Timeline of single stage RFF healing and complicationsSurgery Journal (self.phallo)
Posted by genericusername4582 at 2022-10-29T15:52:28+00:00
In 2013 I had single stage RFF phallo with Dr. Crane (UL, vnectomy, scroyoplasty, glansplasty). I had a tumblr to document my phallo recovery that I decided to go through so I can put together a timeline and better answer some questions I see on here a lot. I don’t want to share the actual tumblr account because it’s linked to another account with a lot of shitty views I no longer stand by, and has some personal stuff I’d rather not share. At some point I’ll put together the graft site healing images and post them.
- my arm was the most painful thing until the wound vac came off on day 5
- my arm “looked like raw chicken” when I first saw it
- drain in my scrotum and staples in my leg came out on day 5
- left the hospital on day 6
Day 16:
- developed an infection in my scrotum, was readmitted to the hospital, had minor surgery to remove pus. After the pus was removed, the wound needed to be packed with some type of gauze string to let it heal from the inside out
Day 17:
- Infection spread to vnectomy site, was told I needed another procedure to remove fluid but when they went to do it the fluid had disappeared somehow.
Day 20:
- got an enema because I hadn’t pooped for 16 days straight
- had a small amount of necrotic tissue removed from my glansplasty
Day 23:
- left the hospital again
4 weeks:
- discovered a small fistula
5 weeks:
- starting to see early signs of stricture at the tip
2 months
- had another minor infection
- primary doctor had to dilate the stricture at the tip, scheduled appt with local urologist
- SP catheter still in until the stricture is fully resolved and fistula is closed
9 weeks:
- fistula healed, stricture did not
- went to local urologist, found out there’s a blockage where the fistula was
10 weeks:
- started getting feeling in the base of my penis similar to the feeling when your arm falls asleep
- SP still in but occasionally peeing through my penis because of spasms. It was super painful with the stricture but it was the only way to stop the spasms
- referred to a local reconstructive urologist (Dr. Dimitriy Nikolavsky at upstate hospital)
3 months:
- went to new urologist, got dick x rays, found the stricture at the tip, the blockage at the base, and two small fistulas. Scheduled for a procedure to fix those.
- SP tube was calcified and infected** and the change was extremely painful (**later realized it may not have been an infection and was actually an allergic reaction to the latex)
3.5 months:
- feeling goes up about 3/4 of the way to the tip
- more feeling also meant more pain from urinary problems
10 months:
- had the surgery to fix the stricture, fistulas, and blockage. The blockage turned out to be a clot or something. Within a week of getting the catheter out, scar tissue formed and my urethra closed up again where that blockage was
- had another surgery to repair that stricture and there was also a small cavity at the vnectomy site that he cleared out and closed up
1 year:
- stricture came back after a few weeks, had to go to the ER and get an SP put back in
- that tube clogged, another trip to the ER for a tube change
- that second tube clogged as well but I miraculously pissed myself lol. My urologist didn’t trust that the stricture wouldn’t just come back So I was scheduled for a 2 stage buccal mucosa repair
I stopped really updating at that point, but everything went well with the buccal mucosa repair. It was placed flat to establish blood supply and I had to pee sitting from behind my balls for 6 months before it could be closed up. During that 6 month period, I had to flush the urethra in my penis daily to keep it clean and open. I’ve been stricture free since then. My last catheter came out 1y9mo after my original phallo. I developed interstitial cystitis from repeated bladder trauma from the SP, but it’s now well managed on medication and avoiding triggers.
I know I had a lot of complications and I’m not trying to scare anyone with all of this. Some of it was purely due to bad luck and the inherent risks, but some of my problems were definitely due to certain factors in my life interfering with healing. That needs to be kept in mind when reading through this timeline. At about 6 or 7 months post op, I moved out of my parents house and life really went downhill. I was in an abusive relationship and then dealing with the aftermath of getting out of that relationship. I spent a brief period living in my car and couch surfing. I was working 2 jobs while doing college full time. Some other stuff happened that I’d rather not discuss. I was in a bad place mentally and neglected my medical needs. I went back to smoking cigarettes when I had previously quit 6 months before my initial phallo. I also starting drinking too much. I can’t say how much of my medical problems would or wouldn’t have happened if life were different but it absolutely played a role. Ok, depressing ramble is done.
Since that final UL repair, things have been good with my life and my dick. I put off getting any further surgery, medical tattooing, and glans revision indefinitely. I am now again looking into getting an ED/implants and glans revision but still haven’t made a decision. I no longer feel a need to have medical tattooing done.
)
