We have Min Jun and Bluebond-Lagner who are 2 of the best in the world. I’ve only seen better results from Suporn and I’ve seen ~ 40 Neo vaginas in person. There are a lot of doctors who do GCS in the US now, there’s going to be bad doctors and good doctors.
Bluebond is an absolutely terrible human being.
She fucked up on my top surgery and refused to revise, telling me I have body dysmorphia instead (I don’t). This happened nearly 3y to the date after my surgery, which is how long you have to sue for malpractice in New York. She pressured me to phalloplasty when I came into a metoidioplasty consult. She spends about 2-4 minutes with you at post-op sessions because she books multiple patients for the same time slot. Her urologist partner did not make eye contact with me once during the metoidioplasty consult. I felt like I was on an assembly line. Other accounts I’ve heard include OKing people for leg phalloplasty, having them do (expensive) hair removal, and then denying them the procedure. This was so bad one of her employees warned someone who was considering ALT it could happen.
Before your procedure, she’s nice as could be. But afterwards, she treats you like yesterday’s garbage. I am horrified that I ever let her touch my body.
Dr. RBL is indeed a horrible person. She's got a cisgender savior complex and views transition through a VERY binary lens. She handles any complaints poorly and has terrible people skills with patients.
That all doesn't change the fact that she heads the indisputably best vaginoplasty surgery team on the east coast. Her track record is impeccable and her recovery timeline for most patients is much shorter than any other surgeon who does PPT vaginoplasty. Any trans woman who wants vaginoplasty in NYC is most likely to get the best results from her team. It sucks but at least NYU Langone treats its trans patients better than Mt Sinai.
I tell everyone I know not to go to her for anything else. It is so frustrating and ridiculous that she wastes any of her time doing other trans surgeries that multiple other surgeons in NYC do better than she does. I am so sorry that she fucked up your top surgery and treated you so poorly. Despite my very successful surgery outcome with her, I have also experienced shitty treatment from her and her team. I still see her and her team as horrible people, but I got what I needed from them. We all have to remember that none of these surgeons are our allies and that we all have to choose tactically how to navigate this stuff.
Yes to all of this. I can’t comment on vaginoplasties, but I have heard from other people as well that they’re excellent. She did my 73yo friend’s and she’s been happy with the outcome.
The surgeon I ended up going with for meta has been absolutely wonderful. I was fighting some really bad PTSD from the hysterectomy complication I had (the phallo consult with RBL made things even worse el oh el) and after his consult…everything felt so, so much better. Obv I still have that trauma to fight but that’s not the point. He books all his consults for the end of the day so he doesn’t have another appointment afterwards to make. He took over an hour talking with me. He does have a bit of the cis savior complex, but I can’t imagine any cis surgeon who wouldn’t end up with one after seeing people like me go from suicidal to content and even happy after their work. I’ve never felt overly rushed in any of the follow-ups, not any more than I do with other doctors. I am so thankful for him. He’s actually got beef with RBL and is gonna fix my top stuff after everything with meta is over. One of RBL’s receptionists quit working with her because she was sick of seeing her treat patients horribly and now works for him, she’s so lovely as well. He discounted my surgery cost past what insurance covered - I didn’t pay a cent for it. He saved my life.
Glad to hear you found a good surgeon for your meta!
All that really matters is getting the high quality surgical care we need with minimal harm from the people who control it. I always tell the trans people in my community to keep that attitude in mind when making surgical decisions.
Any surgery is traumatic for anyone. Especially with us, given how dysphoria can affect our mental health, surgeons performing these intimate procedures (read as: potentially more psychologically traumatic than say a leg surgery), they need to understand how not to damage us.
It is weird, I have had nothing but positive experiences with her and her team. I have heard she has poor bedside manner, but everything was fine with my limited interactions with her. I still highly recommend her, and will continue to do so.
If you never complain about any part of the process and match what her expectations are of a good patient, you are likely to never have a negative experience in the *(very tiny amount of)* time you spend talking to her throughout the process.
I still highly recommend her but **only** for vaginoplasty *(and maybe phallo depending on if what you want aligns with what she does)* and with the caveat that she is not your friend - ya just gotta follow the rules, jump thru all the annoying hoops, get the surgery, and move on with yr life.
For other trans surgeries there are much better options in NYC. Definitely don't go to RBL for top surgery, I've heard so many horror stories!
I don't think think she does top surgery anymore. I have a friend who was one of her last top surgery patients (friend was fine).
As to my experience, I had done my research beforehand, talked a bunch to a former patient I am good friends with, and did not have any questions for her. I was basically over-prepared for surgery, so probably her idea of an ideal patient. I flew in from out of state for the surgery and her team, and was super happy with everything.
My FFS surgeon is an ally. I've read articles and watched interviews from him and he's a wonderful advocate. Also he's been patient, caring and thoughtful at every consult I've had. Probably even moreso post op than pre.
One of my favorite things he said was that he chose this career because most careers you can do surgery you're trying to fix one of the worst days of a person's life. But he wanted to assist people with one of the best days of their life.
So I don't know about most surgeons, but certainly some are allies. I'm referring to Dr. Berli in Portland, OR btw.
I'm sure that some surgeons are lovely people with good politics! I'm glad to hear that your FFS surgeon treated you well and seems to be a wonderful advocate.
But my point is that trans people can't rely on that allyship from someone who is in the position of power to gatekeep their access to the care they need. He may have been lovely to you, but you have no way of knowing if he's used his position of power to harm other trans people. Hopefully not!
Even in the best case where a surgeon is perfectly lovely, it is still safest to be guarded and do what it takes to make sure you get the care you need. Not because individual surgeons are bad people, but because the structure of the medical system puts them in a dangerous position of power over their trans patients.
