Sure!

How was your recovery?

Recovery is very individual, but I was another person that recovered remarkably fast. At the time, she told me she hadn't had any other patient bounce back as quickly as I did. I took a walk around the lake behind my apartment about 12 days after surgery, and that's 1.25mi. There was soreness and discomfort, but rarely anything especially painful (I did take it easy for a few weeks though.)

Overall my recovery was surprisingly easy, although I need to reiterate that that is very dependent on each individual person.

I know she sends people home for a week before removing packing. How was that experience? All other doctors I’ve read about keep people in the hospital for the entire week.

There are some other surgeons who will release patients after a couple days like DH does. It just depends on their particular protocol.

To clarify a bit: DH will keep you in the hospital for the first three days, then you come back a week after surgery itself. I live 20 minutes from DH, so this worked out great for me -- the staff was awesome, but staying in hospitals kinda sucks regardless.

Did you have any complications? Granulation? excessive bleeding or discharge?

The only complication was a very minor localized infection near a suture hole on my perineum. I applied warm compresses to it for a few days per Dr. Hyer's instructions, and it cleared up just fine. This was a few weeks after I'd finished the round of Keflex they send you home with (whoch will mess with your sense of taste, just FYI), and we were trying to avoid more antibiotics if possible. It was more or less a non-event.

I had one pea-sized spot of hypegranulation right at my vaginal entrance, and it was mildly painful when I'd dilate. At my 6-week check-in Dr. Hyer treated it in office with silver nitrate -- took about five minutes and stung a little, but wasn't bad and it took care of the problem. I had no other complications.

Are you satisfied? Sensation, labial aesthetics, scars, etc?

Yes, very much! My inner labia are small (meaning they don't hang down), which is pretty standard for penile inversion. However, she tapered them nicely and they don't end abruptly above the vaginal opening like a lot of other surgeons, so I don't have a desire for a revision labiaplasty. My vagina isnt super open unless I spread my legs really far apart, so I'm very happy on that front too. I was considering a clitoral hood revision before, but as healing has progressed and swelling has gone down even more, I no longer feel that it's necessary -- it really does take a long time for everything to settle into place!

My two main scars are well hidden as long as don't shave completely (which I hate anyway because it itches like crazy.) They're becoming less noticeable, although they're not invisible. I don't get keloid scarring though and Dr. Hyer did a great job with the incisions, so I expect them to become very faint over the next couple years. I have no real complaints there, either.

My sensation is really good, and is still continuing to get better even at 8 months post-op! I had my first clitoral orgasm at 6 weeks, and have little trouble achieving them. About a month ago I discovered I can now have orgasms from penetration alone, which is a development I wasn't expecting, but I'm not complaining!! I only have one small spot on my outer labia that's still a little numb, but it doesn't bother me and there's a good chance it'll fix itself over time -- either way, doesn't interfere with anything, and I tend to forget about it unless I'm answers ng questions like these.

How much hair removal did you do?

Seven months of electro. It sucked, but it's worth it. When it comes to standard penile inversion, the reality is that no surgeon can guarantee 100% of follicle removal with scraping alone, because it's nearly impossible (hair growth cycles and all.) Get as much hair removal done as you can.

If you can tell me your age and weight, that would be helpful as well.

41, 118lbs.

EDIT: for what it's worth, despite my small size and moderate amount of atrophy, Dr. Hyer still got me 6" of depth, which is now even a smidge deeper. She's a wonderful surgeon, and she was exactly the kind of person I wanted doing my surgery. She's a bit newer to GRS itself, but she also brings 15+ years of OB/GYN surgical experience to the table as well. She's awesome!

Looooooooolllll what a small world 🤣

https://twitter.com/TransSalamander

My recovery has been remarkably fast as well. The worst part was the catheter they send you home in for the remainder of the first week of your post-op. I also only took a couple of the oxy they prescribe you at the hospital, but was solely on ibuprofen for a few days after coming home. By about the 6th day post-op, my pain never shot above a 2/10, so I hadn't needed any pain meds at all.

I went in and had surgery on a Tuesday morning, and left the hospital the following Thursday with the catheter. Lots of nerve sensations and bag emptying and bloating that first week.

I went back in the following Monday to have the packing removed, pee for the first time in my own, and then start dilating. All three are super weird experiences lol.

Overall, I haven't had any major complications. I did have some excessive blood loss during the first few days at the hospital (which apparently was slightly abnormal, but recovered quickly nonetheless). No known granulation as of yet (I think it's takes a while to form) and I do still have some slight discharge from the vulva, requiring me to still be wearing pads all day (I've heard this usually stops around 6 to 8 weeks, but I'm on week 10).

So far I'm satisfied. The only pain I get is in the suture areas on the sides of the labia majora, and on my right side, I've had a little wound separation which is normal according to Dr. Hyer. Also, I pretty much have most of the feeling back except for the right half of my labia majora.

I haven't had any issues with dilating, and I've switched to the largest dilator size around week 7 without problems and maximum depth.

Aside from the sutures on the sides, my vagina looks pretty cis and normal. All bits are present and accounted for, and in their proper places. The soft tissue that made the inner labia slowly becomes less inflamed and more natural looking. As well, my clitoris is very sensitive to touch.

I had 6 months of electrolysis, doing about 1.5 hours per week to remove the relevant hair.

Finally, I am 30 years old, 5' 8", and I weigh around 150 lbs.

I hope I've answered most of your questions! 😊