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Full-depth Vaginoplasty with Dr. Poh/Dr. Reyblat at Kaiser Permanente West LA (Days 6-51)
Here's a little writeup about my surgery experience:
I got surgery at Kaiser Permanente West LA with Dr. Melissa Poh and Dr. Polina Reyblat on April 25, 2024 (today is June 15, 2024). Overall, very pleasant experience and I’m very happy with my experience and the results so far!
Recovery was definitely not easy, especially during the first week and I had multiple small mental breakdowns throughout the month. I had my partner and two other friends helping me the first week and it was a huge help. One caretaker can be enough but it's a lot of work and stress on them and the more friends/family you can gather the better.
You _can_ get this surgery without family noticing if you already live away from them. I did it without telling my mom and just told her I was super busy for 2-3 weeks, which was about how long it took to be confident I could have a completely normal conversation.
Pre-op 4/22/2024
I was scheduled for a pre-op appointment the Monday before surgery. The clinicians went over the exact surgery details, medication instructions, family medical history, anesthesia history, and surgery prep instructions. I also met with the surgeons and the rest of my care team.
The surgery prep was very simple:
- Day before, eat a light diet
- No food after 8pm the night before surgery
- 2 fleet enemas at 8pm the night before surgery
- Pedialyte/other electrolyte drink 2 hours before check in time
Surgery 4/25/2024 (Day 0)
My check in time was at 5:45am and we waited for 10-15 minutes in the waiting room before they called my name. They wouldn’t let my girlfriend in with me so I barely had time to hug goodbye before I was whisked away. I brought my phone, a set of clothes, an ID, and a credit card. I gave the ID and credit card to my girlfriend but brought my phone in with me
The nurse gave me a pregnancy test (lol) before bringing me to the pre-op bed. I changed into the hospital gown and wiped myself down with chlorhexidine disinfectant wipes and put all my belongings into a bag they provided.
Once I was comfy in the heated air blanket, the nurses put in a huge IV and started some anti nausea/anti anxiety medication. One of the anesthesiologists stopped by along with Dr. Poh and Dr. Reyblat to say hi and good morning. Dr. Poh also had a medical student who asked me for my consent for them to observe the surgery which I agreed to.
I was waiting and playing on my phone for a while until around 7:30 when things started happening quick. The anesthesiologists came in with a group of nurses and told me it was time to go. Basically the moment after I put my phone in the bag I was given anesthesia and went under right as they wheeled me out.
I started waking up around 4:30pm in the post-op recovery ward and it took a while for them to get me a surgery recovery room. I only really remember being extremely sleepy and seeing my gf.
Around 9pm, my nurse came in and helped me stand up. It was extremely difficult and I remember almost fainting a few times. The reason they have you stand so soon is to prevent blood clots. There were also compression devices that were like little massagers around my calves that I thought were pretty comfortable and helped me fall asleep in the hospital.
Around 11pm I started feeling lots of pain and it turns out they just hadn’t given me any pain medication since surgery with “unable to swallow” being the listed reason. This was the only time I needed Norco (tylenol + hydrocodone) and for the rest of my recovery I only needed to use Tylenol, ibuprofen, and gabapentin. I still went home with a Norco prescription, but I chose not to use it because I was struggling with constipation and I could manage the pain without it.
I got my own room and in general it was pretty quiet so sleep wasn’t bad. They did wake me up periodically to give me medication, get my vitals, and empty the surgical drains and catheter bag.
4/26/2024 (Day 1)
Medications:
- Colase stool softener
- Senna
- Gabapentin 100mg 3x/day
- Ibuprofen 600mg 4x/day
- Tylenol 650mg 3x/day
- Cephalosporin antibiotics
- Anti-nausea
They have you walk 3 times on day 1. I made it around the building block twice and around my room once. They also had me on a liquids only diet until the afternoon.
Dr. Poh also came in to say hi in the afternoon and check on my condition. She told me surgery went great and that it looked like I was healing well.
Discharge 4/27/2024 (Day 2)
If you’re doing well today they will discharge you in the afternoon. I was bored out of my mind at this point so I was walking as much as I could so I could be discharged.
