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Four months post-op, penile preservation vaginoplasty
Since it's been a little while, as a reminder I had penile preservation vaginoplasty (peritoneal pull-through) with Dr Wittenberg in December. You can read a little more about it in my first post , which also links to all my other posts.
Previous post , two months post-op.
Recovery is going really really well! I'm still very tender down there, but I've been dilating twice a day now for a few weeks (down from three), and I'm hoping I can reduce that down to once a day soon. Each session still takes about an hour. I can still get the orange dilator in, to about 4.5 dots. I lost a little depth on purple, which now I can get in just a little deeper than orange, but not quite the last dot.
I am up and about a lot more, still getting tired easily, but regaining strength slowly. I was able to run for about five minutes on Sunday, which was nice. I still felt sore three days later though, so I'll probably limit running to once a week until I'm stronger. (Before surgery, I had been training and could run a 9 minute mile.)
I still have a hole in my bladder, and it has been getting better and worse repeatedly. A bit of an emotional rollercoaster at first, but I've gotten used to it now. I'm seeing a urologist next week. The answer might be a catheter for a little while, which I'm not excited for having again. Fortunately, the only way this affects my life right now is that I have to sit to pee still.
I have enjoyed receiving sex a couple times now, although not with a flesh penis, and it's very tender. I've also topped a couple times. Erections are actually easier to get now that I'm not on spiro, but the trade-off is that I need to use deodorant again.
I've shown it off to a few people, and everyone loves it :D
Next post , six months post-op.
This is super helpful for me making my decision on getting this myself as i was worried i wouldn't be able to have erections again but knowing it's still possible makes me excited for the future!
I'm glad you found it helpful! Good luck on your journey!
oh my gods. i'd been losing all hope of feeling okay with my body but this is incredible... do you feel happy with it? ;-;
I am so so happy! I am mostly just looking forward to the remaining swelling to go down and it being less tender, as well as getting the bladder issue healed. But I'm amazed at the results and it's so much better than I ever expected ๐
guess i'm looking into this now ;-; i have hope now, thank you... i get so dysphoric whenever i want to be sexual because i thought this just wasn't going to plausibly do what i need for me but this changes that <3
You should check out r/salmacian , it isn't the most common choice but there are "lots" of people who have had this done or plan to!
There are dozens of us! Dozens I say!
Truly at least a handful! Hahah
i saw the other comment mentioning it, immediately went and joined!! it's so amazing i feel much less alone now
I'm glad you've found the sub! I honestly see people finding it (or recommend it to them) like, all the time, more than any other sub. It's quite a surprise to me. I'm so glad there's a good community there.
me too, i'm so happy to have been introduced to it!! โค
I'm so happy you are getting hope from this! Best of luck with your journey ๐
thank you so much!!! i hope your recovery continues well!! <3
Thank you! ๐
Wow that looks incredible, basically exactly what I want. I thought surgery just wouldn't be worth it for me but this has me reconsidering...
Thank you! ๐ Best of luck figuring out what's right for you! ๐
Awesome! I absolutely want to get it done in the next few years.
Good luck with your journey! ๐
This looks great! To clarify, is the scrotum kept out of personal choice, or for the future labiaplasty? PPV is exactly what I want - thank you so much for documenting your progress ๐
Thanks! I'm glad you got value from my posts!
I plan to get labiaplasty in around a year, hopefully with Dr Avanessian. I gotta find out what she thinks is realistically achievable first though, so I'm having a consultation with her in November.
Fingers crossed the consultation will go great!!
Is that a different office from Dr. Wittenberg?
Yeah Dr Avanessian is in NYC. She's also a plastic surgeon, not a gynecological surgeon, so more specialized for labiaplasty for example.
That makes sense. Also, you wonโt have to fly again.
Are you supposed to have to go back to see the original surgeon at some point?
Or is it sort of the case that the original surgeon makes the V, which is I gather the most complicated/specialized part, and then other surgeons can cover the remaining procedures (revisions)?
I'm going to visit Dr Wittenberg for the 12 month post-op appointment, but all my other gynecological care will be local. She also specifically said she does not mind if I go to another surgeon for the labiaplasty, that it's easier and any surgeon could do that.
What about any issues that come up with the new V down the road? Does see need to do that or can any gynecology surgeon familiar with neoVs tackle those?
I think anyone familiar with neovaginas, unless I need like a depth revision or something, then I'd probably go back to her. So for example for the bladder issues I'm going to a local gynecologist and urologist.
OMG THIS IS POSSIBLE!?! You just gave myself as well as my girlfriend another option in regards to my transition, thank you!
It is! I'm so glad you got value from my post!
I've seen this a few days ago and I'm kind of obsessing over it, it's crazy... It's kind of a realization for me, I've been wishing for something like that for years without really getting into it and you've just shown me that it's possible... Amazing.
I can absolutely relate to that feeling from when I realized it was possible a couple years ago. Best of luck on your own journey ๐
That's pretty cool. I hope you love it, darling!
I do! Thanks ๐
This is so damn inspiring, I mostly identify as a man but there are these times where I feel something else, I can't really tell how much of it is a fantasy or an actual identity crisis, I just feel like something's missing at times... I want interchangeable parts, damnit! ๐ฅน
The results you got seem pretty ideal to me, I hope you're satisfied! I think I could read on and on about your experience so I'll be following you on your adventure! Thanks for sharing
Edit: you know what, it's actually pretty clear. I'm non-binary and I've been feeling it for a while, that surgery looks like exactly the kind of gender affirmation I'd wish for. Thanks again for the inspiration, this is a breakthrough for me
I'm glad you found my post helpful!
