I suppose I should start at the beginning. My flight to Portalnd was uneventful. I was picked up at the airport by a local T-friend from ICR. My plane got in, on time, two horus before my apointment at Eastmoreland. I felt kind of woozy as I hadn't eaten or drank in fourteen hours as required. I checked in at Eastmoreland and was promptly taken to a little room where I was given some valium which I gladly accepted. I was mildly freaked at the time which surprised me because two days ago I was totally calm. I think the basic problem was, I was about to have surgery, get my genitals cut up, and this seemed...well...pretty crazy! After all, I liked my genitals fine! That was the big difference between this time and last time (last time I was positively euphoric). Luckily, the Valium calmed me down a lot.
Next, a nurse asked me if I had shaved my vulva (or "down there" as she so eloquently put it). I said no (Dr. Meltzer's instructions were to not shave). I found out later from Shannon his nurse (who was seven months pregnent, I hope everything goes well with her) that he doesn't want his patients to shave because it increases the chance of infection. So, the nurse sheared me like a sheep, which was a very ticklish experience. She was good humored about it, but when she wiped me off with a washcloth, she didn't seem sensitive to the fact that my clitoris was...sensitive. She wiped it a couple of times which was not comfortable. Then she applied some emla and sarran wrap to my genitals and told me to wait. I told her I was concerned I had developed some resistance to emla, but there wasn't much she could do.
So I waited, and waited, and...waited! Dr. Meltzer was running quite late that day. Apparently he was doing a penile implant surgery. I was supposed to go in around 1:30 but he didn't get to me until 4:30. He explained there weren't any complications, things were just behind schedule. He came in and chatted with me for about ten minutes, and I had warm fuzzies as I realized that he obviously did remember me. He asked me how my boyfriend and I were doing, asked if I had any further questions, and then went to prep.
Then I was wheeled into the operating room by this nice guy named Mike who turned out to be French Canadian. We chatted for a bit about Canada. I asked for more valium, and I was given it. The surgery didn't end up starting until 7pm. I was awake therough the procedure. Toby was assisted by Mike who fetched things, and Jenn who helped him out.
My legs were up in stirrups, and my vulva was exposed in what seemed to me to be a truly slutty way. It was probably the valium that caused me to find the situation truly hilarious. Mike started to paint my genitals with *cold* iodine which tickled like hell. Again my clitoris got slapped around. If you have never had your clitoris pained with cold iodine, trust me, it's an experience! Not a particularly plesent one, but very intense.
Now it was time for Dr. Meltzer to draw on me. I asked him to draw a happy face. I also told him I wanted three labia minora instead of two. He said "I can do that" (he didn't though).
Now the shots came, and the humor stopped. Jenn had me breath in and out in long deep breaths as my genitals received multiple injections of anesthesia. This was not fun. Each one hurt like hell and they just kept coming. I'm not sure if I had 10 or 12 but there was a lot. I wouldn't call them agonizing but they were very paiful. Eventually they were done. I recovered quickly though and was back to joking around.
Throughout the whole procedure there was constant light converastion which i liked a lot. Jenn in particular has an ascerbic wit and a dark sense of humor. Apparently the chattiness of the staff depends a lot on the patient, but they seemed comfy chatting around me. By the end of the experience, I felt kind of like I'd gone out for a beer with some friends.
The entire procedure took a little over two hours which is apparently quite long. There weren't any complications. Part of the reason for the length was probably the fact I had a urethral revision. My urethra pre-procedure protuded slightly, which was apparently common, but is not common any longer as he has become more aggressive about shortening it. He also moved my urethra down half an inch, which was supposed to help with my forward directed urine stream. Note, after all the healing, my urine stream is still forward directed and I have a scar from it being moved, so I don't think there was much point.
I asked for a play by play of exactly what he was doing, but I was zoned out on valium, and I couldn't see what was going on, and I'm not a doctor, so I don't relaly unerstand what was done though he did his best to explain it.
What I do know is that the majority of the time he was stitching. I'd say 90% stitching to 10% cutting. Apparently this is how he obtains a detailed appearance, by making use of hundreds of little stitches. His hard work and attention to detail impressed me. He said during the procedure "this is going to be a great result" and Jenn commented "his work is so beautiful, this is going to be an incredible result". I jokingly asked Jenn if she was jealous, and she responded "a little" hehee.
About an hour into surgery I found myself getting bored. I felt like asking Toby to hurry up, but I didn't!
