What Are the Benefits of a Transgender Surgery?
- A more feminine or masculine facial appearance
- An outward appearance that matches your gender identity
- Emotional comfort
Am I a Good Candidate for a Transgender Surgery?
Candidates for gender reassignment surgery have typically gone through the correct resources for gender affirmation services, completed emotional therapy for gender dysphoria, and sought care from one or more mental health professionals. Gender non-conforming and transgender people are four times more likely to report mental health issues; however, this does not mean patients shouldn’t be actively seeking help first before they undergo surgery. Patients are better candidates if they feel confident about the emotional and mental satisfaction gender reassignment surgery will bring. Those who have realistic expectations for life after surgery are also favorable candidates. Candidates must be of consenting age and in overall good health.
What Is Discussed During My Transgender Surgery Consultation?
During your consultation for gender reassignment surgery, you will have the opportunity to engage in a thorough and honest conversation about your goals for transitioning, whether they concern feminization or masculinization. A combination of surgeries may be suggested upfront, while others may need to be considered later based on your current needs or the demands of the recovery time required of certain techniques. Besides the recovery process, Dr. Agullo will discuss the necessary preparations and expected results and share before and after photos of previous patients. Dr. Agullo will answer any questions you have and evaluate your medical history, including your medical health, in relation to surgery safety and readiness.
What Are My Transgender Procedure Options?
Whether you are a trans woman born with a masculine body or a trans man born with a feminine figure, Dr. Agullo can help you actualize the physique that will make you feel more comfortable in your skin. His extensive experience, combined with today’s technological advancements, yield successful results that affirm your truest self.
Male to Female (MTF)
- Breast augmentation with implants or fat transfer can help you achieve a more voluptuous bustline.
- Facial feminization may include rhinoplasty, cheek implants, chin and jaw reduction, shaving of the Adam’s apple, fat injections, and/or lip augmentation.
- Hair transplantation can be performed to create a more feminine hairline.
- Body contouring, such as liposuction and the Brazilian Butt Lift, can create a more curvaceous figure.
- Buttock augmentation with implants can provide more feminine glutes.
- Tummy tuck, whether mini or standard, can bring in your muscles to create a permanent corset.
Female to Male (FTM)
- Top surgery helps produce a more masculine chest with mastectomy, which can be combined with pectoral implants or fat injections.
- Facial masculinization can give the face a more angular and rugged appearance.
- Hair transplantation allows patients to grow the facial or body hair they desire.
- Liposuction is ideal for creating a more masculine form.
How Should I Prepare for My Transgender Surgery?
Preparing for your procedure in advance will help ensure that your recovery goes as smoothly as possible. During your private consultation, you will be given detailed preparation and aftercare instructions tailored to your unique procedure. Generally, patients are advised to:
- Ask someone to drive them to and from surgery
- Fill out all the necessary prescriptions before their scheduled procedure
- Have all the required paperwork and identification ready the day before surgery
- Cease all tobacco use at least two weeks before and after surgery
- Refrain from consuming any foods or liquids after midnight on the day of their surgery
- Refrain from taking hormones before surgery to avoid blood clotting
At Agullo Plastic Surgery, tailored care begins with a full consultation to discuss the goals and options available.
What Are Your Concerns?
What Can I Expect from a Transgender Surgery Recovery?
Whether one or multiple procedures are chosen for feminization or masculinization, patients should expect the surgical sites to be sore, swollen, and bruised. Gender reassignment surgery is entirely customized to affirm your unique anatomical and aesthetic needs. The extent of your recovery will depend on these desires, as well as your biological healing tendencies.
Is My Transgender Surgery Painful?
Most patients undergo gender reassignment procedures without encountering any significant complications. However, as with any surgery, some potential risks may include:
- Scarring near the incision areas
- Bleeding or hematoma (more common in male assigned at birth patients)
- Infection
- Changes in sensation or temporary numbness
- Complications from anesthesia
- Blood clots or blood thinning
Will My Transgender Surgery Leave Scars?
Involved surgeries usually result in some scarring, but with the right skin care and sun exposure prevention, they can fade with time. Scarring from gender-affirming surgeries is usually caused by the extensiveness of the incision required. For example, in female-to-male procedures, differences in scarring will depend on the necessary technique needed to remove the breast tissue and masculinize the breast. For male-to-female procedures, differences in scarring can depend on the amount of feminization of the face or the techniques used during breast enhancement. During your appointments preceding your surgery date, the potential for scarring will be discussed, so you know what to expect.
When Will I See My Transgender Surgery Results?
Your results will be visible immediately, although they will not look exactly how they should until the body has fully healed and adjusted to the changes. While your set of gender reassignment procedures will be unique to your needs, it is generally estimated that it will take a full year for swelling to subside completely and scars to heal.
What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About Transgender Procedures?
The length of a transgender surgery varies depending on which characteristics you wish to transform and the techniques used to achieve your goals. Sometimes the procedures need to be performed in a series of appointments to obtain the best results.
You do not have to get every procedure done at once for your gender reassignment surgery. It may be more viable for some patients to receive procedures steadily, although this will require multiple recovery times. For example, female-to-male breast masculinization may require multiple procedures for first removing the breast tissue and then adding masculine contours or pectoral implants once the breasts have healed from the initial mastectomy.
Growing up with gender dysphoria can be confusing and emotionally troublesome for many. When transitioning physiologically, it is important that patients are able to find the proper resources and therapy needed to make their transition more comfortable. This may include finding a transgender therapist, joining a peer-to-peer support group, or talking with a loved one or close friend. These groups will be able to give you the emotional tools and exercises you need to enjoy the beauty of your new characteristics.
While no surgery results can resist the genetic process of aging or environmental factors like gravity and sun damage that causes the elasticity of the skin to weaken, gender-affirming procedures are designed to be long-lasting. They remain generally unchanged for several decades before any touch-ups are required.
Hormone replacement therapy is not required for feminization or masculinization therapies. You may be asked to stop taking hormones prior to surgery to avoid complications with blood thinning or clotting during your procedure. Once the surgery is complete, you can continue taking hormone replacement therapy medications.
Dr. Agullo does not perform the removal of the uterus, vagina, or construction of a penis. However, Dr. Agullo will use his expertise and experience to be of utmost service to patients who desire physical changes that align with their true selves. Dr. Agullo helps patients find fulfillment and puts their care first.
Interested in Transgender Surgery?
If you want to learn more about gender reassignment surgery and other advanced gender reassignment techniques offered by Dr. Agullo, contact his office by calling (915) 590-7900. Dr. Agullo offers BodyTite in El Paso, Texas, and the greater El Paso area.
BodyTite is growing in popularity and is sure to be broadcast live from Dr. Agullo’s Snapchat or Instagram. Feel free to tune in @RealDrWorldWide.
