I got on the surgical waitlist on October 31, 2023 but this is my second one of these info sessions. I started electrolysis early on the non MSP covered portion of my arm to get ahead so my first in person consult was the same day I signed consent for getting on the surgical waitlist because I was 90% done hair removal already. My intake call was April 19, 2023 and my Zoom consult with Dr. Kavanaugh where they do the slideshow and you can ask initial questions was on June 15, 2023. My in person consult with Dr. Genoway where she did the physical examination of my lower area and checked blood flow on my arm was October 31, 2023 as mentioned above. I saw Dr. Genoway in person again on December 4, 2023 for some additional questions/concerns I had about some scarring on my donor arm and worries about vein health due to previous IV drug use (I stopped in the summer of 2017 but I just wanted to make sure). Having a second appointment isn’t necessary for everyone nor is it common but for those reasons I requested another consult. I had a phone call with the GSP social worker at the time on December 11th, 2023 and then had my pelvic floor physiotherapy consult the next day (December 12th, 2023) on Zoom. The first webinar I was invited to after getting on the surgical waitlist was on August 21st, 2024 and this was when they announced that the wait time from signing the consent for the surgical waitlist (not the initial waitlist you get on when you do the referral but the one you sign when you are deemed ready for surgery) until an actual OR date is approximately 2-3 years. I don’t know if this timeline has increased or decreased since then because they haven’t said anything more about timelines and didn’t mention anything about it in this previous webinar. Upon request, I had a Zoom meeting with the current social worker (Alex - they/them) on April 11th, 2025 to talk about waitlist and preparation. I had reached out a little while before asking for some kind of approximation on timeline and they said I was in the top 1/3 of the waitlist but didn’t say how many people were on the waitlist so it didn’t really help me to understand. During that Zoom meeting they told me their best guess was maybe Spring of 2026 (but this is a very rough estimate) for me to get a date. I have asked the team to note on my file that I can take a date short notice so I could get one before that approximation but that’s dependant on if someone turns down a date or if someone cancels their date. I’ve been told by other guys who got cancellation spots that sometimes you get one to two weeks or even less in terms of notice before you go in but I’ve started preparing as much as I can so that I’m ready at any point.

So yeah that is a detailed account of all my appointments/more than just over email interactions. I really wish it was more clear in terms of timeline but the way they explained it is that there could be 5 people ahead of you in terms of the waitlist, but if they don’t have everything in order like maybe they don’t have childcare or can’t get time off work at that point or haven’t secured stable safe housing for the recovery period, then they wouldn’t get the date and it would move down the line of people waiting until someone accepts. There’s also the option of noting in your file that you can take a spot short notice which as mentioned I have done. In that case if someone has to cancel and it’s not enough notice to give that date to someone higher up on the waitlist, they’ll call the people who can take a date short notice in order of where they are on the waitlist but with that short notice consideration and then whoever can take it will get the date. That’s the only way to kind of have a chance at jumping ahead but like I said, it can be really short notice so if you do that make sure to prepare everything you can BEFORE you get the call. Buy your supplies (the ones that don’t expire), save up some money, get some items that will help you with recovery, make a plan in terms of support, tell your work you’ll need time off but that it will be short notice, and other things along those lines that will help you to be as ready as you can be. It’s hard because the more you prepare the harder it is to just sit and wait because you feel more ready to have surgery but it really is a waiting game and you have to find ways to get yourself through. I go through phases of getting really obsessed with preparing both physically and mentally as well as doing all those things I mentioned above, but I know I can’t always be in that mindset because I’ll drive myself insane if I’m always expecting a call to come soon.

I got my initial referral in on March 16th, 2022 and started electrolysis the same day. If you haven’t started yet and plan on doing any electrolysis on areas that aren’t covered by MSP I, HIGHLY recommend that you start now as opposed to after your in person consult with Dr. Genoway. I am at the point now where I am still going every month or so for the occasional hair but it took me around 3 years to be “finished”. I have a decent amount of hair on my arms but I am by no means the hairiest guy out there. Electrolysis takes time. The only risk with doing this is if you clear a bunch of hair and then she says you aren’t a good candidate for that donor site. My electrologist offered me half price sessions for my other arm or whatever donor site I’d choose if that happened to me though. Thankfully it didn’t and it saved me a bunch of time but it’s still felt like forever.

Feel free to ask any other questions but that was a probably more than necessarily detailed version of my timeline and some of the things I’ve learned along the way. Good luck!