How long does gender reassignment surgery take?
How does gender reassignment surgery work?
Bottom surgery recovery
Breast surgery recovery
Facial surgery recovery
Genital surgery recovery
Is gender reassignment surgery painful?
How long does gender reassignment surgery take?
Gender reassignment takes a long time. It is not done quickly. On average, the minimum time required to change your physical sex is about two years, and that is a best-case situation. Often, the process can take three, four, five, or many more years.
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How does gender reassignment surgery work?
ex reassignment surgery, also known as gender confirmation surgery or GCS, is a broad term used to describe a variety of procedures meant to confirm someone’s gender and treat gender dysphoria. When it comes to MTF gender confirming surgery, these procedures can include genital surgeries, facial feminization surgeries, breast implants, and more. When combined with hormone therapy, these procedures can help make a person feel more comfortable in their own skin and in their gender.
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Bottom surgery recovery
Three to six days of hospitalization is required, followed by another 7-10 days of close outpatient supervision. After your procedure, expect to refrain from work or strenuous activity for roughly six weeks.
Vaginoplasty requires a catheter for about one week. Full metoidioplasty and phalloplasty require a catheter for up to three weeks, until the point at which you can purge the bulk of your urine through your urethra on your own.
After vaginoplasty, most people generally need to dilate regularly for the first year or two, by using a graduated series of hard plastic stents. After that, penetrative sexual activity is normally enough for upkeep. The neovagina develops microflora similar to a typical vagina, although the pH level leans much more alkaline.
Scars tend to either be hidden in the pubic hair, along the folds of the labia majora, or simply heal so well as to not be noticeable.
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Breast surgery recovery
After breast surgery You will wear a special bra and leave the surgical dressings on for 3 days after surgery. After 3 days, you can take the gauze pads off. There will be adhesive tapes (“steri-strips”) along the incision line; leave these on. At this point you can shower, being careful not to soak the steri-strips (it’s OK if they get splashed with a bit of water, but don’t run water directly over them). After showering, gently pat the steri-strips dry. They will fall off on their own in 7–10 days. It is normal for the incisions to be red, but the redness shouldn’t go beyond the incision for more than 1–2 cm (if this happens, see a doctor right away, as it can be a sign of infection). It is also normal to see or feel the knot in the stitches at the end of the incision. The stitch knot is not a problem; it will either dissolve on its own or come to the surface of your skin, in which case a doctor or nurse can clip it free. A medium level of bruising and swelling is normal. Your breasts will probably feel sore and swollen for at least a month after surgery. If you have a large amount of swelling, see a doctor. Feelings of sharp shooting pain, burning pain, or general discomfort are common as part of the healing process and will eventually go away. Usually serious discomfort 6 passes 1–2 days after the surgery. Three to five days after surgery, you can start special breast massage exercises that your surgeon will show you. You can go back to your usual routine when you feel well enough to do so (i.e., normal movements don’t cause pain). This is typically 1–2 weeks but can take longer in some cases. You should avoid any activity that is vigorous enough to raise your heart rate for 3–4 weeks.
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Facial surgery recovery
The aftercare instructions are different for different types of facial surgery and depend on the specific technique used. Talk with your surgeon before surgery to make sure you understand what to expect and what you need to do after you’ve been discharged from the hospital, and to talk about pain management options.
- Forehead surgery: Pain medication and antibiotics will be prescribed.
- Day after surgery: The dressing around the forehead can be removed. You can then gently wash your hair, taking care not to get any dressings used for nose/chin surgery wet (if you have had multiple surgeries done at the same time).
- Within 8 days after surgery: Sutures and staples used to close scalp incisions are usually taken out by the surgeon. Most people feel well enough to go back to work by this time (but vigorous activity should not be done until 2 weeks after surgery).
- Within 10–12 days after surgery: Swelling and bruising around the eyes typically goes away by this time.
- b) Cheek augmentation: Pain medication and antibiotics will be prescribed. You can clean your teeth as normal, being careful not to brush over the incision line if the implant was placed through your mouth.
