I had United Health Care through my work (Best Buy) and my insurance plan 100% covered all transition surgeries. I paid 10% ($775) of the total cost. I will get my testicular implants within 6 months (between October-Janurary 2016/2017). I am extremely happy with my results! I 100% recommend Dr. Chen. He has an exceptional bedside manner and I knew from the moment of my phone consultation that I wanted him to perform my surgery. He is very reassuring and I completely trust him.
Procedures
Metoidioplasty with phallus release, urethra lengthening, scrotoplasty, and vaginectomy. Testicular implants will be sized and inserted at a later date, between October-December 2016, to ensure maximum healing. The surgeries were performed on April 7th, 2016 by Dr. Mang Chen in Greenbrae, CA.
PRE-OPERATIONAL
My flaccid penis length was a little over 1.5 inches. I was a little over 2 inches hard. I could fully penetrate with my penis.
WEEK 1
My body swelled up bad and I had tachycardia after surgery. I also experienced the exact same thing after my peri-areola surgery and hysterectomy. My body was also really weak and shaky. I experienced nausea, upset stomach, sore throat and dizziness following surgery. My genitals and upper thighs were purple and swollen at least three times their size. My thighs hurt on the inside, as if I intensely worked out. My penis was so swollen it looked like it wasn’t even there. The only visible part was the shaft. The scrotum appeared bunched up due to the numerous stitches.
My perineum swollen too, and it was also puffed, hard to the touch, and lined in stitches. It felt like solid muscle, even though it wasn’t. There is a small half inch to one inch area of skin where the vagina was closed. That area felt like it had been repeatedly kicked in and was really sore. I wore disposable cotton underwear the surgical site provided and my genitals were packed with thick gauze. The gauze was changed at least 2-4 times a day depending on how much blood and other drainage occurred.
I had a supra-pubic catheter several inches below my belly button. The area around the catheter where it went into my body was covered in gauze to soak up any fluids, prevent infection, and to secure the stitch. That was also changed the exact same way as the genital gauze. I experienced pain every time the catheter was moved or pulled. It was easy for the tube to get caught on something or accidentally pulled. It was a long yellow-orange tube; and had a smaller tube near the end of it where urine was released from the bladder into the clear urine bag attachment. The tube fit over the tip of the urine bag like a hose. The bag had to be emptied every 3 hours or when it was full. They provided an irrigation syringe and a bottle of saline solution to clear the tube in case of a block. There is a small less than ½ inch tear on the left side of my penis near the head.
Pain was moderately severe, a 7-8 on a scale to 10. Once the pain medicine (Percocet) kicked in (usually 2 hours later or longer) either reduced it to a 2 or completely eliminated it. The majority of the pain came from the tightness and soreness of closing the vagina, and thus, the creation of the perineum. I had a little bit of pain from the phallus release and the majority of my scrotum was numb. My entire phallus never lost sensation. Eating was extremely difficult due to the side effects of the pain medication. I had severe dry mouth and I couldn’t eat anything without choking. I had to drink water while I was eating applesauce. When I began more solid food later in the week, I still had to eat everything with water because I choked. I chewed food until it was virtually gone and I still choked.
I showered after two days post-op, even though I could shower the day after surgery. I put off showering an extra day because I was nervous about the water hitting my genitals. I had to be helped into the shower because my body was weak and shaking. The warm water didn’t hurt my genitals, as I turned my back against the shower nozzle and let the water stream down my chest and down the front of my body. By using that technique, it allowed everything to get gently washed without the full force of the nozzle.
I used shower gel to carefully run over my genitals and perineum, and maneuvered my body the best of my ability without risking any unnecessary moving or damage to my sensitive region. I showered every day after that and gradually introduced my genitals to the flow of the shower nozzle. Getting dressed was hard due to bending down to put on my socks and sweatpants. I had to slowly bend down with my knees in order to put on my socks and sweatpants. That also got easier every day the more I continued to do it on my own.
I wore long length leg compression socks to reduce swelling and blood clots. I wore the same thing after my peri-areola chest surgery and hysterectomy. It was difficult to move around after surgery; I remained in bed except for walking tiny steps around the bedroom. Dr. Chen advised me to walk around every day for an hour in order to prevent blood clots. It was difficult for me to sleep because I am a side sleeper not a back sleeper. I found that having pillows propping my neck and feet helped me sleep through the night (not to mention the pain medicine)!