The car ride home was incredibly painful, as were most car rides for the rest of the month. A donut pillow is really helpful for the car to cushion the seat a bit. The speed bumps around the KP facility are the absolute worst.
Followup #1 5/1/2024
For the first week you are stuffed with vaginal packing, your new vulva is sewn shut, and you have a catheter bag and two surgical drains coming out of your lower abdomen. These have to be emptied every few hours and their output has to be logged so that the surgical team can know when they can be taken out.
The first post-op followup with Kayla is to remove stitches, remove surgical packing, take out the catheter, remove surgical drains if the output is low enough, and teach you how to dilate. One of my surgical drains was still outputting ~20ml/day so they scheduled me for a second followup two days later to remove the drain.
Nothing during this followup was particularly painful but removing the surgical packing and drains were both very uncomfortable, like a painful tickling. If you’re able to pee on your own you don’t need a catheter anymore!
My first dilation when they showed me how to do it was surprisingly easy. We listened to Casual by Chappell Roan while dilating. They will give you a set of dilators, lube, pads, gauze, and a bunch of other supplies. For the first month, you have to dilate 4x/day for 15-20 minutes at full depth with the exception of the first day where you have to get up at 2am to dilate overnight.
I felt increasingly shitty and uncomfortable leading up to this appointment and an incredible sense of relief after everything was removed. Most of the discomfort was from the packing, catheter, and surgical drains.
I also had a really bad time having bowel movements and it turns out the vaginal packing presses against your colon so it’s really difficult to pass a stool.
Followup #2 5/3/2024
My remaining surgical drain output went down to 7ml/day and it was removed. It got pretty uncomfortable and like the first followup, I felt an immense sense of relief once it was gone.
Followup #3 5/9/2024
I started having a lot of pain when dilating so they had me come in for them to take a look. There wasn’t any visible granulation tissue at the time so they gave me some tips on relaxing the muscles and prescribed some muscle relaxers. I didn’t take any of the medication and managed to dilate through the discomfort. Apparently the urethra and some of the muscles can get a little sore after surgery which can lead to dilation being painful.
Followup #4 5/13/2024
This is the 2-week followup with Dr. Poh. She gives you an exam with a speculum and addresses any concerns.
Followup #5 5/24/2024
This is the 4-week followup with Kayla. There was some granulation tissue and wound separation around my urethra. The granulation tissue was treated with silver nitrate and she told me the wound separation may be fixed in a quick revision surgery if I decide to in the future for cosmetic reasons. It’s not really very visible anymore so I’m not too concerned.
First gynecologist appointment 5/31/2024
I had my first appointment with my gynecologist back home. There was some granulation tissue that was causing bleeding on the urethra and within the canal which was treated with silver nitrate. My granulation tissue was never really painful and was mostly just annoying because of the bleeding.
Wonderful results! How ya feeling?
I'm feeling great! The whole process was very smooth and I was never in too much pain.
I agree, it looks really good already. how are you feeling? Any sensation?
It's great! It's been very sensitive up until this past week when some of the sensations have become more pleasurable. There's a patch of numbness on my right side that is still slowly coming back but otherwise everything is going smoothly.
Hii, I also have kaiser socal insurance I'm going to be getting ffs / grs with them did doctor poh put you on a waiting list? And how long after did you have to wait to get the surgery after getting approved from kaiser? Considering Electrolysis, consultaions etc. Glad youre healing well your results look great btw! 🫶❤️
(I have Kaiser HI so some things may be different)
I had my consultation in mid November 2023 and at the appointment they penciled me in for surgery in late April. So it's sort of a waiting list but you have an idea of which month you'll be getting surgery by the end of your consultation. They only schedule you for real within 60 days of surgery so I didn't get confirmation until Feb/March 2024 of my actual surgery date. You also do not get a consultation until your hair removal is basically complete down there.
Approval from Kaiser was the quickest part of the process. By far the longest is hair removal - that alone took me nearly 2 years of going 2 hours every week.
I’ll be getting full depth vaginoplasty with Dr. Poh in the next two years so this post is incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Good luck! I have another one for results further out :) Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
Looks great! amazing results!!!🔥🔥🔥
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