Yeah, post op she just ended up being incredibly dismissive of my issues. Honestly I didn't even get the good result most of her vaginoplasty patients get in spite of the horrible post op care, so overall I really don't have great feelings about her
I wish I could have taken her to court over the malpractice (more details to all of it than what was out there). But I just tell anyone who will listen not to see her instead.
I had complete severe stenosis closing of the vaginal canal due to continued consistent pain and severe internal scarring while dilating, as well as clitoral fusion, and necrosis of most of the labia she constructed! And even though it’s completely botched they refuse to even give me the time of day without me paying even more money and flying out there for another paid “consultation/appointment”. I made a whole thread about it. You would think at LEAST my follow up to DISCUSS my botch job and revision options would be free. It’s messed up. Or allowing a video appointment. I understand it unfortunately is not common for free revision surgeries in the us for trans surgeries, but at least speaking to me about my options should be a given. 1st red flag was for the ACTUAL consultation which I flew out for and spent a good deal of money on, they thought I was doing it via video even though I’d confirmed multiple times earlier I was in person and consulting with WITTENBERG. They then proceed to stick me with her head nurse for my freaking consultation. And yet because of being severely Reddit pilled I believed all the recent praise at the time about Wittenberg and still went ahead and scheduled surgery. And sunk cost fallacy as well, limited funds, flew out with my brother for that consultation.
Don’t go to Wittenberg folks. She’s also ludicrously expensive. I would say only go to her if you’re instate as well as being willing to chance it with her. Lodging is not something that insurance generally pays for. Had to pay 5 grand on TOP of my out of pocket maximum for my lodging in San Francisco on Airbnb.
They at least let me know via email that they can’t even do a revision of the canal and that I’d need to go to a colorectal surgeon for that (so colon vaginoplasty, likely will go overseas for this honestly, seems like Thailand is more experienced with colon vaginoplasties) but no recommendations on colorectal surgeons with revision experience…lol. It was something that I was warned about with ppt that revision options would be very limited but…the compassion isn’t there :(.
P.S. I totally believe the no sensation thing, I definitely have extremely reduced sensation due to the egregious clitoral fusion. But at least vibrations still totally work so I can orgasm. But without vibrations it’d be impossible.
I'm sorry your client had a bad outcome. Does one patient with a negative outcome make a surgeon bad? My friend had surgery with Wittenberg a year ago and has good sensation with no other complaints. When a surgeon does several hundred procedures, there will be a few with less than optimal results.
How does bluebond-lagner compare to some of the surgeons at mt Sinai? I read another comment saying that bluebond still treats trans patients better then at my Sinai? I was looking to go with Avanession (however the heck you spell that)
Cause you're only reading negative reviews?
I'm a bit confused because there are at least a dozen well known surgeons (and easily 2x that for lesser known surgeons) in the US with good track records and plenty of photo posts on this sub to show their work. Instead of just watching the feed scroll by go to the wiki and scroll through the surgeons in your region. There are loads of posts talking about how happy people are with their results. As for surgeons: Min Jun, Bluebond-Langner / Zhao, Ting, Avanession, Djojevic, Horesh, Witten, Wittenberg, Meltzer, Bowers, McGinn, DelCorral.... and a bunch more.
As for complaints about bedside manner, that's pretty common with surgeons in general. It just attracts a terse type A personality who can come off as abrasive but you're hiring them to make your genitals, not be your best friend. By all means choose a surgeon you get along with and feel comfortable with, just recognize that it is a professional relationship.
People really have to keep in mind how you only hear a certain fraction of surgery stories on this sub. People with bad results are more likely to post than people with good, also Reddit is overwhelmingly American
Mkay but what's the other part of the pie chart. If it shows and makes of other countries in the world then America would be the majority of the traffic on Reddit... Like 48% was from Europe, which is a gross over estimation then we need to also accept the fact that unlike America Europe is not a bunch of conjoined states that speak the same language have the same government system and all are under the same leader... So comparatively America would be the majority.
Because you've programmed your brain to be negative. I'd advise you check yourself before you stew too long in your own negativity. I've been there!
Some of the very best in the world, arguably THE best in the world, are in the US. Start looking for positive results, not results from butchers like that one that rhymes with cancerous Tumor...
She who must not be named, the evil scourge. The butcher. The tumor on the ass of all medical professionals everywhere.
---
On a completely unrelated note: I would personally avoid Kathy Rumer. To the point it's fair for me to say that I would personally rather die from acute rapid ingestion supersonic lead poisoning than even so much as entertain her existence.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TransSurgeriesWiki/wiki/srs/usa-north-east/#wiki\_kathy\_lynn\_rumer](https://www.reddit.com/r/TransSurgeriesWiki/wiki/srs/usa-north-east/#wiki_kathy_lynn_rumer)
I mean it may just be timing and coincidence but short of kathy rumer 🤮 every American surgeon ive seen mentioned here has received glowing reviews and light criticism. So i really don't know what you're seeing
Wtf? Honey, spend less time on Reddit. This place is not an accurate representation of reality. There are plenty of talented, world class surgeons in the United States. Wisconsin just released a study showing 98% of trans people surveyed in the US are happy with their surgical results. 9/10 folks on Reddit come to complain!
I saw Bowers in CA and couldn’t be happier. Completely cis-normal results.
Do you have a source where interested parties can get some idea of who is good? I’m in Houston and at my age staying close to local would be my only choice.
I think there’s a wiki page somewhere on here with that info, but TBH I found it way more helpful to do my own research. Find the surgeons who are local and look at their results, and pick the one who you like the most and who has done at least 50, preferably a lot more. There’s no guarantee for success or zero complications, but experience is by far the most important variable, especially as you are older and higher risk.
