Here are some basic facts:
- method was penile inversion
- I opted for full-depth rather than a vulvoplasty
- surgery took 3 hours, though recovery took another hour
- I went under general anaesthesia and had to be intubated and put on a ventilator
- I’m currently admitted in the hospital and bed bound, discharge is scheduled for Friday
- so far pain is between 1 and 3 for me, most of the time it’s between a 0 and 1.
Ask me anything!
Thank you for even thinking about these questions! Remember that trans patients are patients, and while some things can be due to medical transition, not everything is. Unless it’s specifically transition-related care, most of us are just there for a stomach bug, or a headache, or the same procedures everyone else is getting. Ask our pronouns, ask our preferred names, make us feel like all of your other patients. This goes such a long way to making it a good experience. When it does come down to gender expression or transition-related things, ask about preferences and goals. Not everyone is binary. Even the binary among us have different options and plans. And sometimes, we can change our minds about things! Don’t stop being an inquisitive person. Learning gives you options and understanding and empathy, and those are the best tools you can have as a caregiver. Thank you for doing what you do!
Thanks!! As a surg tech I don’t get much insight from my patients: they roll into the OR, I introduce myself, anesthesiologist knocks them out, and we get to work. And the times I do get to chat (case delay for whatever reason and the patient is just hanging out with us on the OR bed) I usually try to just keep them distracted with questions about their work or kids or music preference or shit like that. Anything to keep their focus away from the pile of what looks like medieval torture devices I’m assembling, or the alien environment that ORs are for anyone who doesn’t work there. …what I don’t do is grill them about the quality of care they’re receiving lol.
So, conversations like this one are the closest thing I get to direct feedback. So again, thanks!!
Once nursing school is finished up and I switch over to the dark side, there will be a lot more interaction with actual conscious patients, so the feedback I’m getting here is super helpful!
Feel free to send DMs if you want to have a longer chat about this. I’m headed for general anesthesia tomorrow for an unrelated procedure (see, we have normal human things like everyone else!) so I’m sure I’ll be meeting another nice surgical technician like you before I go under. I’ve been through a whirlwind lately, and my post history isn’t even half of it, so I am sure there’s much to discuss. Thanks again for remembering the human part of healthcare!
Right back at you if you have any questions about the OR! Anything specific to the procedure you’re about to have, this late in the game I’d definitely stick with your healthcare team and not a random internet stranger, but anything that’s OR in general, I got you!