Anyone have experience with GRS/FFS at Johns Hopkins or OHSU?

[Bri2020]

 Kaiser is pretty amazing in their coverage and I have options, stay local or they send me and my wife to the west coast and pay for a hotel while recovering. I'm trying to figure out who to see. My options include Dr Dugi and Dr. Dy at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (OHSU), Dr. Obrien-Coon at Johns Hopkins U, and Dr. Del Corral out of Georgetown I believe.  I live on the east coast so JHU or Georgetown are closer but I think the MDs in Oregon have more experience.  Their FFS person is at Hopkins as well. I should be ready for surgery by October so I want to start figuring out plans. Has anyone seen any of these people ?

[KatieP]

I will be quite interested to see the replies here. Coincidently, I have a good friend who has her FFS consult with Dr. O-C at JH tomorrow!!

 

That same friend had her VFS done at Johns Hopkins. Her comments about the facility and the people were stellar to say the least...

 

Katie

[CammieT]

I had and 11 hour FFS with Dr Jens Berli at OHSU in July, 2020.   Then I had a second procedure by Dr Berli in October, 2020.

My third and final procedure was last week with a different provider.   Here I sit, stapled, sutured and bruised yet again.  But initial results are really good and I could hardly be happier.  It has really lowered my dysphoria level about my face.

 

Overall, I'd say my experience with OHSU was very mixed.   Dr Berli is a wonderful and caring physician.   I do think when you now look at my before and after pictures, the work he did was really good.   But there are a few minor complications that I'm still working out, and one major error that occurred.   

 

I selected OHSU/Berli because they were in-network for insurance and it was fully covered.   Otherwise, I really wanted the Facial Team in Spain.   Facial Team did a really nice workup on me and Dr Berli did consult with them regarding the elements of his plan.

 

Let me know if you want to know more.   I am now prepping for bottom surgery but, to tell you the truth, I am very gun shy about OHSU and Dr Dugi at this point.  So, I'm leaning toward Dr Melcher, who performs GCS at Good Sam in Portland.

 

I can say, depending upon your age, the reality is that FFS may not be accomplished in a single surgery.

 

[Bri2020]

On 1/31/2021 at 9:36 PM, KatieP said:

I will be quite interested to see the replies here. Coincidently, I have a good friend who has her FFS consult with Dr. O-C at JH tomorrow!!

 

That same friend had her VFS done at Johns Hopkins. Her comments about the facility and the people were stellar to say the least...

 

Katie

How did your friend like Dr O-C?

 

[CammieT]

I know choosing a bottom surgery doc is a very personal and tough decision.   It's difficult to find really good information on line.   I'm skeptical of some of the really negative reviews because they may be true, and then again they might be posted by imposter transphobes who just want to scare the hell out of anyone considering a procedure.   You just don't know.

 

That said, I've seen post surgical photos that purport to be the work of Melcher, Dugi, Dr Lay, Dr MgGinn, and Dr Marci Bowers.   I think Bower's work look very good, but her wait time and deposit rules were unworkable for me.   Every surgeon has good and very bad reviews.   Outcomes seem to vary widely.

 

So, I've pretty much decided on Melcher because a close friend used him last June and was kind enough to show me the kitty, as they say.     I mean, it is very cute and has very little scars even at 8 months out.   She's totally sensate and orgasmic.   On the other hand, I have another friend who used Dugi and showed me the results.   She's also happy with her outcome and sensate, but her scars and where the incisions were made are quite prominent.   When I spoke to Dr Melcher about the differences, he explained in detail how he does his incisions and sutures.   He is a board certified plastic surgeon so he has better training in aesthetics.   Dugi is just a urologist, I believe.   So, as a client, I hope that Melcher's dual training in plastic surgery and urology leads to a better result overall.

 

The downside of Melcher is that he ONLY offers a two stage vaginoplasty.   Dugi is one stage I believe.   Melcher's contention is that there isn't enough blood supply to get a great result in a one stage procedure, so he quit offering it or pretending he could make you look perfect in one surgery.  He thinks one stage is too risky.   

 

In the case of my friend who used Melcher, she is considering stopping at one stage and I would probably opt for the same, because it's a super cute kitty as-is.  The only thing the second stage would do is build bigger vulva if you want that, better clitoral coverage, and perhaps clean up the urethral opening for a more accurate stream.

 

You see, the reality is that a high number of patients require revisions no matter how the surgeon positions the first surgery from a marketing perspective.

 

So I'm pretty sure I'll just sign on with the experienced Melcher who is up front and honest about what he can and can't do in stage one.