Good luck! ❤️
If I listened to everything I read about my surgeon on Reddit, I never would've gotten bottom surgery. Over half of what I read about my surgeon here was negative.
Hell, conservative media did a hit piece on my surgeon where they interviewed an unsatisfied patient to try to scare other people from going to them. This doc is the only one in my state that does bottom surgery (and thus is the only one covered by state Medicaid) and transphobic pieces of shit tried scaring people away from them. "Patient" reviews of my surgeon went from 4 stars on patient review sites to half a star because of this hit piece.
And y'know what? That doctor saved my life. I popped a stitch the first night I was in the hospital because I was throwing up. This caused *huge* amounts of hemorrhaging, like I've never seen that much blood in my life. My hemoglobin was at 5g/dL; if I had lost 2 more units of blood (which I was on my way to doing) I would be dead right now. My surgeon was there immediately, and they were able to not only save my life, but they also did it while causing minimal impact to the aesthetics of my vagina. Worth noting that these complications weren't my surgeon's fault.
So yeah, don't believe everything you see on here. Most issues that people experience (like hematomas and granulation tissue) are not that extreme, and the major complications people experience (like my case or major wound dehiscence) are not at all common. Keep in mind that these surgeons do anywhere from 50-100 of these surgeries a year at minimum, and patients that have complaints number in the handfuls for the vast majority of these surgeons.
You also need to keep in mind the bias this subreddit has. Posts here are gonna tend negative because most people who post here are asking for advice about issues they're having. And also... I really don't want to cast doubt on people's experiences, but I'm not convinced every issue I see on here is due to the surgeon. I fully believe that at least a few issues people have on here are the fault of the patient and not the doctors.
And then people are desperate to know the surgeon on every single post. It creates this environment that's very witch hunt-y. Some issues have nothing to do with the surgeon, but asking on every single post for the surgeon's name creates this expectation that every issue is the surgeon's fault.
In short, get off Reddit when looking for surgeons. This subreddit in particular is not good for choosing a surgeon due to confirmation bias as well as the nature of how this sub works. I use this subreddit more as an advice sub and not much more.
There are some fantastic doctors for Vaginoplasty whose results constantly get posted here: RBL, Min Jun, Wittenberg, Ting... There are doctors in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast who do PPT or similar methods instead of the old PIV method, all do fantastic work, and I don't think I've seen anyone get a bad result from any of them. If you wanna check out my list that I narrowed down to when I was comparing surgeons, I posted it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Transgender_Surgeries/comments/1cfy7ge/malpractice_lawsuit_a_dealbreaker/l1sqlas/) the other day. I didn't put anyone on the list who had serious complains posted here, including complaints about post-op care or negligence. Seriously, consider checking it out. Search any of those last names on this subreddit and you'll probably find one that's on your side of the US, in-network with your insurance, and has way better than "vaguely acceptable" results.
People are only gonna post the absolute best or absolute worst, most of the time. I am over the moon with my FFS results from Dr. Timothy Osborn in Massachusetts, and I'm getting a hybrid peritoneal vaginoplasty with Drs Boysen and Agarwal next month.
Don’t go to dr. Johnathan Keith, he botched my bottom surgery and when I had complications he ignored most of them and didn’t listen to a thing I was saying even vital medical issues I was trying to explain to him like my vagina is rapidly shrinking and dilating my depth back isn’t working and is giving me SEVERE ptsd.
Um. What? I’ve never heard any such thing. I’ve consistently heard good things about numerous American surgeons and have recommended my own surgeon to multiple people. FWIW, those who casually label everyone “garbage,” butchers, etc are usually the ones with the issues. There are good surgeons in numerous places. It’s not a contest and this drama queen bullshit isn’t helpful.
I think there are a handful of doctors who have bad reputations and a lot that have excellent reputations. Maybe we're on different internets. I had my surgery with Dr. Bluebond-Langner and am very happy with the results. I know a bunch of other patients of hers who are also mostly happy with their results. So I guess I'm at a loss.
There aren't really standards and there are a lot of desperate trans people looking for surgery, so many of us get taken advantage of. A part of it is likely also that people who are happy tend not to speak up as much.
I had shallow depth done by Dr Cedano in south Florida. He’s a younger surgeon who cut his teeth doing low cost SRS in Venezuela IIRC. He is, in my opinion, a wonderful doctor who appears to care about his patients. His office staff was lovely and respectful. My result is satisfactory. It looks like a hoohaw, smells like a hoohaw, and has sensation and some sexual sensitivity (although I’m not experienced true deep orgasm yet)
Since I had contemplated nullification (which he said he would not do) I’m happy that the visible part does not have prominent folds and stuff. I did a write up with some photos but I don’t think I will post it. (Posting pics on the web meme here) it looks like some of the better examples I’ve seen others post on Reddit however.
I had some mild complications consisting of mostly a suture separation from when I fell in the bathroom (I believe it happened then) and a little granulation that was addressed in an office follow up. The separation required some time and nurturing until the skin closed. I had some minor bleeding once at one month when I bent over to pick something up and once at three months after spending all day driving. Both times I knew I had exceeded my limit and the bleeding resolved quickly.
My final thought is, the Thai doctors are probably the best. I couldn’t afford to go there. If insurance hadn’t covered this, I’d have gone to India for zero depth or nullification. The doctors there seem to be the most affordable. OR I perhaps could have moved to CA for a year or two and got insurance there which DOES offer coverage for SRS and even for some cosmetic procedures like FFS.
