I was to not eat or drink anything after midnight. I was told to not wear any make up, dentures, artificial limbs, jewelry, and contacts. After checking in I was escorted to the Pre-op area, while on the way, the orderly asked if I was single or going with anyone. I replied that I was not, but perhaps after these procedures I might. He said that he might call me after my recovery. That was a flattering way to start my hospital experience, and greatly appreciated, because the next thing I had to do was to remove all my clothes, and put on a very stylish backless gown. I was visited by the prep nurse, who asked what surgery I was having done, if I was allergic to any medications, and if I had ever had any reaction to any anesthesia. She then took my blood pressure, which she reported as a little elevated….D-U-H. She had just finished when the anesthesiologist came in to introduce herself and asked me the same questions. She was followed shortly by my surgeon’s visit, and when he asked the same questions I began to wonder if these people ever talked to each other, or read anything I ever wrote down on their paper work. One thing was certain, they were not going to do an appendectomy on the wrong person. After that flurry of activity I was given a warm blanket to cover myself with, the temperature in this environment was chilly. An I.V. was hooked up and taped down in my arm and I was wheeled into the OR, I remember wondering when I was going to get the shot that would know me out and the next memory I have is coming to with my face all wrapped up like a mummy. I was quite groggy, and dozed off and on for 2 hours. Eventually I was awake enough to respond appropriately to the recovery nurse’s questions, and she called for my ride to pick me up. Luckily, she gave me written instructions on aftercare, because I was in no shape to remember anything.
I had to carry around a drain with a collection bulb attached to hold the fluid that was seeping from my incision under my chin. The nurse asked me if I had been taking any blood thinners because the doctor stated that I bled like a stuck pig during the surgery. I was taking estradiol, and that may be a blood thinner, but I told them I was taking that medication before the surgery. I know that I was to quit taking it before gender reassignment surgery because of that problem. By the time I got settled on the couch and took my medications, I decided to look at what had been done Big mistake. I scared myself. My face was wrapped with gauze and held in place with a stretchy net cover over my head. I looked like I had been on the losing end of a terrible fistfight. It hurt to blink, and I couldn’t close my eyes completely, under the mesh mask I could see staples along the top of my head where the forehead had been lifted and the hairline pulled forward. I actually thought I looked like Frankenstein’s monster. How was I going to sleep if I couldn’t close my eyes? It wasn’t easy. My surgery was on a Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I had an appointment to see the doctor late in the afternoon the following day, and it was suggested that I not drive myself to this appointment. I said to my friends that I knew I wouldn’t be stuck in the waiting room long this visit, I looked awful, not at all what a plastic surgeon would want prospective patients to see. I found that I was indeed able to sleep without my eyes closed; the hemorrhoid pads became my eyelids. The one thing that I was immediately pleased with though, was my hairline relocation, it eliminated the slightly receding hairline that I had developed prior to transitioning, and it looked like I had more hair.
As soon as I opened the door to the Surgeon’s waiting room the following afternoon, I was ushered back to a private consultation room to examine the dressings, discover if there were any signs of infection appearing, and for his post op evaluation. His prognosis was that I was healing well and decided to remove the dressings, I had been very vascular (which I learned meant that I bled a lot), and that he had stretched my forehead as tight as he could. (He asked if I had noticed my toes curled up.) That explained why I couldn’t close my eyes. He told me that I could expect from 15 to 20% skin relaxation after the surgery, so to counter this effect, he would pull a bit more where possible. It was suggested that I take a shower, and wash my hair with no-tears shampoo, and after the surgeons warning that I would awake with the worst hair I’d ever have. It was during that shower I discovered what he was talking about. My hair had gotten tangled and as a result of the surgical cuts, the hair had gotten matted with the blood and seepages. I washed on the hair until the water turned cold. It was uncomfortable for me to touch the staples, I was afraid of pulling them out, or pulling a thread and unraveling the stitches. It was also eerie feeling the numbness at the top of my head, but not be able to scratch an itch. I was unable to successfully detangle a wad of hair on either side of my ears. After wrestling with it a comb and brush, I cut it out. I subsequently learned that these matted areas could have been treated with the hydrogen peroxide, as it “melts” the dried particles away.
Thanks for listening/
