Finally got home today after five days at UVA and let me tell you my experience there was beyond phenomenal. I can't say enough kind words about the care I received, the masterful surgical skill and bedside manner displayed, and the absolute best nursing care imaginable.

Dr Stranix did the inversion part of the vaginoplasty as well as directed the show and managed the aesthetic portion of things. Rating, 20/10. He is extremely easy to talk to, always gave my input and preferences the utmost regard, and is an absolute master of surgical skill. He is also an absolute joy to work with. I never felt rushed or corralled into accepting whatever results might come, never felt judged or unaccepted voicing my wants and needs, and always felt like my opinions and preferences were strived for instead of just putting out a functional result. I came to the table with a rather complex surgical history, lots of scar tissue and adhesions from previous medical intervention, and less than optimal amounts of donor tissue to start with. Not once did Dr Stranix make me feel like this case wasn't going to end successfully, and he did a wonderful job cleaning up an excess of scar and surgical trauma before even getting started sculpting this masterpiece. I still have some swelling, but he managed to take a lack of material and turn it into a well defined, symmetrical, natural looking vagina complete anatomically with a prepuce, defined inner and outer labia, and properly spaced genital landmarks. Going into this, I would have been happy with even some of the less aesthetically pleasing yet functional results I've seen, but ended up with a masterpiece that is beyond my wildest dreams. We were hoping to make it to an average depth of 4.5", but managed to get between 7-7.5" Beyond the masterful surgical skill, Dr Stranix also brought a most relaxing and comforting bedside manner to the game. His kindness and compassion regularly put my anxiety at ease, and reassured me at every step that everything would be okay.

Dr Corbett did the laparoscopic portion of the surgery and while his portion is less visible, it was also masterful in skill and outcome. Rating 20/10 The port incisions closed quickly without any real bruising or raised margin, and aside from the increased peritoneal gas from surgery, this whole portion of the surgery was minimally invasive and minimally traumatic to my system. I also can't say enough about the kindness, compassion, and dedication Dr Corbett showed during this entire process. He is the initial doctor I saw three years ago when starting on the bottom surgery process. My PCP Dr Catherine Casey recommended I go see him to start discussing bottom surgery possibilities well before UVA had officially started performing trans-fem bottom surgery. I had a perineal urethrostomy for several years at that point, and Dr Corbett and Dr Nicholas Ortiz spent over a year reconstructing my urinary tract and fixing some surgical trauma issues I mentioned earlier. I previously had an erectile implant that malfunctioned and had to be removed, which left a minefield of scar tissue and adhesions that required repair before even considering vaginoplasty. Drs Corbett and Ortiz did an amazing job on the urinary tract reconstruction, which is about the only reason I was able to pursue vaginoplasty. Dr Corbett was there for me through the entire process, constantly reassuring me and helping me get through this difficult situation. Always kind and compassionate, I also can't speak highly enough about Dr Corbett's bedside manner.

Dr Ortiz managed the previous urethral reconstructive surgery, as well as the urinary system management during my vaginoplasty as well. Rating 20/10 He took what is a massively invasive and traumatic process ( perineal incision urethral reconstruction) and performed it in the least invasive and traumatic way possible. He did so without even using a buccal graft, and it healed wonderfully in no time. I couldn't even feel the surgical margin within two weeks after surgery. Absolutely masterful work.

The pre-operative and surgical support staff were all kind, knowledgeable, and correct in their demeanor, procedure, and actions. They were always ahead of the curve in anticipating my needs and taking correct measures at every step in the surgical process. My anesthesia and pain management needs were given the utmost priority and care.