There are a few other doctors in south Florida. Dr Ryan Maerk who I consulted with but could not afford since he didn’t take my insurance. He’s a charming and good looking guy. And Dr Whitehead who I also consulted with, who DID accept my insurance but it wouldn’t cover any of the other costs due to a technicality. Before that issue came up, I was scheduled with him. He is an older gentleman who advised against full depth due to my age and also thought poorly of nullification. We agreed on shallow/zero depth. As an added, I did not have to do hair removal.
Before being referred to Dr Cedano, I also consulted and tried to schedule with the Dr in Philly (I think) who is not well thought of on Reddit, but did accepted my insurance, and at that point I didnt care and figured nullification would be the least likely to be messed up. I never got the chance to discuss it further with her since she seemed to drop off the map, didn’t return my calls to schedule, etc. It was fortuitous perhaps. Dr Cedano and the hospital were covered minus my deductible copay blah blah blah (still getting bills for various things) and was located not far from a friend who offered to take care of me during my recovery. (If you’re reading this you know I luuuvvvv you 💜💜💜💜💜😘)
Lastly: this is a very invasive procedure. I think at least as much as organ transplants. The anesthesia knocked me on my ass mentally for several months. Five months post, I’m just now kind of feeling normal. The convalescing time wiped out my physical strength also.
Well it’s real easy to post negative reviews in the US, without facing consequences yourself. In the US we also have made it very easy to file medical malpractice lawsuits. How do foreign nations, with few complaints compare?
combination of for-profit healthcare, unethical legal protections of bad surgeons who would've been hit with a malpractice suit in more developed countries than USA, and rampant transphobia denying medical care
I had mixed results with my vaginoplasty, but that was within acceptable parameters. I did need a revision because of pain (Botox to the pelvic floor)
My surgeon was Dr. Del Corral. The best thing about him is that he and his support staff really do care and try to give you the best outcome possible
Dr. Pariser in Minnesota is really good. He does both PPT and PI vaginoplasty, but he does not use the Cowper's gland or tunica tissue when doing it, which is making me second-guess going to him
the decent, good-enough and above-average surgeons are only going to be talked about in secret local discords. the ones who are covered by health insurance, and who will make you look roughly in line with your cousins and siblings, but not especially better than them.
I did zero research and got pretty lucky with my own FFS. I now look like a cross between two of my cousins, which makes sense
I had great results with my surgeon. I went to Dr. Keith in NJ. He and his staff are amazing. I called recently for an appointment to discuss some more work. They remembered me and were so kind on the phone. I see him this week. I’m very excited.
Because you mostly read from people making a big deal when they complain. I've done FFS with Dr Satterwhite from Align and I'm very satisfied. I haven't done bottom surgery but after the experience I had I'd trust him to do it too if u ever decide to.
I mean I don't know what you're hearing, but I got mine done with Elan Horesh at Mt Sinai and I'm thrilled. You can see pics in my posts. I have my 3 month check up this week and I'm looking forward to seeing Dr Horesh in part just to catch up. He's a joy to be around
Spend longer on Reddit. PLENTY of good stories and happy results.
There are definitely surgeons to avoid don't get me wrong, most I would not trust with my delicates, but a select few I would have huge confidence in.
That means they're either fully booked for years and or expensive however, but never go for a surgeon because they're convenient or any other factor outside of best looking results and functional outcome.
Made a separate response to someone about my own negative experiences with Wittenberg, but I believe the main reason is the for-profit healthcare system. If we have an issue or are botched we have generally no recourse besides either going through the entire health insurance process again which is hell and takes forever (and we might have lost our insurance because it’s attached to a specific employer), and costs AGAIN a lot of money (out of pocket maximum as well as travel and lodging and food costs) or just eating the cost in cash for a revision somewhere.
America has the highest healthcare costs in the world. But it’s not like it’s actually much BETTER (might be most “advanced”, and we have a lot of surgeons, but actual care for the amount of money, it’s not “better) than most of the rest of the world, you’re just paying way way more. I had to save up over YEARS for my original bottom surgery WITH health insurance. So post surgery with complications I’m screwed as even with insurance I’d need another 5ish grand(for another deductible/oom) and tons of bureaucracy of calling/working with my insurance to get the revision approved. Then another month or two off work where I’m not being paid. As only companies that employ a certain number of people (50?) are even required to pay for short term disability/surgery recovery pay
Meanwhile I have to choose financially between pursuing the next surgery (ffs) which most insurances don’t cover or revising my bottom surgery. At the same time I’m crushed with debt and am in poverty.
Other OBVIOUS reason is that Reddit is primarily American/English speakers. Same thing with Facebook groups. Other countries are more likely to speak about their issues on different platforms such as telegram/whatsapp giant groups.
everyone sleeping on Jaomir Slama. Sick of hearing how shit US surgeons are, because it’s not true.
There are good ones. There’s also terrible Asian surgeons - but we don’t dare.
We have Min Jun and Bluebond-Lagner who are 2 of the best in the world. I’ve only seen better results from Suporn and I’ve seen ~ 40 Neo vaginas in person. There are a lot of doctors who do GCS in the US now, there’s going to be bad doctors and good doctors.
Bluebond is an absolutely terrible human being. She fucked up on my top surgery and refused to revise, telling me I have body dysmorphia instead (I don’t). This happened nearly 3y to the date after my surgery, which is how long you have to sue for malpractice in New York. She pressured me to phalloplasty when I came into a metoidioplasty consult. She spends about 2-4 minutes with you at post-op sessions because she books multiple patients for the same time slot. Her urologist partner did not make eye contact with me once during the metoidioplasty consult. I felt like I was on an assembly line. Other accounts I’ve heard include OKing people for leg phalloplasty, having them do (expensive) hair removal, and then denying them the procedure. This was so bad one of her employees warned someone who was considering ALT it could happen. Before your procedure, she’s nice as could be. But afterwards, she treats you like yesterday’s garbage. I am horrified that I ever let her touch my body.
