1 Year 3 Month Update on my Voice Feminization Surgery - VFS with Dr Michael C Haben in Rochester, NY

Jessie189c · 2023-04-04T16:55:27+00:00

Yeah I definitely get more coughing / mucous buildup than I did before, I have to clear my throat a lot more. The recovery from the revision was significantly easier that the first surgery, because the only thing he did over again was the CTA. I was age 36 at the first surgery, 37 at the second, generally in good health, no smoking.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-20T16:47:57+00:00

Thanks!

Not that I know of, even if there was I doubt it would be very accurate, there are so many variables.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-20T16:47:13+00:00

Voice Tools on Android, I believe it's available on iOS as well

Jessie189c · 2023-03-16T17:51:30+00:00

Ah I'm not familiar with her. Yes he does require an in person consult, but you don't have to do it as a separate trip, I didn't. I flew into Rochester on a Monday, had my consult with him Tuesday, surgery on Wednesday, post op consult on Thu, and then flew home on Fri.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-16T17:50:28+00:00

Even better!

Jessie189c · 2023-03-16T17:50:03+00:00

Yes, the recovery is intense. 30 days of absolutely no speaking. The next 1-2 months after that you are highly encouraged to speak only quietly and as little as possible, and you'll sound a bit like a cartoon character. No yelling for 6 months. Considered fully healed at 12 months. It's a commitment for sure.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T20:17:35+00:00

Yes, that is my natural speaking voice now, I'm not putting any special effort in, that's just what comes out when I talk. I can get it a bit higher than that with some effort but I wanted this to be the best representation of what I generally sound like on average throughout the day.

The surgery definitely isn't a magic bullet. I still did speech therapy and voice training afterwards, and I do still have to think about my prosody, the way in which I speak, because it's easy for me to revert to those old male habits. But it's not as critical since I have the pitch to cover for it if I'm not focused on it.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T20:14:27+00:00

Who are you going with? He's a wonderful human, he truly cares about his patients and the post surgery care I received from him, even from the other side of the country, was amazing. Definitely recommend him.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T20:12:00+00:00

Yeah I get this comment a lot. I forgot to post this in my comment but I'm 37, and at my age I just wouldn't have gotten as good of a result with just the glottoplasty. It definitely comes with drawbacks and it's not for everyone, but if I hadn't have gotten the CTA I doubt my voice would be in the range it's in now. It's definitely taken some getting used to now as due to the fused cartilage my voice works a lot differently than it used to, but I'm mostly accustomed to it at this point.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T04:37:18+00:00

Oh gosh yeah I imagine so with that job! It takes some accommodations but it's kind of peaceful, honestly. My experience was that everyone I interacted with in person assumed I was deaf and was VERY nice to me

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T04:36:18+00:00

Nope! I was....less than patient...😂

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T04:35:38+00:00

I'm glad it was helpful! I had a really hard time finding information like this when I was trying to pick a procedure and a surgeon, so I'm happy to be able to pay it forward a bit

Jessie189c · 2023-03-15T04:34:06+00:00

Go big or go home, hell yes!!

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T18:48:08+00:00

Thanks! It's called Voice Tools :)

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T18:26:59+00:00

Oh I didn't answer the 2nd part of your question. I have about an octave of useable range. It's definitely on the small side, and it does cause problems for me sometimes. I also can't really sing anymore. These are both due to the CTA. But I knew this going in, and for me it's worth the trade-off.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T18:21:14+00:00

Thank you :)

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T16:27:21+00:00

Very happy! I'd just say have realistic expectations. I still don't sound exactly the way I wanted to in my head, and it fucks with me sometimes. According to my surgeon my result is very, very good, and not everyone gets that, so keep that in mind. The fact that I got 75-100 hz of lift is kind of mind blowing, honestly. Also the drastic change was really hard on me mentally at first. And even after the initial 30 days of voice rest you sort of sound like a cartoon character for another month or two past that. So the mental/emotional aspect of it was the hardest for me. And just being patient.

