[Blog/Commentary] [USA] Ask Matt: Mulling Over Metoidioplasty

[Stephanie Stevens]

Matt Kailey, USA


Ask Matt: Mulling Over Metoidioplasty

May 28, 2012 by Matt Kailey


A reader writes: “This may be more of a technical question regarding
lower surgery, but maybe someone will know the answer to this. Those
of us on T know that the clitoris starts to grow and become more of a
neophallus.

“For those of us who would eventually like to have genital surgery,
specifically a meta, is there a minimum amount of growth required
before that is possible? Does it matter if you are a ‘grower’ and not
a ‘shower’? Does DHT cream actually help with growth?

“I know that genetics and hormones plays a role in all of this and
each individual is different, but my inquiring mind wants to know.”

Back in my day (I have waited so long to be able to say “Back in my
day,” and now I’m old enough to do it), I was told that most surgeons
recommended a minimum length of about one inch for what they
considered a “successful” metoidioplasty. Since then, things have
changed, and just about every aspect of female-to-male surgical
intervention has improved.

That said, there are some limitations. The more growth you have, the
more satisfactory the surgery result might be for you. And according
to Dr. Toby Meltzer
<http://www.tmeltzer.com/Surgeries_Procedures/ftm_surgeries/lower/metiodio_ftm.html>
, one surgeon who does these procedures, a certain amount of growth is
required for urethral lengthening, which allows you the ability to
stand and pee.

You’re right that everyone is different, and because of that, I think
the best thing to do is to visit a surgeon of your choice for a
consultation. When the surgeon sees what you’ve got, he or she will be
able to tell you what the possibilities are. If you have no surgeon
close by, many will agree to look at photos and will be able to get a
good idea from the photos about what can be done.

I have not had this procedure done, so I’m hoping that we get some
comments and resources from readers who have looked into, or gone
through, this type of surgery. They might be able to shed more light
on it from personal experience, as well as recommend surgeons that
have been satisfactory. I have a friend who went to Dr. Marci Bowers
<http://www.marcibowers.com/> for this procedure and is very
satisfied.

For medical questions, I also use my go-to guide, Hudson’s FTM
Resource Guide <http://www.ftmguide.org/> , which has a section on
metoidioplasty <http://www.ftmguide.org/grs.html#meta> . I also don’t
know much about DHT, so found this article
<http://transguys.com/features/dht-transgender-men> , which also
includes links to studies, on the TransGuys <http://transguys.com/>
website. It appears that there has been some success with this, and I
hope we hear from guys who have used DHT cream and can share some
experiences.

With that, I will turn it over to readers who can share some
first-hand information and some possible pros and cons that they know
of or have experienced. Readers, you’re on.


http://tranifesto.com/2012/05/28/ask-matt-mulling-over-metoidioplasty/