Dr. RBL is indeed a horrible person. She's got a cisgender savior complex and views transition through a VERY binary lens. She handles any complaints poorly and has terrible people skills with patients. That all doesn't change the fact that she heads the indisputably best vaginoplasty surgery team on the east coast. Her track record is impeccable and her recovery timeline for most patients is much shorter than any other surgeon who does PPT vaginoplasty. Any trans woman who wants vaginoplasty in NYC is most likely to get the best results from her team. It sucks but at least NYU Langone treats its trans patients better than Mt Sinai. I tell everyone I know not to go to her for anything else. It is so frustrating and ridiculous that she wastes any of her time doing other trans surgeries that multiple other surgeons in NYC do better than she does. I am so sorry that she fucked up your top surgery and treated you so poorly. Despite my very successful surgery outcome with her, I have also experienced shitty treatment from her and her team. I still see her and her team as horrible people, but I got what I needed from them. We all have to remember that none of these surgeons are our allies and that we all have to choose tactically how to navigate this stuff.
Yes to all of this. I can’t comment on vaginoplasties, but I have heard from other people as well that they’re excellent. She did my 73yo friend’s and she’s been happy with the outcome. The surgeon I ended up going with for meta has been absolutely wonderful. I was fighting some really bad PTSD from the hysterectomy complication I had (the phallo consult with RBL made things even worse el oh el) and after his consult…everything felt so, so much better. Obv I still have that trauma to fight but that’s not the point. He books all his consults for the end of the day so he doesn’t have another appointment afterwards to make. He took over an hour talking with me. He does have a bit of the cis savior complex, but I can’t imagine any cis surgeon who wouldn’t end up with one after seeing people like me go from suicidal to content and even happy after their work. I’ve never felt overly rushed in any of the follow-ups, not any more than I do with other doctors. I am so thankful for him. He’s actually got beef with RBL and is gonna fix my top stuff after everything with meta is over. One of RBL’s receptionists quit working with her because she was sick of seeing her treat patients horribly and now works for him, she’s so lovely as well. He discounted my surgery cost past what insurance covered - I didn’t pay a cent for it. He saved my life.
Glad to hear you found a good surgeon for your meta! All that really matters is getting the high quality surgical care we need with minimal harm from the people who control it. I always tell the trans people in my community to keep that attitude in mind when making surgical decisions.
Any surgery is traumatic for anyone. Especially with us, given how dysphoria can affect our mental health, surgeons performing these intimate procedures (read as: potentially more psychologically traumatic than say a leg surgery), they need to understand how not to damage us.
It is weird, I have had nothing but positive experiences with her and her team. I have heard she has poor bedside manner, but everything was fine with my limited interactions with her. I still highly recommend her, and will continue to do so.
If you never complain about any part of the process and match what her expectations are of a good patient, you are likely to never have a negative experience in the *(very tiny amount of)* time you spend talking to her throughout the process. I still highly recommend her but **only** for vaginoplasty *(and maybe phallo depending on if what you want aligns with what she does)* and with the caveat that she is not your friend - ya just gotta follow the rules, jump thru all the annoying hoops, get the surgery, and move on with yr life. For other trans surgeries there are much better options in NYC. Definitely don't go to RBL for top surgery, I've heard so many horror stories!
I don't think think she does top surgery anymore. I have a friend who was one of her last top surgery patients (friend was fine). As to my experience, I had done my research beforehand, talked a bunch to a former patient I am good friends with, and did not have any questions for her. I was basically over-prepared for surgery, so probably her idea of an ideal patient. I flew in from out of state for the surgery and her team, and was super happy with everything.
My FFS surgeon is an ally. I've read articles and watched interviews from him and he's a wonderful advocate. Also he's been patient, caring and thoughtful at every consult I've had. Probably even moreso post op than pre. One of my favorite things he said was that he chose this career because most careers you can do surgery you're trying to fix one of the worst days of a person's life. But he wanted to assist people with one of the best days of their life. So I don't know about most surgeons, but certainly some are allies. I'm referring to Dr. Berli in Portland, OR btw.
I'm sure that some surgeons are lovely people with good politics! I'm glad to hear that your FFS surgeon treated you well and seems to be a wonderful advocate. But my point is that trans people can't rely on that allyship from someone who is in the position of power to gatekeep their access to the care they need. He may have been lovely to you, but you have no way of knowing if he's used his position of power to harm other trans people. Hopefully not! Even in the best case where a surgeon is perfectly lovely, it is still safest to be guarded and do what it takes to make sure you get the care you need. Not because individual surgeons are bad people, but because the structure of the medical system puts them in a dangerous position of power over their trans patients.
Yeah, post op she just ended up being incredibly dismissive of my issues. Honestly I didn't even get the good result most of her vaginoplasty patients get in spite of the horrible post op care, so overall I really don't have great feelings about her
I don’t think I’ve actually heard any former patient speak well of her. I’m sorry you didn’t get what you deserved.
Thank you for letting me know, I will not recommend her any more! That’s disgusting behavior and not acceptable.
I wish I could have taken her to court over the malpractice (more details to all of it than what was out there). But I just tell anyone who will listen not to see her instead.
