just can't thank you enough and thank God for Susan's!

Well I guess it's back to the drawing board. I need advice again please, ladies.

After reading your responses, i decided to not go with Dr Rodriguez in Colombia. I began to look into Thailand and contacted PAI.

Now, I believe that the best fit for me personally, based on my online research of the risks, pros and cons, a colovaginoplasty is what I truly most desire at this point in life.

Everything was going great with communications until they told me that my pre-existing STD was disqualifying.
I was really disappointed because I really want to go to PAI I've just heard so many great things about them.

Question: Does anyone here know of any quality surgeon in Thailand that will perform the colovaginoplasty on patients with  pre-existing conditions like me?

I didn't have a lot of pain with my srs. I was getting a morphine shot in my iv every 4 hours but actually it started wearing off in 3 hours. The pain I experienced the hour before my next morphine shot was not bad at all. They sent me home with a bottle of percocet but I never needed to take any. I don't know about $8000 SRS. That seems very cheap. Personally I would never have surgery in a country like Columbia.  You have no idea of their standards of care or if they have up to date equipment. I would also I would be concerned with cleanliness and possible infection. Honestly I would be hesitant to have surgery in another country. But that's just me. I actually had my SRS in another country. Canada. But they are just as advanced in medicine as the USA.

With the $8000 surgery I would be worried about hidden Costs. My surgery was $23,000. That was just for the SRS. It didn't include anesthesia costs, the operating room cost or the 10 days I spent in the hospital. By the time all that was added in it cost my dad almost $33,000. Then the hotel for he, Tyler and Tristan and the cost of restaurants cost him another $3'000. So you want to make sure exactly how much everything will end up costing.

The STD could be a problem with colon surgery, but with PI I´m not quite so sure. Did you ask that? Also, all STD´s (almost at least) can be cured. Get it treated and then go for the surgery. Even HIV positive status is not an issue, but will cost a bit extra as they need to prepare the OR differently.

Thailand, Columbia etc are much much cheaper countries than Canada for example. My surgery cost 8000 dollars in Thailand and I´m more than pleased for the result. The same price sounds reasonable in Columbia. I would go to Columbia to be operated, just as long as I could find reliable information about the surgeon.

But now it´s BA in Thailand in 2 months!

Mendi thanks! Your having BA in two months in Thailand??? I'm so happy for you! Can I come? Lol 🤗 I think I will have to go there physically to find a surgeon to give me what I want. I think you're right, with the right treatment and management everything can be "controlled".  There has to be a surgeon in a hospital in Thailand that will do this.