Hi There
i found Dr. Casado online while researching for surgeons performing wendler glottoplasty not very far away in Asia or the USA.
i emailed his office and his sweet assistant Isabelle emailed me back and we have been talking on email and whatsapp since then.
i set an appointment for tomorrow for surgery. i arrived yesterday and had a consultation.
Dr Casado is very nice, funny and caring. his Assistant Isabelle is a sweetheart and the voice therapist Maria is very sweet as well. The Dr. examined my throat by inserting a camera through my nose, quite uncomfortable but bearable, and he told me that my throat looks healthy and vocal chords are healthy.
he then placed me in a sound proof room and asked me to read a passage which he recorded. he put the recording on his laptop to determine the pitch of my voice which turned out to be 137 Hz. he explained that anything below 165Hz is perceived as male and anything above is perceived as female with some deviations to that rule.
He made me listen to his before and afters that he performed on other trans women and the results were quite amazing, some were not what i want to sound like because they were "breathy" but he explained that this is because the patients were still going through voice therapy.
i went to consult with the voice therapist after that, Maria. she struggles with english but her point is understood. she explained that my voice, pitch and resonance and the way i move my tongue and lips are very good and the end result as she expects would be amazing. she explained that failed voice surgeries are normally due to bad resonance of the patient and not being able to move their tongues and lips in a feminine way when they talk. im not quite sure if i understood that correctly but it makes sense to me. she asked me a list of questions including how much water/coffee/tea/alcohol i drink and she explained that i need to drink more water because it is the only vocal chord lubricant. she asked me to stop drink alcohol for the first 3 months post surgery to avoid dehydrating the chords and i should refrain from eating any fibrous foods to avoid scratching the chords. she recommended that after my 15 days of muteness i should limit the hours i talk per day because she want my chords to be relaxed while she coaches me on skype post surgery. her sessions are twice a week through skype for one to three months post surgery depending on the progress.
i went to get my blood test and ekg and chest scan today with isabelle she picked me up and dropped me off. later in the day i will be going into the office to pay for surgery which is 4500 EURO and 30EURO for the skype speech therapy sessions(these can be paid in advance or wired every session)
tomorrow is my surgery in the morning, i will update you all soon. not looking forward to be mute for 15 days but excited that ill have my voice feminized
