MLD Stage 2 w/ Miroslav Djordjevic
Hey everyone — wanted to share my experience for anyone researching this path. Representation of real surgical journeys matters, so here's mine.
Quick background: I had Stage 1 with Dr. Miroslav Djordjevic in November 2025. That included metoidioplasty with clitoroplasty, urethroplasty, three fasciocutaneous flaps, a vascularized pedicle flap for the neourethral opening, vulvectomy, vaginectomy, complicated scrotoplasty, and bilateral testicular implants.
Stage 2 — Musculocutaneous Latissimus Dorsi (MLD) Phalloplasty:
This stage included:
- Creation of the recipient site with three fasciocutaneous flaps (3×5cm each)
- MLD phalloplasty flap (15×12cm)
- Adjacent tissue transfer (10–30 sq cm)
- Additional fasciocutaneous flaps (10×20cm and 10×10cm)
- Wound closure with skin graft (8×7cm)
- Free skin graft with microvascular anastomosis
- Monsplasty
Surgery was 8 hours.
The hospital stay:
I always have a positive experience at Mt. Sinai West — the nurses are incredible and the urology team that works alongside Dr. Miro is consistently great.
I responded to the blood thinners too well and ended up needing two blood transfusions. Because of that, I couldn't eat for the first 1–2 days in case they needed to take me back into the OR. Day 3 was all liquids.
I spent about 4 days in the ICU with Doppler checks on my penis every hour — when I finally moved to the regular floor, that dropped to every 4 hours. I've been essentially bed-ridden since surgery. My penis has to stay propped straight up in a foam donut with a small bucket over it to protect it. Getting up and walking has been extremely minimal.
Dr. Miro came to see me 2–3 times personally, which honestly surprised me in the best way. The urology team checked in frequently and asked thorough questions throughout.
Pain management and recovery notes:
My stomach has been reacting badly to oxy and Tylenol, but the team has been pushing IV meds to manage pain and it's been working well. Everyone has been ontop of pain management— I haven't felt abandoned in that department at all.
Today (5/13/26) I was able to take a shower and the team changed bandages at both the donor site and the graft site on my leg — tissue Dr. Miro used to help close the lat graft. It was the second bandage change for my leg and the first for my back (donor site).
Overall: This is a serious, complex surgery and recovery is no joke — but the care I've received has been thorough and attentive. Happy to answer questions for anyone considering this route.
side notes: i didnt feel any intial pain out of surgery. It got a little uncomfortable laying on my back. my back muscles kinda cramped up here and there. Not that it hurt just a new weird sensation. The itching at the sites while healing might drive you a little crazy