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Hi! :) I had vulvoplasty (or low depth vaginoplasty) a little over a month ago (on the 28th of December), and since I haven’t seen my surgeon mentioned around here, I thought I’d add my experience. English is not my first language, so I’m sorry if I don’t make myself clear on some points. I copied the format from a previous post I’d seen here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MtF/comments/jsexoi/six\_weeks\_postop\_vulvoplasty\_zerodepth/

About me: I’m 22 years old, 5’ 8’’, about 170 lbs, I run pretty often and also do some light weight lifting. I had a bilateral orchiectomy about 4 years ago. I live in Mexico.

Surgeon: Dr. Javier Nares in Mazatlan, Mexico. He has a website: https://transgendersurgery.com.mx/home/

Why I chose the surgeon: A big part of it was that I didn’t want to have SRS done outside of Mexico, the trip back home post-op is difficult as it is, doing it through an airport and with coronavirus around didn’t seem like a good idea. I also chose him because I read pretty good experiences about him in some trans groups I used to frequent on Facebook, and when I had an online consultation with him and went through his credentials, I felt I could trust him with something like this.

Finances: My parents helped me with the expenses. The cost of the vulvoplasty was $98,000 pesos, which amounts to about $5,000 dollars. Plus $17,000 pesos for the hospital ($860 dollars) with a pre-surgery payment of about $10,000 (about $500). I’m not including AirBnB and food costs, so it may be a bit more, but Mazatlan is relatively cheap in those aspects.

Wait list: The wait time was around 3 months, I chose to schedule it about 5 months in advance, due to school and work obligations, and because December is a busy time for the Dr.

Accommodations and travel: I stayed in an AirBnB close to the hospital and the clinic (about 10 minutes by car), luckily I had my parents drive me to and from the hospital.

Recovery timeline:

Day 2 -I left the hospital.

Day 3 - I was able to stand up on my own, still a bit weak.

Day 6 - catheter removed, took the trip back home.

Day 7 - peeing was difficult and a bit uncomfortable in the second week, I didn't have much of an appetite either.

Day 8 - moving around gets easier.

Week 2 - Inflammation begins to subside considerably, I’m off most of the medications I was prescribed, I mostly just have to keep the area clean. Pain is mostly gone. Bleeding went down a lot.

Week 3 - Sitting down becomes a lot easier, I still get tired after a short while tho. Inflammation keeps going down. I was told I was able to continue with my estradiol injections.

Week 4 - By the end of the week I didn’t have any bleeding. I started stimulating myself sexually a little bit (from this point on there was also a small amount of secretion when I got aroused).

Week 4 - I manage to reach about 40 minutes of walking without discomfort.

Week 5 - I can walk for about an hour with no problems.

Week 5 - I can sit down for a longer time without discomfort.

Week 5 - I can drive for about 30 minutes without problems.

Week 6 - Swelling goes down by a lot, most of the stitches are gone.

Week 6 - No problem with sitting down for extended periods of time.

Overall pain: pretty bad on the first and second day, but it was manageable. About 3/10 when the pain meds were wearing off in the first week, I stopped taking any painkillers at the end of the second week and felt fine.

How it looks: I’m not comfortable sharing pictures, but I’m happy with the aesthetics, I’m not gonna lie, I’m happy my partner took care of me the first week and I didn’t have to see the area because from what she’s told me there was a LOT of swelling, but through these weeks I’ve been happy with how everything has looked and felt.

Overall experience: Positive.

Would I recommend it? Yes

Details I didn’t know where to put :

I had to stop my estrogen injections about 4 weeks pre-op, and I was able to continue them about three weeks post-op.

I was prescribed a liquid diet 36 hours before the surgery as well as enema on the hospital beforehand, the liquid diet was kind of miserable, and to be honest, the enema might have been one of the most uncomfortable experiences through the whole process (I know, I’m a baby).

Having my partner and family there with me was a huge help, not only to help me reach things, but also as moral support. My partner in particular was always with me and had a better idea than me of when I had to take my meds, and was always giving me praises and compliments.

The staff at the hospital (Hospital Marina Mazatlan) were all very kind and no one misgendered me (except for a very rude receptionist), from what I gather most of them seemed to be able to speak English too.

I was prescribed compression tights for the first two weeks post-op, although they were fine for the most part, if I was still for a long time or in the middle of the night, my heels would really start to hurt, this was very hard to avoid the first few days, and I was glad to be done with them.

The catheter gets very uncomfortable as the pain goes down, and it was a relief to have it removed.

I didn’t have much bleeding, and by the second week it was almost negligible, sanitary pads really help here if you don’t want to stain your underwear.

I didn’t notice any bad smells at any point, though in the first week, my partner did mention I smelled like the way she smells when she’s on her period.

I didn’t experience any urinary incontinence, but peeing through the second week was very uncomfortable and sorta alien, even so, I’d recommend drinking plenty of water, as it makes it a little bit easier.

There is a possibility you have to “dilate”, even with low depth, so the dimple doesn’t completely close off, I was lucky enough to not have to do that.

The trip back home was uncomfortable, I travelled in a car and thankfully I had painkillers and was able to sleep through most of it, but it can get a little bit rough.

Dr. Nares was very attentive and kind through the whole process, he answered all of my questions (including the dumb ones), even on New Year, his assistant was also a huge help. I was surprised to find so little testimonies of him on English speaking websites.

Reasons why I chose this surgery

I’m not attracted to men, and I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of being penetrated.

The easier and shorter recovery time was a huge plus, as well as the lack of dilation, since I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of it.

No electrolysis was also a huge plus, I live in a pretty conservative city and finding any establishment willing to do it would have been difficult.

If I ever feel the need to get full depth, it is possible to have it done.

If you feel like you have any questions, feel free to ask here or through DM.