When the procedure was done, Mike wheeled me to my room, which turned out to be the same one I'd recovered from SRS in the first time. Deja Vu! I felt pretty crappy and doped up and sick, and in shock. Not fun.
I started feeling depressed because I was all alone an feelign sick and away from my loved ones. I tried to call my boyfriend but the phone was busy! That almost made me cry. So I instead called my dad and...started crying! My dad is a kind of unemotional reserved Englishman, poor guy. I think the experience was probably good for both of us though, to throw a bit more emotional intimacy into our relationship. He comforted me quite well, and called me two or three times a day for the next couple days.
Labiaplasty is an outpatient surgery. I chose to stay in Eastmoreland in VIP car ($100/day) for three days. I strongly recommend staying in Eastmoreland unless you have someone to care for you. It was an incredibly good choice for me.
The day after surgery, I started throwing up. First I threw up breakfast and they gave me anti nausea medication. Then I threw up lunch and they changed my pain killers. Then I threw up after a cracker and a glass of juice and they took me off all pain medication. This was after about 48 hours in total without food. Dinner came, and I threw it up.
They called Dr. Meltzer and he said to just keep me drinking water and I'd be fine. I was very depressed by all this. I tried to walk to the nurses station and I needed to be wheeled back to my room because I was so weak. Through out this whole ordeal the nursing staff was very supportive. I was supposed to be taking care of myself because I was in VIP care, but the nurses brought me water, cleaned up my vomit whenever I threw up, and were cheerful and kind.
By the next morning I'd gone 60 hours without food and had lost about five pounds. I'd also been without pain meds for 16 hours. I actually felt pretty good, and was surpised to find I wasn't in very much pain. I was able to keep my breakfast down, and that made me very happy. I knew I was low on energy and tried to take it easy. I drank a lot of juice. After lunch I had the strength to walk around. Walking or sitting introduced pain in my genitals, while lying down did not.
Saturday morning Shannon dropped by and decatheterized me. Normally you don't need one but I did because of my urethral revision. That was intensely painful. Shanon took a peek at me and said I looked ok.
It's difficult to describe what my vulva looked like. My labia were both very swollen, and any attempt to move them was painful. The appearance was very similar to when I first had my stitches out after SRS. The freaky thing is that it looked to me like my Vulva had been moved down an inch. Of course it didn't, it had just been closed at the top as my labia were joined, and my clitoris was hooded. Being quite used to looking down and saying "hi" to my clitoris, it was strange to not be able to see her. I'm sure she's doing fine though and I hope she likes her new home.
I iced myself constantly throughout my stay i the hospital. I recommend you break up your own ice packs and use the tiny freezer in the room, because their ice packs leaked constantly. The best way to use theirs is to put it in a plastic bag.
By the time I left for the airport my labia appeared quite bruised. The swelling had gone down a bit, but not to the point that I could part my labia and take a good look inside. I was able to feel inside though and I could feel my innerlabia. It felt kind of weird and cool. I can't wait to look and see what it looks like. I know it will take a month for the swelling to totally go away though.
There is an obvious, harsh, incision above my vulva. This must be the famous Y incision that always leaves a scar. I'm not worried about it though, I know it will be covered by my public hair. I hope it won't be too noticible. Editor's note--it isn't.
I ran into Gillian, my favorite nurse from before, and she remembered me and said I looked great. She looked great too. She was six months pregnent. I talked to her a fair bit. Two other nurses remembered me as well which was nice.
I met all of Toby's current T patients while I was in the hospital. He had an F2M who was in for chest surgery. He was very cool, and a Portland native; an ordained minister who wanted to become a therepist. There was also a woman from Washington DC who had incredible energy and recovered very fast.
I also met this funky cute chick who was a married professional wrestler. Our personalities meshed very well. She had been having a rough time though, because she'd had a seizure due to an adverse reaction to Demerol.
I had a chance to talk with them about post op life. I discovered Toby was now issuign a 1 3/8" stent, which is good. That's probably good enough to handle most guys.
Psychologically, I feel very uplifited now that I am flying home. Before I had this surgery I had to ask myself seriously whether or not I felt this experience would be worth it. After all, my genitals were fine, so why change them? Now that the surgery is over thoguh, I feel great! I do feel that my genitals are better now. I feel strongly that the two stage procedure is an excellent approach for producing the best results. Editor's Note -- I guess I've lost that intense feeling that two stage procedures are the best. Maybe it was the Demerol? Anyway while I feel two stage procedures are fine, I've seen some nice one stage results, and going in for a second procedure is a major pain.