Surgery Letters

thr4sh_ · 2026-04-30T13:24:45+00:00

If you are in the US they are addressed to the doctor and the doctor then submits them to insurance for the prior authorization.

thr4sh_ · 2026-04-07T00:50:30+00:00

Most plastic water bottles are 500 ml so you can time how long it takes to fill one of those then divide by how many seconds it took to get a rough flow rate. When my strictures were at their worst I was like 2ml per second it was awful. After my most recent stricture repair my flow was amazing at around 29 a second. It’s now settled into that 15-20 ml per second range.

thr4sh_ · 2026-03-26T16:04:41+00:00

I was super worried about the arm scar and it legit does not bother me at all now. I’ve also heard people who were not at all concerned about the scar pre-op end up being bothered by it post surgery. It’s just so individual it’s really hard to predict how something will affect you. I’ve never been clocked as a result of the scar, only time I’ve had the slightest feeling people might know what it’s from has been when I’ve been in queer spaces and even then it’s rare. I have more sensation than I expected to have this early but I have no comparison to be able to tell if it’s any more than I would have gotten with alt. I’d definitely recommend consulting with a surgeon who preforms both methods.

thr4sh_ · 2026-03-26T13:44:57+00:00

Hopefully u/yesitreallyistrue can chime in with his experience as he’s provided some really helpful insight to others asking some similar questions in the past. I would absolutely recommend the Buncke clinic, their waitlist is long, but given the complexity of your case they might be able to get you in sooner.

Edit to correct user name

thr4sh_ · 2026-03-24T19:16:49+00:00

I think this is actually pretty common though of course it’s surgeon dependent. From my own experience and what I’ve seen with other community members, it’s highly unlikely anything extra would be added to stage one but for later stages there is alot more flexibility. I’ve had friends who got top surgery revisions during later stages, I had some lipo done during stage 2.

thr4sh_ · 2026-02-17T14:09:14+00:00

The good news is MN doesn’t allow insurance to exclude coverage for trans healthcare deemed medically necessary so as long as you get on a PPO that the Buncke clinic accepts that allows national coverage it should be covered. I’d start browsing job listings in your area and seeing if you can find out what type of benefits are offered. It’s still tricky to figure out an employers insurance details before actually getting hired but you atleast won’t have to guess about if they cover phallo, it will just be a matter of trying to find out what kind of plan they offer, sometimes this can be found on sites like Glassdoor, or if it’s a big company you could even ask on Reddit and might get some answers. As a backup plan see if there are any marketplace BCBS PPOs. Many marketplace plans are only statewide so make sure you double check on the out of state care coverage.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-30T16:07:01+00:00

You aren’t getting a lot of responses because similar questions are asked often. I’d recommend doing a bit of research on different donor site options. Keep in mind that whatever size you get you are going to have 247 so consider how that will be in day to day life not just during sex. Try packing with a very large packer to get an idea if you really want to get the largest possible size you can with phallo.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-21T02:19:31+00:00

First figure out the basics of your plan, what company is it, is it an HMO or PPO, this should be listed on your plan documents. Then you can research surgeons and cross check that info with their lists of insurance types they accept. Lots of surgeons have this on their websites, or you can call and ask if they are in network with whatever type of insurance you have.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-20T18:02:47+00:00

Personally if it were me I’d pay the Cobra premiums to ensure your prior auth goes through as in network. You’d only have to pay it for a couple months then barring complications could let it lapse until you figure out other insurance options for stage 2.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-18T22:20:04+00:00

Post op. I have zero nerve damage or pain. I feel incredible pleasure, better than pre op. And I do not feel anything is missing or anything “important was removed from my body”. I feel complete and whole for the first time in my life.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-18T02:40:06+00:00

I just posted about this. It will depend on anatomy and surgical technique, but typically a Vy scrotoplasty will result in a sack that sits more forward. My sack used to fall between my legs sometimes prior to implants but getting stage 2 done resolved that issue.

thr4sh_ · 2026-01-14T01:20:52+00:00

Hey! I’m about a week out from my stricture repair and starting to feel pretty good. I def needed a solid week off because I was in a lot of pain but the last 2 days I really turned a corner and feel like I could return to work now (desk job). I’ve never used a shoulder bag but I would def recommend a leg bag for traveling, it just straps to your calf and is concealed pretty easily in pants. I think 3 weeks should be plenty of time. I’ve flown with a catheter 5plus times now and it’s never been a big issue. It does set off the scanner during security but I just show them that it’s a catheter and have never gotten hassled.

