Survey: Evaluating SRS Options for Transmen

The recent Times Colonist article regarding phalloplasty coverage in BC got me thinking:

If money were no object, would I look at phalloplasty in a different light?

I’d like to ask some related questions to every transman reading this who is considering or has had bottom surgery. If you feel so inclined, please share your thoughts in this anonymous survey I’ve setup:

Evaluating SRS Options for Transmen

The first page is aimed at transmen considering bottom surgery. Pages 2 and 3 are for transmen who have had bottom surgery. The last page has a field for you to leave extra comments. The survey is designed to be easy and quick to complete, requiring no more than 5 minutes or so. None of the questions are mandatory, and the information you share is only for the sake of interest. The results will likely be published here on Gender Outlaw. Thanks in advance!

I’ve previously written about the reasons why I haven’t seriously considered phalloplasty. However, I continue to follow-through on the advice that Dr. Bowman gave me: to learn all I can before making any choice between phalloplasty and metoidioplasty. (After all, I’ve got time since I don’t have any of the money saved that I’ll need for bottom surgery.)

One of the issues I have is about the scarring from the graft that’s taken from the forearm to create the new phallus. Typically, the non-dominant arm is used as the donor. On my non-dominant left forearm, I have a tattoo with my GF’s name in it. I most definitely do NOT want this tattoo moved to my penis! If I opted for a smaller penis, could the graft be taken closer to my inner elbow, preserving the current location of the tattoo? If not, what are the risks associated with using the dominant arm for the donor?

When I saw Dr. Bowman yesterday for a check-up of my revision surgery, I asked him if he could do me a favor: could he draw a rough outline of the graft size and shape on my forearm so that I could visualize this? Before I could finish my question, he jumped from his chair and said he could do better than that, and went and fetched the template that he uses for the graft.

rough-phallo-graft-mark1

The graft is taken from lower down on the forearm, and would therefore require the unfortunate migration of my tattoo. He noted that my arms are small, so that would affect the size of the graft he would be able to take, and therefore the final size of the penis (which is not problematic for me because I think I would opt for a smaller flaccid length anyway.) He also told me that the decision of which arm to use is partially based on a vascular test, the details of which were technical and I won’t bother going into them right now.

The question of meto vs. phallo remains open for me, and I’d love to hear what other transmen (as well as non-transmale readers) think about the subject.

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You’re currently reading “Survey: Evaluating SRS Options for Transmen,” an entry on Gender Outlaw

Published:
February 20, 2009 / 6:34 pm
Category:
Metoidioplasty and Scrotoplasty
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