Choosing an SRS Surgeon

[Anonymous]

Hi.

Phuket , in Thailand

Cost for SRS is $ 12,000 ,

FFs $ 6.000.

BA, $,$4,000.

Go to,

Phuket Plastic Surgery,

You may check my testimonial there as well.

Monash Hospital was in 07 about $ 30,000 for SRS. here in NZ about the same & at the time when i rang Monash , i could have had surgerys two days later, of cause i would have paid for any surgerys.

…noeleena…

[Jennifer_1]

Hi Noleena,

Dr. Sanguan at Phuket is my next choice. I am guessing that is who you went to. I sent an email to him yesterday and I am waiting for a reply. I think he will be my final choice.

I just re-read your testimonial on Dr. Sanguan’s site. Wow. What more to say.

Many thanks for your reply

Jen

[bee]

When researching for the SRS operation you need not only research the actual surgeon and talk with actual patients and find out their outcomes, but also decide on the actual technique you wish to have.

Different techniques give different results – mainly that being of depth, position, sensitivity (feeling), and aesthetic (looks).

As I understand it the 2 surgeons in Australia both are doing the same technique. You have to decide if that is for you or not.

All I can say is research research research – talk to 1st hand patients – not third hand hearsay. Do be aware that some clients feel their surgeon is a type of god and therefore their views may not exactly balanced.

Do consider and ask questions about the aftercare- as I feel that is equally important.

You may find your research leads you to surgeons not in Australia and if that is so ask again as I am sure I and other members can give you more information about our experiences. (some seem to have already)

Good luck with your research.

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking, I have found that it is what people won’t tell you about their SRS results is a good indicator of what went wrong, or what they are dissatisfied with. For example, a former friend of mine who went to Melbourne refuses to discuss her depth of vagina.
Another who went to Melbourne did discuss her depth as being the length of her thumb. However when she went back to the surgeon to discuss extra depth, the surgeon wanted $7,000 for a further inch of depth.
Personally, based on what I have been told, and what people refuse to tell me, I consider Melbourne a waste of time, money, and effort.
Consider, you spend years of time, money, and effort with electrolysis, and all that is involved in transitioning. Then you go to Melbourne and receive a vagina that will never let you experience vaginal sex. That’s lifetime of sexual frustration if you want sex with a man. Even if you transition young and have the body of goddess, without a functional vagina, you are unlikely to find a partner who will want or be able to have sex with you. Sex isn’t everything, but it is important part of being human. And just like a male who measures his manhood by the length of his penis, many women measure their ability in the bedroom by the depth of their vaginas. Size does matter, ( as one research study found),especially for a man who wants sex with a woman. I came across a beautiful T girl about two years ago. Absolutely stunning, but she was sexually frustrated because she could easily attract guys, but she did not have any depth to her vagina. In her words, ‘’I don’t have the equipment’’. She went to Melbourne.
Now if you want depth, go to Thailand. In Melbourne, Australia, Dr Ceber told me I would achieve a small vagina, (one to two inches – I was nominally a male). In Thailand Dr Suporn gave me seven inches.
In America there have been reports of girls growing hair deep inside their vaginas after surgery, even after laser and electrolysis in preparation for SRS. Another had to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of her life because of a vagina- rectal fistula. Apparently no one understood the surgeon’s technique to repair it, and the surgeon had never had that problem before.
Based on what I know and have heard, If you want vaginal sex and good sensation I would stay away from any surgeon that uses the penile inversion technique, especially if you have been on hormones for three to four years or more. Three years being the accepted average. It is bad enough having gender dysphoria, but to let a surgeon give you a shallow vagina and sexually frustrate you for the rest of your life would be a nightmare, a disappointment and could be the cause of a lot of suicides in post op women. One of my friends described one Melbourne result as being just ‘hairy hole’.
Personally, I find it very satisfying sliding my dilator into my seven inch vagina. Also I love the fantastic sensation, even when I am not seeking it.
You might like to peruse this website to give you an idea of what can be achieved:
http://www.annelawrence.com/
If a post op girl won’t show you her results, stay away from her surgeon.

[Jennifer_1]

Thank you everyone for your replies. The main message I am receiving is to research, research and then do more research. It has really caused me to think very seriously about what is it that I want. This is another area that I need to do a lot more research and thinking about.

Until recently I believed that I would be incapable of having a relationship in the future, (I am 62), but recently I keep thinking about somebody I met on holidays overseas early this year. He was great company, very companionable and similar age to myself. I now keep thinking about him and questioning my sexuality and a lot of assumptions I had about myself, (bloody hormones). So the result I am looking for in GRS is a very tricky question now.

On Monday I had some BCC skin cancers removed in Canberra. I was discussing this situation with the Surgeon while he was working. His advice was to interview the Surgeon, (which may be difficult with Thai Surgeons) and if you do not feel confident and comfortable with what the Surgeon is saying try another. I am thinking that the confidence and compatibility factors are as important, or in some ways, more important than reputation. I wonder if it is possible to Skype, (or similar) overseas Surgeons?