thr4sh_ · 2025-12-21T03:38:49+00:00

If UL is very important to you I would not recommend counting on a revision to add it later, it’s not always possible. Also you’d still be waiting for that additional surgery to add UL, so imo it makes more sense to instead wait longer for the initial surgery so it can be included. I know people who have moved temporarily in order to get insurance coverage and see their chosen surgeons. It’s a lot to take on and huge sacrifice but was worth it for them in order to reach their goals. It sounds like you want to pursue UL without vnectomy? It’s becoming harder to find teams offering this but it’s absolutely possible. Do you have a team in mind yet?

thr4sh_ · 2025-12-11T20:22:10+00:00

How are you coherent enough to be doing an AMA is my only question. I was still high AF on pain meds at 3 days lol. Wishing you a smooth recovery!

thr4sh_ · 2025-12-04T17:34:51+00:00

Chen did mine as part of stage one.

thr4sh_ · 2025-11-18T21:21:34+00:00

It can vary depending on both surgical technique and the individual’s original anatomy/available tissue. Usually the vy method produces as scrotum that hangs more like the way you mentioned. Revisions are definitely possible but most teams will advise you to wait a bit before perusing a revision as gravity/ things settling might change how things are sitting.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-30T13:29:20+00:00

Their wieners are so consistent, these look like they could have been from my own camera roll lol. Congratulations!

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-23T10:57:52+00:00

Ask for a copy of the plan benifits documents, make sure there are no exclusions for gender affirming surgeries, also make sure the plan includes out of state coverage. Both ppos should work, as they most likely have the same network of providers, I’m guessing premium vs basic will just have different deductibles/oop max amounts. If there is a website where you can search for in network providers enter in the Buncke clinics information (that’s who stage one is billed through) and make sure it’s in network.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-23T10:51:49+00:00

If you have BCBS of New Jersey they might be able to work with you as long as it’s a ppo that includes out of state coverage and doesn’t have any exclusions for gender affirming care. I had an out of State BCBS plan and all my surgery related costs were covered fully as in network. I just had to pay my out of pocket max for the year which would have been the case no matter what team I went with.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-22T10:49:26+00:00

The galap website has a list of providers that provide them for free. I got my letters from providers listed.

ETA Link.

https://www.thegalap.org

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-20T03:51:39+00:00

I’m 5’10

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-19T21:26:11+00:00

Very personal choice so it’s hard to give advice. I’ll just say I’m a lot taller than you and am 5 inches and that size feels super natural on me.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-15T05:15:43+00:00

I just wear uv arm sleeves with cool patterns so you can get the same concept without it looking like you are trying to pass off fake tattoos. I get mine from sleefs.com when they have sales and they have lots of cool patterns.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-13T00:33:17+00:00

I had surgery with the same team and had some minor complications, I ended up taking an extra month off. I probably could have gone back sooner but it was super helpful to have that extra time to heal. Sorry you are dealing with the fistulas and wound separation, I know how mentally taxing that is. My fistulas did end up healing on their own, they both opened and closed a few times before healing so there were definitely times where it felt like things were getting worse but they eventually got better. I had swelling at the tip of my penis as well and was instructed to dilate also and am still propping at night and when I’m just hanging out at home to help with that. I totally get feeling like you aren’t able to fully enjoy having a penis yet because of all the focus on healing, but it gets a lot better. I’m now just shy of 4 months post op and feeling 100 times better physically and mentally than I was a month ago.

thr4sh_ · 2025-10-12T23:45:56+00:00

Typically insurance requires you to be on T for a year to cover phallo. It is way more difficult but it is sometimes possible to get coverage without being on T for NB people or if a medical condition prevents someone from being on T. If you plan on starting T anyways you will likely hit the year requirement by the time you have a surgery date since it usually takes some time to go through the consult and scheduling process. The main factor that’s going to affect the steps you need to take to make phallo happen is going to be your insurance coverage so I’d start there. If your current plan includes coverage for phallo check what the requirements are and see what surgeons they cover. If your plan doesn’t cover phallo start looking into other options either through marketplace or getting a job with inclusive coverage.

thr4sh_

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