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We have had a very busy 2 weeks here at the office, this past week alone did 3 MTF vaginoplasties and a breast augmentation , explant/ implant penile prosthesis to mention a few.  Our MTF from the week before and all three this week are doing well.    Interestingly 2 patients are accompanied by their daughters, both lovely and very sociable.

It is so good to see this type of support. 

Harold M. Reed, M.D.

and a breast aug

We see an occasional “go it alone” MTF vaginoplasty patient, but this is to be discouraged.  If there is anytime a friend, lover, family member, spouse is needed to be nearby, this is the primal call for togetherness.  They are helpful in so many ways and with patient permission are encouraged to be present at all interviews and consultations, and if possible even during examinations.  This ensures every word bite is heard and understood.  Discharge instructions on the final day (putting it all together) is so important.  We do this with a typewritten sheet, but we have to make this come alive with emphasis and foresage what may happen if instructions are not followed.   The use of stents afterwards is key.  Without the mast, the sail will not stand.  So until the vagina  becomes well fixated to the surrounding tissues and hopefully enlarges to better fulfill the needs of penetrating sex, stents are de rigueur.  “Please no more anal sex, you may get a recto-vaginal fistula.” 

Togetherness is seen in many ways.  Often a previous patient of ours will accompany another.  At times such as this week, both may have a touch up together, usually under local.   Great friendship and comfort in each other’s presence.   

 Imagine this scene.  Our office is loaded with patients in every examination room, office and waiting room, as well.  So taking advanatge of 2 clean beds in the recovery room, both postops and placed there for a wound check. 

They lie on adjoining beds, with their skirts up, no partition drape is drawn per their request, and to speed things along, after they are in this postion I am called in to see both  the same time.  “Gorgeous” I exclaim, but that is not all.  Hand held mirrors are always nearby, and both patients are encouraged to see how it turned out and confirm that every detail has been revised to their complete satisfaction.  While this had been done before they got off the OR table 4 days ago, today is a new day and let’s do this once again just to be sure. 

Smiles and thanks… the tips we work for.  Oh happy day.

Harold M. Reed, M.D.

French chefs have long said the pleasure of fine dining is in the
sauce. And before the advent of nouveau cuisine, they said the flavor
of meat is in the fat.

Changing the subject, how often have you seen photos of a mother dog
adopting a kitten, or a mother sheep adopting a kid goat, see this in
the news every so often. Learned in comparative anatomy mother goats
will not adopt baby sheep, so it is not always reciprocal.

But today upon visiting one of my favorite patients in her 3rd post op
day, her boyfriend left yesterday to return to work, there is her mom
and another of my previous well healed MTF vaginoplasty patients all in the same
room. Two beds… the mother slept with the healed patient so her
daughter could have the remaining bed to herself.

For this mother she had 2 daughters, not one. Contrast this with a
nervous mom coming to me with a pre-op MTF and half of the time
referring to her child as him, him?. Of course this is a Freudian slip
of the tongue. Usually. But at times this is a subtle communication
saying “I regard you as a son not what you want to be.”

So here we have 2 beautiful MTF patients, one black who could be
walking down a fashion runway and the more recent Hispanic also very,
attractive, will have some recent photos of her up soon, and one proud
mother.

That’s all the news this morning from Bay Harbor Islands.

Thought you should know, it’s in the mother.

Harold M. Reed, M.D.

Two patients done last week are doing well.  Each quite attractive,  youthful and with responsible and mature (mentally)boyfriends.  Both had vaginal augmentation with scrotal grafts.  Without that, they would have not easily been able to have penetrating sex.  When a patient starts to ask me as soon as I walk into the room, how am I doing, rather than the other way around, I know she’s well on the road to recovery.  The first on her 3rd post-operative day is already walking aorund the neighborhood.  Told her to slow down, but she is very energetic and aside from a dressing, hard to tell she had quite a bit of surgery.   Also a very subtle observation, she looks and sounds even more feminine than before surgery.  Can’t explain that, but the way she relates to her boyfrioend, I can see clearly this is a woman.  Wish you could be here to see it as I do, but the difference is unmistakable.  Did she have an MTF sex change or did I merely remove some trappings that didn’t belong to her?

Harold M. Reed, M.D.

Douching after vaginoplasty is required and also fun, as it feels good to be clean.  The mechanical aspect of injecting fluid with a reasonable spray that can mechanically remove collections of secretions, deviltilized tissue, and bacteria is highly desirable. 

Jelly also accumulates in your vagina from stent usage and should be washed out at least every 3rd day or so, once you have healed sufficiently, say 2 to 3 months post surgery.  Those who have had scrotal graft extensions take somewhat longer than simple penile inversions to heal properly.   Suture fragments which do dissolve need to be irrigated out as well.  Many histologic studies comparing the lining of a vaginoplasty to that of a natal vagina show the cell formation is different and while douching may be optional for natal women, my bias is to be a little more directive for post-surgical patients.

We use a dilute solution of warm water, 3 or 4 parts to 1, of a  50/50 mixture  of hydrogen peroxide and betadine (povodone iodine) solution.  Surely if you are allergic to iodine use an alternate product. At the end of the first week, the packing is removed and the first douche is given in the office.  Verbal and written instructions follow. We supply a sterile Toomey 60 cc syringe which can be kept clean and reussed and a sterile 15 French red rubber catheter which can  also be reused.   We recommend douching every day for the first week after packing is removed, then every other day, for a week or so, then every 3rd day thereafter.

If after wound healing is complete and you detect an odor, try a douche.  If odor persists, of course see your doctor.  Having sex?, take a douche sometime afterwards to get the semen out of your vagina as it is very antigenic (may cause allergic reaction). 

Harold M. Reed, M.D.

A patient who had vaginoplasty about one month ago, returned complaining of difficulty dilating. Intraoperatively she had a girth in excess of 1 1/4 inches.  EMLA cream was applied for 20 minutes.  A Q-tip size applicator was all she could accept initially and over 1 hour, she tolerated a 5/8″ stent and in the course of the next 3 days will be taken up to 3/4 to 1″ and the rest to be done at home.  Learning how to use the stents and USING them as directed is so important. 

Patients who complain of pain assuming the stents are being passed correctly should start on EMLA cream or Xylocaine 2% jelly ASAP, otherwise atrophy and shrinkage of the canal is predictable.

Harold M. Reed, M.D.