- First 1–3 days after surgery: Temporary numbness and swelling may interfere with speaking, smiling, yawning and chewing. You should avoid foods that are hard to chew for the first few weeks.
- Within 2 weeks after surgery: Swelling has typically gone away by this time.
- c) Nose surgery: Pain medication will be prescribed. If you wear glasses, you will get special instructions as the nasal pads that rest your glasses on your nose can’t touch the nose for one month after surgery.
- First 1–2 days after surgery: Internal nasal packing will stay in to support nasal tissues during the early phase of healing. The packing will be taken out by the surgeon. 15
- Day 8 after surgery: The external cast around your nose will be taken off by the surgeon. Be careful not to get this cast wet while it is still on.
- Within 2 weeks after surgery: Bruising around the nose and eyes typically fades by this time.
- One month after surgery: It is safe to do vigorous activity after this time. You can go back to wearing your glasses as normal.
- d) Chin reduction: Pain medication will be prescribed.
- Recovery time depends on the type of technique done; if significant bone reconstruction has been done recovery can take 4–5 weeks, with swelling remaining for up to 3–4 months.
- Usually you can go back to light work 5–6 days after surgery. e) Jaw reduction: Pain medication will be prescribed.
- The face is usually moderately swollen and bruised after surgery. Most of the swelling gradually fades over 10–14 weeks, but it can be difficult to see change until swelling has fully gone down 3–4 months after surgery.
- Usually you can go back to work 10–14 days after surgery.
- f) Lip augmentation: Usually a relatively minor procedure. There may be some swelling that typically goes away within 10–14 days of surgery.
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Genital surgery recovery
Generally people start to feel more physically comfortable during the second week after surgery, but it can take a long time to fully heal, and there can be pain and soreness for a long time after genital surgery. You will see the surgeon at least once in the week after surgery, and then periodically after that. The surgeon will do a physical exam to check your general health and will also check your new clitoris for healing and sensation. You will be asked questions about your bowel and bladder function, and the surgical incisions will be checked for infection and scarring.
If you have had a vaginoplasty, the surgeon will put a finger inside your vagina to check healing. For the first 8 weeks after vaginoplasty you will continue to wear a prosthesis inside your vagina most of the time. At first, you will only take it out once a day, when you do routine cleaning (you will douche once a day initially). The amount of time the prosthesis is left out will gradually be increased (as per the surgeon’s protocol). You will have to continue to dilate your vagina every day, either by sex (dildo/penis/fingers) or using the dilator, to keep your vagina open. If you do not dilate every day, your vagina may become narrow and short.
If as part of vaginoplasty you have had a graft, you will have an incision at the graft site – usually the abdomen just above the pubic bone. Adhesive strips (“steri-strips”) will be used to bring the edges of the wound together and promote healing. Hospital staff will check this incision and change your dressings on a regular basis. After you go home, schedule an appointment with your regular GP or nurse to check the healing of the graft site and make sure it is not infected. It is normal for the incisions to be red, but the redness shouldn’t go beyond the incision for more than 1–2 cm (if this happens, see a doctor right away, as it can be a sign of infection).
It is also normal to see or feel the knot in the stitches at the end of the incision. The stitch knot is not a problem; it will either dissolve on its own or come to the surface of your skin, in which case a doctor or nurse can clip it free. You can go back to your usual routine when you feel well enough to do so (i.e., normal movements don’t cause pain). This is typically 4–6 weeks 21 but can take longer in some cases. You should avoid any activity that is vigorous enough to raise your heart rate until you have fully recovered. Check with your surgeon if you are not sure.
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Is gender reassignment surgery painful?
For the patient, severe pain, bruising and general discomfort for days after the male-to-female procedure are common. And the female-to-male gender-reassignment surgery is even more difficult surgically, with a longer recovery period. It takes about six hours of surgery for an F-to-M procedure, roughly three times longer than M-to-F.
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