Would it be alright if I came back to you with a few questions in the future? I need to sleep on what I've learned so far, let the idea make its way through my mind for now... If you're open to talking again eventually, I'd greatly appreciate it :)
Absolutely!
Thanks a lot ๐
This is awesome; I have heard this version of surgery gaining some steam as a 'best of both worlds' option but I have really not had any success to find photos of results. Everything looks neat & tidy and it does look....well, 'preserved'
Thank you! I hope you've found my posts helpful!
There's a few folk who are happy to discuss theirs with details over on r/salmacian :)
That is Beautiful!
Thank you! ๐
This is what I am considering! I am still a few years out most likely though. Its awesome to see the results though!
Good luck with your journey! ๐
Your results look amazing!! O_O
Thank you! ๐
Please never throw away this reddit you are truly giving me hope. The is so little info for this thank you for putting yourself and the info about the procedure out there for me to see. ๐ญ
I will probably keep logging in from time to time even once it's all healed. I'm so glad you got value from my posts! Best of luck on your own journey ๐
I wish it lookedโฆ different, but that still looks pretty good! This actually kinda makes me want to get that. I just hope they can shape things more like a vulva as they get better.
I plan to get a labiaplasty in about a year. I asked Dr Wittenberg not to attempt labia, since it always loses definition anyway if done at the same time as PPV.
Hooooohhhhh thatโs very interesting!!!
Is that true for a standard PPT or only with the penile preservation version?
Only with PPV, the standard PPT gets great results a lot of the time, although there's always a risk of needing a revision. The high rate of revision with PPV seems to be related to the remaining erectile tissue pulling on things.
Good to know! Thank you! I hope you thoroughly enjoy your results. They look fantastic
Thank you!
Has your insurance said anything about whether it would cover revision, repair, and/or labiaplasty surgery ?
I have new insurance now and they would cover labiaplasty with Dr Bluebond-Langner. Her wait list is like three years though so I'm trying to get them to cover Dr Avanessian. I have out of network benefits so they should, it just might cost up to my out of network out of pocket maximum, which is like $9000. I'm not sure how that compares to the cost of the surgery.
Congrats on 4 months! Things look like they've healed up very nicely externally, I hope that the issue with your bladder resolves over time, but it seems you are through the majority of recovery.
Thank you! I agree ๐
This is my goal!!! <3
Good luck with your journey! ๐
Looks amazing... awesome result..
Thank you!
You may have addressed this elsewhere, but did they need to do anything with the urethra?
Nope! She just had to cut through my bladder a little to get to the (potential, at the time) vaginal canal, so that's why I have a small hole in my bladder for now. But it's fixable, and actually not that common a complication in her patients.
Can I ask what your sensation is? Can you stimulate your prostate vaginally
The entrance is very sensitive and I can feel "full" while dilating from the surrounding muscles. I can also feel the dilator sliding against my urethra and bladder. Other than that, the internal skin doesn't have tactile sensation. I can stimulate my prostate vaginally, yes. It's my new g-spot.
Wow I want have this procedure to keep my penis what do u call darling
Good luck getting it! I don't understand your question
This is the most spiritually uplifting post
Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful ๐
Wait this is a thing? I mean like the euphoria just thinking about it ๐ฎ๐ฎ
It's a thing!
I kinda have a question, can this make someone sterile?
I got an orchi, so yes, but the orchi was optional. It is possible to keep your testes if you choose, although I don't think anyone has followed through with that yet.
I see, maybe I can be the first one hehe
Best of luck making that happen for you!
Thatโs amazing. Just realized this can be done. Would love to this this with and have my scrotum removed.
Thanks!
Thank you for being open and sharing your healing process with us. It really makes me happy to see you feel fulfilled bit is honestly inspiring to me
I'm glad you are getting something from my posts! Best of luck with your journey ๐
I had no idea this was an option!
Is the cost about the same as vaginoplasty where they remove the penis? If you don't mind me asking.
I got insurance to cover it, so the same for me. I think the surgeon bills more though because it's a more specialized surgery that not everyone can do (a lot of plastic surgeons do PI vaginoplasty).
Not to revive an older thread, but I have recently come to terms with myself and more gender non-binary, fem leaning and this surgery has caught my attention. Are you willing to give a status update on how things have gone in the last 6 months since the thread was created?
Congrats on starting to figure out what you need for yourself! Happy to update a bit, though there's not much new:
- I got the fistula fixed a few weeks ago.
- I lost a little depth (about one cm) due to not being able to dilate during healing after the fistula surgery.
- I am dilating with the smallest dilator for now until I'm 6 weeks out from the fistula surgery, then I can start sizing up again.
- The interior is way less sore now that it's not in contact with urine all the time.
- I had a lot of discharge after surgery, but it's starting to decrease a lot. I can wear thin liners now instead of pads.
Best of luck! ๐
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You don't need to understand to recognize it as valid, and you certainly shouldn't be alarmed! Just as I have no right to opine on your choice of genitals, you have no right to opine on mine or that of anyone else here. What difference does it make to you about what other people do with their bits?
Many, many nonbinary and gender diverse people exist. For an amab demiboy like me, keeping my bits as they are is out of the question, and vaginoplasty is also inappropriate. The only solution for me is to have both.
As a trans person, you should know better than to graft your personal opinions onto the identities of others.
Oof I'm glad I missed this one
Removed. Rule 1.
Thanks, glad I missed this
And? Whatโs your point?
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