But let me spend a few minutes doting on the post-surgery nursing staff that took care of me after surgery and through discharge. The care I received at UVA is easily the best in existence. There was only one nurse, on one day shift that didn't conduct herself with the same masterful level of professionalism and compassion as the rest. There were several nurses who absolutely shined, and made my experience world class. I'd like to thank Catherine, Justus, Tavelle, Dava, Sydney, Davra, Emily, Kendra, Tanya, George, and anyone I'm missing in the drug induced brain fog, for the utmost care, compassion, and kindness that got me through one of the toughest times in my life. Catherine was my regular night shift nurse, and she spent countless hours caring for me, advocating for me, and keeping me in the best of spirits. Thanks a million, boo! I couldn't have gotten through this without you. She spent an entire evening trying to get me back from a most anguishing day shift as well. The only less than favorable interaction I had was with a nurse named Brigid. I had some issues with pain control that was finally getting better into Friday night. Medications were switched to something more effective to be taken every 3 hours. By Saturday morning I was starting to feel a little better. Brigid was there for the Saturday day shift. Medications were always at least 30 minutes late, sometimes up to an hour late, which degraded my progress heavily. Despite knowing I needed help to get up and walk regularly to keep the lap gas pain in check, Brigid left me for over 5 hours allowing the gas pain to proliferate to the point I could barely move, felt like my intestines were going to explode, and was shaking uncontrollably. Her response was that she was busy. Then she demanded she had to give me the heparin injection in my stomach, despite knowing how bad my stomach hurt, and then said everyone else was doing it wrong when I told her she was the only one demanding the shot be abdominal. Add to that a day of Brigid constantly misgendering me despite being continually corrected by her peers and me, and it was just a bad experience. By the time the night shift showed up, I couldn't move from the fetal position and was sobbing uncontrollably from pain and humiliation. Thankfully Catherine spent the entire night getting my pain under control and helping me compose myself emotionally, mentally, and physically. Yet again, I can't speak highly enough about her dedication, skill, and compassion. Other than that one shift, meds were always on time, as ordered, and accompanied by the utmost compassion and dedicated attitude. Absolutely world class nursing staff. Nursing staff rating 20/10

All the residents, fellows, and doctors were also world class. They were never dismissive of my needs, constantly strived to speak to me as a valued human being, and took the utmost care in speaking to me, about me, and addressing me with my preferred pronouns and identity in mind. They were always eager to improve any facet of day-to-day care possible. Their positive attitudes and demeanor first thing in the morning always set a positive tone for me for the day. (Thanks Chris!) Rating 20/10

Monday morning the dressing was removed, wound vac discontinued, and catheter removed. Got to take a shower and finally walk without lugging the woundvac and Foley bag around on a walker. Not eating Saturday due to pain really threw my constipation into overdrive. It took through Monday evening trying to get a BM going, and it took lasagna and a suppository to finally finish the job. Dr Stranix and the Plastics team came in first thing this morning to remove the packing and help me get through the first dilation. Packing was out before I knew it, with minimal discomfort. Getting the dilator in the first time was a bit uncomfortable because of the backed up waste proliferating in my bowels, and aside from that the whole dilation was minimally uncomfortable. I did manage to dilate a few hours later on my own, with even less discomfort because I was able to insert slowly. Finding the canal was pretty easy after lubing up and feeling for landmarks. I got beyond the fifth dot on the purple lightsaber and held for 20 minutes with no issues. I also birthed a massive poo-baby shortly after the second dilation, and it made me feel about a bajillion times better. All in all, a wonderful day and overall experience. I'm very eager to start this new chapter in my life, and try to love and value my body in a way I never could before. This seems to me like a rebirth, a second chance to treat myself with love, respect, and acceptance. Thanks for your time. I'm open to questions, and I highly recommend this surgical team to anyone looking for gender affirmative surgery. If you haven't already booked your consultation or surgery date with these artists of skin, you definitely should. I'm not quite sure if I want to post a picture of my results, because I hear there's a lot of chasing, perving, and generally negative interaction that accompany publicized results. But I gave Dr Stranix permission to share my results with those that come in for consultation. You can also DM me and I might consider sharing if I think you're serious about your endeavor.