10/10 Gender Affirming Surgery Experience

Dr. Alan Dulin & the AI4PS team were all incredible. Financially, I ended up paying OOP, and costs and deadlines were provided quickly and clearly. My communication with Lexy and Laura pre-op was primarily via email, and they answered all of the questions I posed, but if I needed an answer ASAP, the phone lines were always open and the response immediate. At my one-day pre-op consultation appointment, I met Dr. Dulin, and he was very professional, succinct, and answered all of my questions I had prepared. Any surgery is anxiety-inducing, but having a gender confirming one pulls at the brain a bit more, and I was incredibly nervous. I should mention that the consultation was very quick with him, about 5 minutes, but his demeanour and direct bedside manner gave me confidence and eased my fears considerably, especially because I was worried that my chest goals were not traditionally FTM top surgery (I wanted a non-flat, androgynous appearance with slightly bigger areolae and nipples). I was given a big packet of information for pre-op, op, and most importantly post-op care, directed to get my medication, and prepare for surgery the next day. The surgical team was very on-top of making sure I was aware of surgery time, and getting my health information and the anaesthesiologist also reassured me (which helped a lot, anaesthesia is scary!) On the day of surgery, everyone was quite kind and patient with me and Dr. Dulin saw me again, marked me up, explained to me what he was planning on doing, and into the OR I went! ~2 hrs later I woke up, and it was over, and the hard part of healing began. One day post-op, I went back in again, the ACE bandage was taken off (thank god!) and I was informed on how to do aftercare until the 1 week post-op appointment. 8 days later, I saw my new chest for the first time, and it was....instant peace. Dr. Dulin had taken my goal photos, my desires, wants, and needs into consideration, and had given me the chest of my dreams. I am now 10 weeks post-op and it's as though this is always the way it should have been. My chest has healed so well in the meantime (including my FNG), although I did have a bit of a contact dermatitis/allergic reaction to the Bacitracin and Aquaphor ~5 weeks post-op that had me nervously contacting Hope, but all is well that ends well and that cleared up when I started using Vaseline instead. Speaking of Hope, what an absolute angel -- she was there from pre-op all the way to now, and assuaged my fears, was so positive and bubbly, and was such a rockstar, answering all my questions, and being so patient with my nervous, bad-jokey self. I sent her emails, called her, and if I missed her, she would call/email back immediately -- communication with her was fantastic.

I am so so glad I went to AI4PS and had my gender confirmation surgery with Dr. Dulin and his team -- I really can't recommend them enough! Especially now, with trans healthcare the way it is and especially in TX, I very much do not take for granted the work that they do and the gratitude and privilege I have to have been able to have this procedure done.

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The single best thing about my procedure was the positive attitude that the team had -- I was a nervous wreck, had a lot of questions, and they were so patient and professional, it really helped calm me down. My treatment results are everything I could have hoped for -- it's really hard to envision the end result when you don't know how it's going to look like until weeks, months, or even a year down the line, but 10 weeks post-op, and I'm looking (and feeling!!) better than I could have ever hoped for.

I never could have imagined feeling so much at peace in my body, and I cannot stress enough how life-altering this experience has been.