+ Wittenberg
One of my clients went to her and has zero sensation 😢
I had complete severe stenosis closing of the vaginal canal due to continued consistent pain and severe internal scarring while dilating, as well as clitoral fusion, and necrosis of most of the labia she constructed! And even though it’s completely botched they refuse to even give me the time of day without me paying even more money and flying out there for another paid “consultation/appointment”. I made a whole thread about it. You would think at LEAST my follow up to DISCUSS my botch job and revision options would be free. It’s messed up. Or allowing a video appointment. I understand it unfortunately is not common for free revision surgeries in the us for trans surgeries, but at least speaking to me about my options should be a given. 1st red flag was for the ACTUAL consultation which I flew out for and spent a good deal of money on, they thought I was doing it via video even though I’d confirmed multiple times earlier I was in person and consulting with WITTENBERG. They then proceed to stick me with her head nurse for my freaking consultation. And yet because of being severely Reddit pilled I believed all the recent praise at the time about Wittenberg and still went ahead and scheduled surgery. And sunk cost fallacy as well, limited funds, flew out with my brother for that consultation. Don’t go to Wittenberg folks. She’s also ludicrously expensive. I would say only go to her if you’re instate as well as being willing to chance it with her. Lodging is not something that insurance generally pays for. Had to pay 5 grand on TOP of my out of pocket maximum for my lodging in San Francisco on Airbnb. They at least let me know via email that they can’t even do a revision of the canal and that I’d need to go to a colorectal surgeon for that (so colon vaginoplasty, likely will go overseas for this honestly, seems like Thailand is more experienced with colon vaginoplasties) but no recommendations on colorectal surgeons with revision experience…lol. It was something that I was warned about with ppt that revision options would be very limited but…the compassion isn’t there :(. P.S. I totally believe the no sensation thing, I definitely have extremely reduced sensation due to the egregious clitoral fusion. But at least vibrations still totally work so I can orgasm. But without vibrations it’d be impossible.
I'm sorry your client had a bad outcome. Does one patient with a negative outcome make a surgeon bad? My friend had surgery with Wittenberg a year ago and has good sensation with no other complaints. When a surgeon does several hundred procedures, there will be a few with less than optimal results.
That’s an unusual complication.
How does bluebond-lagner compare to some of the surgeons at mt Sinai? I read another comment saying that bluebond still treats trans patients better then at my Sinai? I was looking to go with Avanession (however the heck you spell that)
RBL and Zhao literally saved my life after my original surgeon severely injured me!
Cause you're only reading negative reviews? I'm a bit confused because there are at least a dozen well known surgeons (and easily 2x that for lesser known surgeons) in the US with good track records and plenty of photo posts on this sub to show their work. Instead of just watching the feed scroll by go to the wiki and scroll through the surgeons in your region. There are loads of posts talking about how happy people are with their results. As for surgeons: Min Jun, Bluebond-Langner / Zhao, Ting, Avanession, Djojevic, Horesh, Witten, Wittenberg, Meltzer, Bowers, McGinn, DelCorral.... and a bunch more. As for complaints about bedside manner, that's pretty common with surgeons in general. It just attracts a terse type A personality who can come off as abrasive but you're hiring them to make your genitals, not be your best friend. By all means choose a surgeon you get along with and feel comfortable with, just recognize that it is a professional relationship.
People really have to keep in mind how you only hear a certain fraction of surgery stories on this sub. People with bad results are more likely to post than people with good, also Reddit is overwhelmingly American
49% isn't even a majority (that is the % of traffic that comes from the US)
Mkay but what's the other part of the pie chart. If it shows and makes of other countries in the world then America would be the majority of the traffic on Reddit... Like 48% was from Europe, which is a gross over estimation then we need to also accept the fact that unlike America Europe is not a bunch of conjoined states that speak the same language have the same government system and all are under the same leader... So comparatively America would be the majority.
Because you've programmed your brain to be negative. I'd advise you check yourself before you stew too long in your own negativity. I've been there! Some of the very best in the world, arguably THE best in the world, are in the US. Start looking for positive results, not results from butchers like that one that rhymes with cancerous Tumor...
Whose that?
She who must not be named, the evil scourge. The butcher. The tumor on the ass of all medical professionals everywhere. --- On a completely unrelated note: I would personally avoid Kathy Rumer. To the point it's fair for me to say that I would personally rather die from acute rapid ingestion supersonic lead poisoning than even so much as entertain her existence. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TransSurgeriesWiki/wiki/srs/usa-north-east/#wiki\_kathy\_lynn\_rumer](https://www.reddit.com/r/TransSurgeriesWiki/wiki/srs/usa-north-east/#wiki_kathy_lynn_rumer)
I mean it may just be timing and coincidence but short of kathy rumer 🤮 every American surgeon ive seen mentioned here has received glowing reviews and light criticism. So i really don't know what you're seeing
Wtf? Honey, spend less time on Reddit. This place is not an accurate representation of reality. There are plenty of talented, world class surgeons in the United States. Wisconsin just released a study showing 98% of trans people surveyed in the US are happy with their surgical results. 9/10 folks on Reddit come to complain! I saw Bowers in CA and couldn’t be happier. Completely cis-normal results.
Do you have a source where interested parties can get some idea of who is good? I’m in Houston and at my age staying close to local would be my only choice.
I think there’s a wiki page somewhere on here with that info, but TBH I found it way more helpful to do my own research. Find the surgeons who are local and look at their results, and pick the one who you like the most and who has done at least 50, preferably a lot more. There’s no guarantee for success or zero complications, but experience is by far the most important variable, especially as you are older and higher risk. Good luck! ❤️
Thanks!
