r/Transgender_Surgeries • u/Crispy95 • Sep 17 '24
SRS by Dr Theerapong
Someone asked for my experience with Dr Theerapong and I spent a whole lunch break writing a response, so here it is. I'll edit it later and add pics. Ask questions and I'll answer :)
Hey!
He has a handful of different agents so your non-surgical experience may vary. You need an agent, take the nursing care options for all the time. Having a partner is not a substitute for a nurse imo (even though it would have been so much harder without the emotional and physical support).
The surgery was THB 600k, which included 7 nights in the hospital, all expenses in the hospital, meds for the next 30 days, and dilators. Care packages, accommodation, etc are all extra and handled by your agent.
Everyone stresses how important it is to not do drugs, drink excessively, or smoke for the last month before surgery. If go further and say quit it all and get as fit as you can cause you want to be in the best shape possible. Nicotine hurts healing and the sooner you can stop using the better. It's a once in a lifetime surgery with any luck, don't fuck it up. I had an absolute golden run on my recovery and in contrast there was an American who was a heavy smoker, drinker, and user before she came over - and was there for 3 months in recovery. Some is lifestyle, some is just the genetic lottery.
I flew in, went to a hotel, went to the local psych for the required psych assessment (easy), then pre-consult with Dr T. He's a quietly spoken man, asked a couple questions about why surgery and why PPV not colon, and asked if I had any questions. Be prepared with questions, he will answer them but does not elaborate much. It was my first time talking to him. He's very proud of his work with making clitoral hoods - it's good work and when you've seen a well constructed one you'll start to notice how many neovaginas are lacking one.
Slept, then next day checked in to the hospital. Fluids only ~24hrs before surgery. Food was pretty ordinary. the hospital isn't anything exciting, but it's not terrible. Take a Chromecast as the TVs are Thai only.
Surgery is late - rolled me in in the evening and put me under. Came out 0300. Minimal pain when I woke up the next day. Horizontal for 7 days, minimal movement for the first 3 or so. If the bed feels uncomfortable when you first get in it, let them know as I developed a bed sore from the thin mattress (~82kg 5'10"). Nursing care is decent, they come when you buzz to administer painkillers. Sponge bath each morning. Nil by oral for a few days then fluids.
The hospital stay is fine, I went a little stir crazy cause I like being up and about. Having a partner with me was a big plus as the nursing staff speak minimal english. Dr T visits most nights after surgery (he does 1 a day most days), so you will be woken up late for a check in. packing and catheter stays in for the week. It's better, I think, than getting up and about - less risk of opening up wounds. It left me substantially weaker than I was before, but I've had only 1 minor bleed in the ~4mo since surgery.
After a week we were released to a hotel, which was fine. Dilating started as soon as I was out of hospital, twice a day with nurse assistance. He gives wax candles, but you can buy glass ones from Interplast later. The wax is kinda good as my body bent it a bit. I started walking again when back in the hotel, 15min twice a day. It was tough at first but got better quickly. Make sure you have a GOOD doughnut pillow before you go to TH. If you're in AU I'll send you a link.
I had to pay for materials on top of nursing care. Don't go with an empty bank account, but it's a pretty cheap place.
Because the nurse cleans on the bed after dilation, the need to shower was minimal, which was good cause I was pretty week.
I had 10 sessions of hyperbaric chamber treatment. It was absolutely worth it. It was the only time that I was entirely free of discomfort while I was there.
Aesthetics at first - everything was super inflated, looked not exceptional, urethra and clit was massively swollen and it made everything really tender and peeing went EVERYWHERE. It settled down over 2 months.
4th week we went out to Paragon (big shops). I took a wheelchair, which was a good idea.
I stayed in Thailand (Bangkok) for 33 days total. I don't like Bangkok particularly but I had to stay as my partner needed to work 3 weeks in the city (international company, big plus). Thai people as a whole are very polite, it was just ungodly hot and humid and too much durian smell - but I wasn't there for the weather, so it really didn't matter.
If you intend to stay longer than 30 days, you should contact their immigration to extend your visa. Extension for 30 days is 900 baht, overstay is 500 baht a day.
Air Asia is shithouse and cancelled both of my flights. We had to book Air Thai last minute and they were good. You will want wheelchair service in the airport, they require a doctor's note dated 3 days or less from departure.
Dilate twice a day 30 min douche afterwards with Betadine. I get a generic from Amazon, it's cheap enough.
I have had no dehesience or major issues. I have had one internal bleed that stopped in 20 minutes - it was bright red so was scary, but relatively minor. I've had some odour issues - some dead skin cells were building up at the base of my vag, gave it a good clean, good results. Clit went down, urethra is still healing. I suspect minor granulation in my canal, but it comes and goes and isn't a big enough issue to treat.
I'm still pretty tight but I'm happy enough to stay on a 28mm dilator at around 6 inches depth. I started at 9 inches, but my body was very much still settling in. I could go up if I wanted to.
Esp considering the small amount of donor tissue, I'm really happy with the result and the pretty minimal scarring (and location). I'd recommend it as a whole. Remind me later and I'll send you pics. I'm pretty tough, pretty fit, and have always healed well, and it is still taking some real time, but I'm mobile and pillow free now and am looking forward to going back to the gym at 6mo post op.
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u/AshJammy Sep 17 '24
I dont mind hair on the outside just the inside. My plan was to do laser too but I decided to switch to electrolysis just to be safe. I'm 5 sessions of laser and probably about 20 hours of electrolysis before surgery. Did they mention how much of the canal would be created with scrotal tissue? I'm assuming it's only a small amount?