WEEKS 2-8
I was supposed to walk for an hour a day every day after surgery. It was difficult to walk, so I had to waddle slowly everywhere I went. I walked longer than an hour every day and my scrotum would become completely numb, swell, and bleed. My supra-pubic catheter was in from April 7th-May 19th due to the intense bladder spasms, pain while urinating through the catheter and bloating. Once the catheter was removed I no longer experienced any of the above mentioned pain. I had to sit on a rubber hemorrhoid donut from April 7th-May 16th.
I couldn’t sit too long because of the intense pressure it put on my perineum and scrotum area. Lying down was much easier. The most painful part during recovery was the catheter pain. I had minimal pain from my scrotum, penis, and perineum areas. I never left sensation in my penis. At 5 weeks post-op I began getting spontaneous erections, and I masturbated and came out of my penis. I was shocked and didn’t expect that.
I accidentally urinated out of my penis on the 5th week and a little bit of blood came out. After that I began to pee out of my penis a few times a week until I became more confident I was properly healing. Since then I haven’t bled out of my penis. I had two holes in my scrotum the day after surgery. One hole was in the middle of my scrotum (it eventually closed around the 7th week) and a second hole underneath my scrotum where they fused everything together (that closed around the 8th week). Both holes severely bled and I had to change the gauze out every two hours. I used Medihoney to help close the holes and it drastically helped decrease the size and speed up the healing. During week 8, my scrotum and penis stitches began coming to the surface.
WEEK 9
I am slowly regaining sensation in my scrotum. The stitches underneath my scrotum came entirely through the surface and I snipped them a little because they were causing pain. My penis stitches are coming further from the underside of my shaft, but I haven’t snipped them yet.
UPDATE 7/11/16
I am getting more sensation in my scrotum and perineum area. I still have internal stitches. They are becoming much thinner and should be dissolved soon (hopefully). I still have stitches in my penis and they are also becoming much thinner.
In early November (a day before my 26th birthday!) I will be completing my full meta surgeries. Dr. Chen will be my surgeon. I am getting the upper skin folds around my penis lowered, a phallus lift, and testicular implants. I am super excited!
UPDATE 11/9/16
It's my 26th birthday and I am 1 day post-op from stage 2 meta. I got a phallus lift, testicular implants, scrotum skin lowering, the underside stitch/scar tissue from my penis removed, the strange divet on the bottom of my scrotum fixed, and the middle part of my scrotum brought together and fixed. I am slightly nauseous at times, but there is no need for medicine. I am in mild pain (a 4 on a scale from 1-10) and I have minor swelling and bruising. I have a little bit of sensation. The majority of my penis is buried (except for the head) due to swelling. My pee stream sprays everywhere due to the swelling. I am experiencing some minor pain and minor bleeding when I pee sometimes. Bleeding is normal. I am very happy with my results.
12/6/16 UPDATE:
I am 2 days shy of being one month post-op. A piece of the stitches came out on the area on next to my penis. My right testicle has fully descended into the bottom of the scrotum. The left one has lowered a little bit, but not much. I still have swelling in scrotum and area above my penis. I am gaining more sensation everywhere.
04/19/18
I am 2 years post-op from release, urethra lengthening, vaginectomy, and scrotoplasty. I am happy over all, 8/10. I still have excess skin on the sides of my penis, the base of my shaft isn't 100% released, and my left testicle implants rests directly under my penis causing a lot of pain. I plan on stretching my scrotum to help with the implant. I am not going to have any revisions because these issues should improve over time (probably except for the release problem).
07/09/19
I am over 3 ½ years post-op. I have stretched my scrotum using 3 different types of stretchers and the skin has stretched a little. My left testicle still rests directly against the bottom of my penis and it's still causing pain and squishing the area. I am seeking a revision to resize my testicle. I am also considering getting phalloplasty. It would relieve my testicle pain and I think I would be much happier.
06/18/20
I am in the process of going through RFF phalloplasty with Dr. Chen and the Buncke Clinic. Stage one will consist of phallus creation, meta burial, UL, and nerve hookup.