Thank you for your support and help

Jen

[Jennifer_1]

Hi Everyone,

A quick update on how my search for a surgeon went. I had a consultation with Dr. Heartsch in Sydney. He is quite nice and easy to talk to but I decided not to go with him for a number of reasons. He wanted to use a section of my colon because as he said, “Not much to work with. ” Which is true. However I kept thinking about peritonitis, etc and did not like the idea. Also he does about 12 GRS operations a year compared with at least that many a month with Thai surgeon’s. Also there is the cost, about three times more than in Thailand. I have never had any ambition to go to Thailand but it seems to be the best option.

As a result I am going with Dr. Sanguan Kunaporn in Phuket. I feel confident with what he has to offer. Also I researched his results from a different approach. Instead of looking for positive feedback, of which there is quite a bit, I looked for negative comments on blog sites. I could not find any. Not perfect but the best I could do. He was also a guest speaker at a Conference in Cairns about a year ago, I have talked with a number of people who attended and they were all very positive about him.

So at the end of next month I am off to Phuket for GRS with Dr. Sanguan.

One thing I found that was interesting is one blog where the author suggested that you need to be careful about what you ask for. She had GRS, BA and FFS. Her suggestion is to be gentle with your body, too much is not a good idea.

So wish me luck.

Cheers Jenn

[bee]

Jennifer:

I am glad you have researched well so you can be happy with your decision. As you will now know the surgeons in Australia us the penile inversion technique, so depth is totally dependent on penile size. Most other surgeons, including your choice, do not use this somewhat outdated technique.

Penile inversion, has the disadvantages of depth totally related to penile size, and it also places the vagina in the wrong position (too high up).

Most surgeons (except those in Australia) use the skin graft technique, using the skin from the scrotum to make the vagina walls. The hairs are removed of course.

For a good explanation about this technique you may find the following pages useful
http://www.chet-plasticsurgery.com/?page_id=684

Good Luck (‘Chok Dee’ – in Thai) with your surgery.

I have written a guide (Updated Jan 2014) for patients in Thailand, it is centered on patients of the Chettawut Plastic Surgery Center, but you may find some of the information useful for you as well.

http://bambi.site88.net/guide.html

[Jennifer_1]

Thank you Bee,

When I first started researching for the best procedure I thought they were all about the same. You need to know what you are looking for and sort out the details. It has been an interesting process.

Thank you for the guide to Thailand, I am a cold weather person who would rather be skiing in Europe or Canada than going to Thailand, Maybe next year but for now if I am going to be in Thailand I may as well enjoy it.

Thank you again for your help.

Cheers Jenn

[Catherine]

Hi Sana,
It might be old but wisdom never changes.
Make sure you do your research ……throughly …… You’re the one who has to live with yourself longgafter the dust has settled. Revision surgery is expensive if there was something over looked in optimism
If you were to take the cost and location out of the equation, would Melbourne still be your answer.?
Another way to look at any health matter ; my body my responsibility.

With Love and respect.

[Catherine]

Hi Lucy
Good to start your research well in advance of such life changing procedure.
Research, research, research. Remember, it’s your body, your responsibility.
What conclusion can you come to with cost and location out of the equation?
Enjoy the journey, this is just the start to a spectacularly liberating life of endless opportunities you never thought possible.

With Love and respect

[Sana]

Hi girls,

Luci, I surely will share anything I can and don’t hesitate to ask me about it here or private. So far as I can say:

Surgery
I’m sure as Catherine said, you will do your researches and will go for professional help if you have any doubt. When we decide to do it, for the surgery itself, there are two options we can consider:
[ul]
[li]Mini-SRS (also known as Shallow Depth Vaginoplasty or … )[/li]
[li]Full-SRS[/li]
[/ul]

Mini-SRS in fact means going for everything but the Vaginoplasty which is easier to recover, less risky, doesn’t need hair removal and of course no dilation afterward but as a trade off, no experience of penetrative vaginal sex afterward either .

These two links are pretty good about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBqHVIpzY4U
https://www.mtfsurgery.net/vulvoplasty.htm

Regarding surgeons
Currently Gender Centre in Sydey only suggest these three doctors which Dr. Ives is the only choice in Australia:

Dr Suporn
http://www.supornclinic.com/

Andrew Ives
Contact 03 9533 2019
http://www.andrewives.com.au/

Dr Chettawut
http://www.chet-plasticsurgery.com/
Tel: (668) 3133-5836

If you decide to go with Dr Ives, From your first call and surgery appointment, it will take a year.
It needs a private health insurance with extra cover to support the surgery, you can ask his office to send the list of items to check with your insurance.

Out of pocket cost of mini srs is about 16k then medicare returns about 2k. and for full srs it’s 18k. We should also consider the cost of the trip and being there for 2 weeks.
In case we don’t have enough savings for the surgery and the trip, including having no investment property to sell …, we can take the money out of our superannuation for it.

and for the surgery to be done, 2 support letters from 2 independent psychologist are needed, one dated less than a year before it and the other 3 month.

Catherine,
Thanks a lot for your kind and thoughtful advises. I really appropriate it and will consider it

Cheers girls

[Catherine]

Hi Sana,
Just a quick update. I believe Dr Supporn has closed his business and is no longer available.
Best wishes
Catherine