Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy at the same time - Australia, Thailand or another place

[AussieNSFW (imported)]

Hi, I am a first-time poster, so I will potentially get some of my questions mixed up.

Background

I am 61 years old and live in Sydney, Australia. I don't know any eunuchs in Sydney (or elsewhere, to be honest, except for seeing people here and on Twitter). I am gay (although I was married to a woman for 20 years and have adult kids. I knew I was different, probably when I was about 8 or 9 years old in the early 1970s, but I had no language. I later found that being gay was unacceptable, and I spent most of my early life trying to be acceptable (long story) and couldn't be who I am. Eventually, my MH got so bad something had to give, and the closet door gave way.

I have hated my testicles and scrotum for a long time, and I also have pain on my right side. (? Vaccectamy, many years ago). I had some ultrasounds, but nothing was found.

I really didn't realise that castration was a real option, and over the last 12 months, I have become more obsessed with the want, but I am still very nervous about what my kids and others might say if/when they find out. (it is bloody hard to get over trying to be acceptable to everyone else).

So, some questions.

I would really love to talk to anyone in Australia (or Asia-Pacific) who has had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy for non-cancer reasons.

For those who live in the Asia-Pacific region and had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy, where did you have your procedure undertaken, why there and are you happy with the result?

Does anyone have a view of the best hospital and surgeon for an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy in the Asia-Pacific region?

Does anyone know what the pricing differences might be between Thailand and Mexico?

If you have an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy undertaken in Thailand and are a non-resident (such as an Australian), are there any requirements before the procedure (i.e. do you have to have confirmation from a psychiatrist or psychologist, etc)?

For anyone, was your Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy done under local or general anaesthetic? I probably prefer local (as I have issues with anaesthetics; there are solutions for general anaesthetics, and I would like to know my options).

For those from anywhere who had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy at the same time, what was the recovery time and issues?

For anyone, did you have any fears or concerns before having an Orchiectomy &/or Scrotectomy, how did you manage them, and were any realised after the procedure?

Sorry if this is a bit much, but I suppose this is the level of detail running around my mind like a mouse on a wheel!

Thanks.

[WheelyFixed]

Welcome to the forums, hope you learn what you came here for, and make good progress towards your goals.

Hi, I am a first-time poster, so I will potentially get some of my questions mixed up.

Background

I am 61 years old and live in Sydney, Australia. I don't know any eunuchs in Sydney (or elsewhere, to be honest, except for seeing people here and on Twitter). I am gay (although I was married to a woman for 20 years and have adult kids. I knew I was different, probably when I was about 8 or 9 years old in the early 1970s, but I had no language. I later found that being gay was unacceptable, and I spent most of my early life trying to be acceptable (long story) and couldn't be who I am. Eventually, my MH got so bad something had to give, and the closet door gave way.

I have hated my testicles and scrotum for a long time, and I also have pain on my right side. (? Vaccectamy, many years ago). I had some ultrasounds, but nothing was found.

I really didn't realise that castration was a real option, and over the last 12 months, I have become more obsessed with the want, but I am still very nervous about what my kids and others might say if/when they find out. (it is bloody hard to get over trying to be acceptable to everyone else).

So, some questions.

Is it necessary to tell people? Aside from the many various medical folks I have to deal with, the only person that knows is my long time GF (most people think she is my wife, but we aren't married). I told her when I first realized that castration was something I wanted because I felt it was important that she be at least OK with it... Aside from getting bigger it doesn't really show, and I figure the only people that need to know what I've (not) got in my pants are anyone that I might want to get into them....

I would really love to talk to anyone in Australia (or Asia-Pacific) who has had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy for non-cancer reasons.

I'm not from your neck of the woods, and am not gay, but my journey sounds somewhat like yours, and my surgery definitely matches your desires.

For those who live in the Asia-Pacific region and had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy, where did you have your procedure undertaken, why there and are you happy with the result?

I had my procedure in the US (Mass) at my local hospital, through my local Transgender Center, as one of the early folks to go through the process in the WPATH SOC v8 which was still in draft form when I started, but has since been released. I don't know what the current options are for folks in AU these days, might be worth checking out...

Does anyone have a view of the best hospital and surgeon for an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy in the Asia-Pacific region?

No, sorry but I don't... Hopefully others w/ more knowledge will chime in. Interestingly, while I've seen various mentions of going to Thailand and / or India, I have not seen a lot of mention of actual hospitals or doctors. OTOH I've seen MANY reports of folks seeing Dr. Aguilar (sp?) in Mexico, and all seem very happy with the work he's done.

Does anyone know what the pricing differences might be between Thailand and Mexico?

No, sorry but I don't... Hopefully others w/ more knowledge will chime in.

If you have an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy undertaken in Thailand and are a non-resident (such as an Australian), are there any requirements before the procedure (i.e. do you have to have confirmation from a psychiatrist or psychologist, etc)?

No definite idea. I think it may depend on the facility, as I've heard some saying 'informed consent' others saying that getting blessed by the shrinks is needed... I've also heard that there have been some fairly recent rule changes that make it harder for non-citizens. However since I wasn't looking personally at that option, I haven't paid that much attention to it.

For anyone, was your Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy done under local or general anaesthetic? I probably prefer local (as I have issues with anaesthetics; there are solutions for general anaesthetics, and I would like to know my options).