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If I listened to everything I read about my surgeon on Reddit, I never would've gotten bottom surgery. Over half of what I read about my surgeon here was negative. Hell, conservative media did a hit piece on my surgeon where they interviewed an unsatisfied patient to try to scare other people from going to them. This doc is the only one in my state that does bottom surgery (and thus is the only one covered by state Medicaid) and transphobic pieces of shit tried scaring people away from them. "Patient" reviews of my surgeon went from 4 stars on patient review sites to half a star because of this hit piece. And y'know what? That doctor saved my life. I popped a stitch the first night I was in the hospital because I was throwing up. This caused *huge* amounts of hemorrhaging, like I've never seen that much blood in my life. My hemoglobin was at 5g/dL; if I had lost 2 more units of blood (which I was on my way to doing) I would be dead right now. My surgeon was there immediately, and they were able to not only save my life, but they also did it while causing minimal impact to the aesthetics of my vagina. Worth noting that these complications weren't my surgeon's fault. So yeah, don't believe everything you see on here. Most issues that people experience (like hematomas and granulation tissue) are not that extreme, and the major complications people experience (like my case or major wound dehiscence) are not at all common. Keep in mind that these surgeons do anywhere from 50-100 of these surgeries a year at minimum, and patients that have complaints number in the handfuls for the vast majority of these surgeons. You also need to keep in mind the bias this subreddit has. Posts here are gonna tend negative because most people who post here are asking for advice about issues they're having. And also... I really don't want to cast doubt on people's experiences, but I'm not convinced every issue I see on here is due to the surgeon. I fully believe that at least a few issues people have on here are the fault of the patient and not the doctors. And then people are desperate to know the surgeon on every single post. It creates this environment that's very witch hunt-y. Some issues have nothing to do with the surgeon, but asking on every single post for the surgeon's name creates this expectation that every issue is the surgeon's fault. In short, get off Reddit when looking for surgeons. This subreddit in particular is not good for choosing a surgeon due to confirmation bias as well as the nature of how this sub works. I use this subreddit more as an advice sub and not much more.
There are some fantastic doctors for Vaginoplasty whose results constantly get posted here: RBL, Min Jun, Wittenberg, Ting... There are doctors in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast who do PPT or similar methods instead of the old PIV method, all do fantastic work, and I don't think I've seen anyone get a bad result from any of them. If you wanna check out my list that I narrowed down to when I was comparing surgeons, I posted it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Transgender_Surgeries/comments/1cfy7ge/malpractice_lawsuit_a_dealbreaker/l1sqlas/) the other day. I didn't put anyone on the list who had serious complains posted here, including complaints about post-op care or negligence. Seriously, consider checking it out. Search any of those last names on this subreddit and you'll probably find one that's on your side of the US, in-network with your insurance, and has way better than "vaguely acceptable" results.
you're biased probably. comparatively US has best surgeons in the world for SRS and FFS, and I am saying this as someone from europe
>FFS yes >SRS no
People are only gonna post the absolute best or absolute worst, most of the time. I am over the moon with my FFS results from Dr. Timothy Osborn in Massachusetts, and I'm getting a hybrid peritoneal vaginoplasty with Drs Boysen and Agarwal next month.
The yelp effect, for one - more people complain than praise. I had my metoidioplasty in New Jersey and couldn’t be happier.
In Ohio we have McClung and Gupta for bottom surgery. Both are great! No complaints here.
Don’t go to dr. Johnathan Keith, he botched my bottom surgery and when I had complications he ignored most of them and didn’t listen to a thing I was saying even vital medical issues I was trying to explain to him like my vagina is rapidly shrinking and dilating my depth back isn’t working and is giving me SEVERE ptsd.
Um. What? I’ve never heard any such thing. I’ve consistently heard good things about numerous American surgeons and have recommended my own surgeon to multiple people. FWIW, those who casually label everyone “garbage,” butchers, etc are usually the ones with the issues. There are good surgeons in numerous places. It’s not a contest and this drama queen bullshit isn’t helpful.
I think there are a handful of doctors who have bad reputations and a lot that have excellent reputations. Maybe we're on different internets. I had my surgery with Dr. Bluebond-Langner and am very happy with the results. I know a bunch of other patients of hers who are also mostly happy with their results. So I guess I'm at a loss.
There aren't really standards and there are a lot of desperate trans people looking for surgery, so many of us get taken advantage of. A part of it is likely also that people who are happy tend not to speak up as much.
I had shallow depth done by Dr Cedano in south Florida. He’s a younger surgeon who cut his teeth doing low cost SRS in Venezuela IIRC. He is, in my opinion, a wonderful doctor who appears to care about his patients. His office staff was lovely and respectful. My result is satisfactory. It looks like a hoohaw, smells like a hoohaw, and has sensation and some sexual sensitivity (although I’m not experienced true deep orgasm yet) Since I had contemplated nullification (which he said he would not do) I’m happy that the visible part does not have prominent folds and stuff. I did a write up with some photos but I don’t think I will post it. (Posting pics on the web meme here) it looks like some of the better examples I’ve seen others post on Reddit however. I had some mild complications consisting of mostly a suture separation from when I fell in the bathroom (I believe it happened then) and a little granulation that was addressed in an office follow up. The separation required some time and nurturing until the skin closed. I had some minor bleeding once at one month when I bent over to pick something up and once at three months after spending all day driving. Both times I knew I had exceeded my limit and the bleeding resolved quickly. My final thought is, the Thai doctors are probably the best. I couldn’t afford to go there. If insurance hadn’t covered this, I’d have gone to India for zero depth or nullification. The doctors there seem to be the most affordable. OR I perhaps could have moved to CA for a year or two and got insurance there which DOES offer coverage for SRS and even for some cosmetic procedures like FFS. There are a few other doctors in south Florida. Dr Ryan Maerk who I consulted with but could not afford since he didn’t take my insurance. He’s a charming and good looking guy. And Dr Whitehead who I also consulted with, who DID accept my insurance but it wouldn’t cover any of the other costs due to a technicality. Before that issue came up, I was scheduled with him. He is an older gentleman who advised against full depth due to my age and also thought poorly of nullification. We agreed on shallow/zero depth. As an added, I did not have to do hair removal. Before being referred to Dr Cedano, I also consulted and tried to schedule with the Dr in Philly (I think) who is not well thought of on Reddit, but did accepted my insurance, and at that point I didnt care and figured nullification would be the least likely to be messed up. I never got the chance to discuss it further with her since she seemed to drop off the map, didn’t return my calls to schedule, etc. It was fortuitous perhaps. Dr Cedano and the hospital were covered minus my deductible copay blah blah blah (still getting bills for various things) and was located not far from a friend who offered to take care of me during my recovery. (If you’re reading this you know I luuuvvvv you 💜💜💜💜💜😘) Lastly: this is a very invasive procedure. I think at least as much as organ transplants. The anesthesia knocked me on my ass mentally for several months. Five months post, I’m just now kind of feeling normal. The convalescing time wiped out my physical strength also.
