Today, I had my first phallo consult with Dr. Whitehead with Northwell Health. Here’s how it went:
I got there with my mom pretty early. As mentioned in a previous post, Dr. Whitehead was my top surgeon, so I didn’t have to fill out any new patient paperwork. We were called in a few minutes after I checked in. We were brought into a room, the nurse who brought us in gave me a paper to sign just acknowledging that nicotine is harmful for the healing process and that I won’t use it and certain types of THC use is not allowed at different times, etc, etc.
My mom and I were waiting for about 10 minutes before Dr. Whitehead comes in. After a quick “Hello, good to see you again”, and assuring him that I was okay with my mom hearing what we were gonna talk about, he got right to business. He sits down and goes “This surgery is awful. It has a 100% complication rate”…. off to a great start. He asks me what my goals are. I tell him “I’m looking for a male sex organ that is as similar to a natal male sex organ as possible.” His eyes went wide. “Well, I can probably get you about 20% similar.” I laughed and nodded. Then he says “Do your goals include urinating while standing and penetrative intercourse?” I say “Yes”. He goes “What kind of holes are you looking to penetrate?” I did not think he was going to ask me that. My mother is right next to me. After thinking for a moment I stutter “Any hole… that will let me… go in it…” He laughs and goes, “Okay, so, anal, oral, and vaginal?” “…Yes”.
He then explains the stages to me. A few days ago I had a Telehealth meeting with one of Dr. Whitehead’s assistants where he explained the stages as well. During this Telehealth meeting he told me that he wasn’t going to show me any surgery images because I was going to see them at the in-person consult. Remember this for later.
The stages go as follows:
Stage 0: Hysterectomy. This is done by Dr. Harvey Winkler. I learned after I sent in my mental health letters soon after the appointment that I need TWO MORE mental letters for the hysto. I have contacted the psychiatrists that wrote my letters already so hopefully I can get those sooner rather than later.
Before stage 1, I need to do hair removal. I was given information in a packet given to me by the same assistant I had the Telehealth with names and phone numbers of hair removal providers. I might need a letter for that as well.
Stage 1: Phallus creation. Skin and nerves and all that jazz is taken from my arm and put in the area. 7-10 day hospital stay. Wound-vac on the arm for 3 weeks.
Stage 1a: 3 weeks after stage 1. Wound-vac is removed. A sliver of skin is taken from my thigh and put over the arm.
Stage 2: 6 months after stage 1. Vnectomy, scrotoplasty, urethral hookup, and glansplasty. Whitehead didn’t mention glansplasty, but at the Telehealth, I was told glansplasty usually happens at this stage. This stage has biggest risk of complications. 3-5 days hospital stay. Catheter for one month.
Stage 3: 6 months after stage 2. Testicular implants. This is mostly done to make room for the erectile device. No hospital stay.
Stage 4: ED. Whitehead only uses the pump. I don’t remember how long the hospital stay is.
After he explained all of that, we did an examination of the area. I had my mom leave the room, I get dressed into a gown and a few minutes later he came back in and was done in a few minutes. It was a bit uncomfortable but he was very professional and communicative. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
After the exam I put my clothes back on, was given that packet by the assistant, and he told me I was all ready to go. So I never saw any photos. The assistant asked me when he came in “I showed you the PowerPoint, right?” and I nodded thinking he just meant he spoke to me about it. I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t shown any results until after I walked out. I don’t know if this sounds odd but I kinda wanted to see results. There’s literally no phallo results from Whitehead online, at least that I know of.
I’m heavily considering moving forward with Whitehead because he’s much closer to my house and he takes my insurance. I also appreciate his honesty and professionalism.
I have another consult scheduled in June with Dr. Marano. I will keep everyone updated.