I believe mine was done mostly under general (I slept through it ) with an IV of happy juice and I think they said Propalonol (sp?) via a mask. I was NOT intubated, and was not under for long. I think a factor in the drugs they chose was the fact that I emphatically refuse any form of opioids because of having gotten hooked on Fentanyl by my docs when I was in rehab after my SCI, and gone through hell getting off it... I'm not letting that monkey back in the room, let alone on my back...

For those from anywhere who had an Orchiectomy & Scrotectomy at the same time, what was the recovery time and issues?

I had them both at the same time. I spent the next couple of days mostly in bed (other than meals and bodily functions), but probably could have done limited activities the day after. For about a week or so, I kept my activities limited but gradually did more and more, and after about 10-12 days was mostly back to normal activities w/ some discomfort.

Because of my SCI, I have to do intermittent catheterizing because of a neurogenic bladder (I also leak a lot). Since my hadn't worked right since I got hurt, it has shrunk a lot, to the point where it is almost internal, and I have to really work to pull it out enough to cath. I had them put in a Foley during surgery, and they told me to pull it after the 3rd day. However I had enough swelling that I found it almost impossible to get enough of my dick out to get the cath in, and the attempts seemed to make the swelling worse, to the point where I had to go into the emergency room overnight because I couldn't cath. They put in another Foley and left it for about 2 weeks until things had largely healed and the swelling had gone down.... Presumably if I had normal bladder function, or a more average sized dick, it wouldn't have been a problem.

I didn't need any pain killers other than over the counter stuff like Tylenol - however one of the nurses said that Alleve (Naproxen) is actually better for dealing w/ swelling, and I mostly used that, and not for all that long.... They offered me a scrip for Oxycontin, but I told them (nicely) where they could put that... Because SCI folks like me are usually 'colonized' to some extent because of cathing, I also did a lengthy course of antibiotics before and after the surgery, again mostly by my request - when you have a SCI, you have to become a bit of a specialist in what care you need, and advocate for it...

There is a lengthy thread where I go through my adventures from the time I first got my surgical date to when I was done w/ recovery http://forums.eunuch.org/showthread.php ... got+a+date

For anyone, did you have any fears or concerns before having an Orchiectomy &/or Scrotectomy, how did you manage them, and were any realised after the procedure?

Mostly minor ones about possible complications in the time after I got over all the obstacles... During the journey, I'd say my biggest concern was getting the blessings from the shrinks, as I personally have zero belief in that area and have had some rather negative past experiences... However the ones I saw were referrals from the TG center, who made it pretty painless. (I suspect some of it was that they were already inclined to be OK given that they were used to working with the center, so by the time they'd see you it was mostly 'pro-forma' rubber stamping of what the TG docs had already OK'd)

Sorry if this is a bit much, but I suppose this is the level of detail running around my mind like a mouse on a wheel!

Thanks.

No problem, glad to help others on their journey as a way of paying forward the help I got on mine...

WheelyFixed

[PinoyEunuch (imported)]

Hi, I'm in the Philippines (Asia-Pacific region) and had my orchiectomy done under local anesthesia. I can refer you to a doctor who can perform an orchiectomy with just informed consent. Most of their patients are transgender, but they also do the procedure for non-trans individuals.

As for having both the orchiectomy and scrotectomy done at the same time, I'm not sure if they accommodate that. Mine was done in stages: first the orchiectomy, and then, after the initial swelling had settled (around 6 months later), I went back for the scrotum removal.

[WheelyFixed]

I would add to my earlier comments, that I'm glad I got both the balls and scrotum done at the same time, as it meant only having to heal up once.... It was interesting to note that I think I had more pain and discomfort from the scrotum removal than the testicles... I never really noticed anything that I associated with the orchie, but the scrotum was a pain...

FWIW, at least some of the members that had two separate procedures have said the scrotectomy was more painful and took longer to get over than the orchie.

WheelyFixed

[PinoyEunuch (imported)]

Hi, I'm in the Philippines (Asia-Pacific region) and had my orchiectomy done under local anesthesia. I can refer you to a doctor who can perform an orchiectomy with just informed consent. Most of their patients are transgender, but they also do the procedure for non-trans individuals.

As for having both the orchiectomy and scrotectomy done at the same time, I'm not sure if they accommodate that. Mine was done in stages: first the orchiectomy, and then, after the initial swelling had settled (around 6 months later), I went back for the scrotum removal.

Correction: my scrotectomy was done 3 months after my orchiectomy. I had scrotectony revision done 6 months after the 1st one.

[AussieNSFW (imported)]

Yes thank you if you could provide me with the of your specialist. Were you procedures in Manila or somewhere else?

[PinoyEunuch (imported)]

I have sent you a private PM on the clinic details. It’s just outside Manila.

[AussieNSFW (imported)]

Thanks PinoyEunuch, unfortunately I haven't see the PM. Being a newby I might be looking the right place.

[Paolo]

You'll need at least 5 forum posts before the PM feature will work. Just reply to this one, and you should be good.

[PinoyEunuch (imported)]

Sent the details in an email. Kindly let me know if you received it. I’m not trying to gatekeep; it’s just that the clinic doesn’t advertise the orchiectomy procedure on their page. However, they are nice and will communicate with you if you let them know that you are a serious inquiry.