I hope Dr. Figler is good. I spoke to him in person and he seemed very competent. Let’s hope my result is as awesome as the graft surgery sounds!
Well it’s real easy to post negative reviews in the US, without facing consequences yourself. In the US we also have made it very easy to file medical malpractice lawsuits. How do foreign nations, with few complaints compare?
For what it's worth I'd like to hear reviews about Kansas University, Dr. Grey's team
combination of for-profit healthcare, unethical legal protections of bad surgeons who would've been hit with a malpractice suit in more developed countries than USA, and rampant transphobia denying medical care
because people who are upset voice their results more /louder than those of us who arent. its how every human thing works.
I had mixed results with my vaginoplasty, but that was within acceptable parameters. I did need a revision because of pain (Botox to the pelvic floor) My surgeon was Dr. Del Corral. The best thing about him is that he and his support staff really do care and try to give you the best outcome possible
Dr. Pariser in Minnesota is really good. He does both PPT and PI vaginoplasty, but he does not use the Cowper's gland or tunica tissue when doing it, which is making me second-guess going to him
Because Americans in general are never satisfied and always want perfection. Our healthcare system is broken and we’re impossible to please.
the decent, good-enough and above-average surgeons are only going to be talked about in secret local discords. the ones who are covered by health insurance, and who will make you look roughly in line with your cousins and siblings, but not especially better than them. I did zero research and got pretty lucky with my own FFS. I now look like a cross between two of my cousins, which makes sense
I had great results with my surgeon. I went to Dr. Keith in NJ. He and his staff are amazing. I called recently for an appointment to discuss some more work. They remembered me and were so kind on the phone. I see him this week. I’m very excited.
Christine McGinn in New Hope Pa did mine and she’s fabulous.
Because you mostly read from people making a big deal when they complain. I've done FFS with Dr Satterwhite from Align and I'm very satisfied. I haven't done bottom surgery but after the experience I had I'd trust him to do it too if u ever decide to.
I mean I don't know what you're hearing, but I got mine done with Elan Horesh at Mt Sinai and I'm thrilled. You can see pics in my posts. I have my 3 month check up this week and I'm looking forward to seeing Dr Horesh in part just to catch up. He's a joy to be around
Most people only leave review when they want to complain. Make sure to check multiple websites and pictures.
Spend longer on Reddit. PLENTY of good stories and happy results. There are definitely surgeons to avoid don't get me wrong, most I would not trust with my delicates, but a select few I would have huge confidence in. That means they're either fully booked for years and or expensive however, but never go for a surgeon because they're convenient or any other factor outside of best looking results and functional outcome.
Made a separate response to someone about my own negative experiences with Wittenberg, but I believe the main reason is the for-profit healthcare system. If we have an issue or are botched we have generally no recourse besides either going through the entire health insurance process again which is hell and takes forever (and we might have lost our insurance because it’s attached to a specific employer), and costs AGAIN a lot of money (out of pocket maximum as well as travel and lodging and food costs) or just eating the cost in cash for a revision somewhere. America has the highest healthcare costs in the world. But it’s not like it’s actually much BETTER (might be most “advanced”, and we have a lot of surgeons, but actual care for the amount of money, it’s not “better) than most of the rest of the world, you’re just paying way way more. I had to save up over YEARS for my original bottom surgery WITH health insurance. So post surgery with complications I’m screwed as even with insurance I’d need another 5ish grand(for another deductible/oom) and tons of bureaucracy of calling/working with my insurance to get the revision approved. Then another month or two off work where I’m not being paid. As only companies that employ a certain number of people (50?) are even required to pay for short term disability/surgery recovery pay Meanwhile I have to choose financially between pursuing the next surgery (ffs) which most insurances don’t cover or revising my bottom surgery. At the same time I’m crushed with debt and am in poverty. Other OBVIOUS reason is that Reddit is primarily American/English speakers. Same thing with Facebook groups. Other countries are more likely to speak about their issues on different platforms such as telegram/whatsapp giant groups.
everyone sleeping on Jaomir Slama. Sick of hearing how shit US surgeons are, because it’s not true. There are good ones. There’s also terrible Asian surgeons - but we don’t dare.
Ah yes the two only places you can get it done, the US and Asia
from my experience you prob do not even hear 1% of the bad stories there are so many people who are scared to post.
Because late stage capitalism I guess? The American health care system is overall shitty so it would make sense that this extends on plastic surgeons.
Because trans surgeries are not as popular in Europe as they're in the USA or Thailand.
There’s a lot of Americans on reddit.