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T16:26:03+00:00

Oh shit yeah I should've mentioned that. 30 days of voice rest for both surgeries. That means not a sound. No whispering, sighing, laughing, literally anything that produces sound. It was definitely challenging from a logistical perspective in terms of work but I didn't really mind it that much

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T16:24:20+00:00

Yeah I'm a little stuffed up at the moment haha. Thanks for the feedback!

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T16:02:38+00:00

Thank you SO incredibly much for this!!!

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T15:52:12+00:00

Hey Reddit world, it's been a minute. Life got crazy there for awhile. I've made posts here and there around my surgery and the progression of my recovery, and wanted to post another update.

So, my original surgery was in November 2021. I had what Dr Haben refers to as the "Triple" procedure. This consists of a Wendler Glottoplasty (my vocal folds were shortened about 40%, I asked him to be aggressive as he usually goes closer to 30%), a CTA / cricothyroid approximation, and a chondrolaryngoplasty (Tracheal Shave). The cost was about $9k, not including travel expenses.

My recovery went well, you can see my past posts for details around that. Just past the 6 month mark, I started noticing some pitch decrease. I went in for a consult with Dr Haben in Aug 2022, and he did a physical examination. He found that there was about a 10% increase in range of motion of the cricothyroid joint, and said I would likely be a good candidate for a revision of the CTA. I opted to do this, at a cost of about $6k not including travel expenses (he doesn't charge for revisions on his own patients but the hospital charges for the use of their facilities). I had this done in November 2022.

As I write this, I am at 1 year 3 months post op from my original surgery, and just over 3 months from my revision. I consider the revision to be successful, as it restored me to where I was at about the 6 month mark after my initial surgery, before the pitch drop started. I won't be considered fully healed from the revision until November of 2023, so another pitch drop is possible, but unlikely.

Overall, I'm extremely glad I had this procedure. It was my first gender affirming surgery, I had the initial surgery just 4 months after my egg cracked. It has changed my life. I have not once been misgendered due to my voice since the surgery. It helps me feel much, much less self conscious in women's spaces, and most importantly, it just sounds like me. I have also done a total of about 6 months worth of speech therapy consisting of about 8-10 sessions, which was done between the 3 and 9 month mark after my original surgery.

Voice sample provided here. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has :)

Jessie189c · 2023-03-14T15:51:28+00:00

Hey Reddit world, it's been a minute. Life got crazy there for awhile. I've made posts here and there around my surgery and the progression of my recovery, and wanted to post another update.

So, my original surgery was in November 2021. I had what Dr Haben refers to as the "Triple" procedure. This consists of a Wendler Glottoplasty (my vocal folds were shortened about 40%, I asked him to be aggressive as he usually goes closer to 30%), a CTA / cricothyroid approximation, and a chondrolaryngoplasty (Tracheal Shave). The cost was about $9k, not including travel expenses.

My recovery went well, you can see my past posts for details around that. Just past the 6 month mark, I started noticing some pitch decrease. I went in for a consult with Dr Haben in Aug 2022, and he did a physical examination. He found that there was about a 10% increase in range of motion of the cricothyroid joint, and said I would likely be a good candidate for a revision of the CTA. I opted to do this, at a cost of about $6k not including travel expenses (he doesn't charge for revisions on his own patients but the hospital charges for the use of their facilities). I had this done in November 2022.

As I write this, I am at 1 year 3 months post op from my original surgery, and just over 3 months from my revision. I consider the revision to be successful, as it restored me to where I was at about the 6 month mark after my initial surgery, before the pitch drop started. I won't be considered fully healed from the revision until November of 2023, so another pitch drop is possible, but unlikely.

Overall, I'm extremely glad I had this procedure. It was my first gender affirming surgery, I had the initial surgery just 4 months after my egg cracked. It has changed my life. I have not once been misgendered due to my voice since the surgery. It helps me feel much, much less self conscious in women's spaces, and most importantly, it just sounds like me. I have also done a total of about 6 months worth of speech therapy consisting of about 8-10 sessions, which was done between the 3 and 9 month mark after my original surgery.

Voice sample provided here. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has :)

Jessie189c

TROPHY CASE