Hi,

I'm TG and I've been on HRT for 4-5 years now. My libido and T-levels are, essentially, zero and I'm quite happy with that. I was living as a woman for a while, but I'm currently living as a very androdygnous guy (mostly just an issue of cutting my hair short).

Anyway, I'm not interested in trying to explicitly live as a woman for a variety of reasons (parents, the stress of deception, etc), so I'm not going down that road, but I don't want to have to forever be on high levels of meds (200mg spiro and 4mg estrofem). So I'd like to have an orchiectomy done, but I don't know where to look for surgeons. Someone suggested Marci Bowers but she requires a letter from a urologist and a therapist. I don't mind getting one from a therapist, as I've seen some gender-specialists before, but I'd really rather not have to throw myself out there to random urologists and beg a letter from them for something.

Does anyone know of surgeons that will perform an elective orchiectomy in the US? Someone else mentioned a Dr. Kimmel, but I don't have any contact information. If anyone has any information - names, what they require, prices, or other places to look, I'd appreciate the help

Thanks,

Ev

Hi,

emj800 (imported) wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:55 pm I'm TG and I've been on HRT for 4-5 years now. My libido and T-levels are, essentially, zero and I'm quite happy with that. I was living as a woman for a while, but I'm currently living as a very androdygnous guy (mostly just an issue of cutting my hair short).

Anyway, I'm not interested in trying to explicitly live as a woman for a variety of reasons (parents, the stress of deception, etc), so I'm not going down that road, but I don't want to have to forever be on high levels of meds (200mg spiro and 4mg estrofem). So I'd like to have an orchiectomy done, but I don't know where to look for surgeons. Someone suggested Marci Bowers but she requires a letter from a urologist and a therapist. I don't mind getting one from a therapist, as I've seen some gender-specialists before, but I'd really rather not have to throw myself out there to random urologists and beg a letter from them for something.

Does anyone know of surgeons that will perform an elective orchiectomy in the US? Someone else mentioned a Dr. Kimmel, but I don't have any contact information. If anyone has any information - names, what they require, prices, or other places to look, I'd appreciate the help

Thanks,

Ev

There are many Urologists who do SRS work, and a number of sympathetic urologists who may not do SRS but who would assist in getting there. Look up urologists in the phone book, call them, and ask them if they are receptive to such things. If not, no money lost.

As for Murray Kimmel, MD, he is in Philadelphia. His numbers are

Dr. Kimmel's phone number: (215) 563-0847

Dr. Kimmel's FAX number: (215) 568-4881

Give him a call, he will discuss issues with you, as well as travel, hotel, prices, etc.

You could e-mail Dr. Alter and tell him your circumstances to see if he could help you. Here's the link to his web site: http://www.altermd.com/ He charges a little more than Kimmel, but he is well worth it. I'm very happy with the job he did on me.

CALIFORNIA

416 North Bedford Drive

Suite 400

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

t) 310.275.5566

f) 310.271.0521

altermd@earthlink.net

NEW YORK

461 Park Avenue South

7th Floor Suite

New York, NY 10016

t) 310.275.5566

f) 310.271.0521

altermd@earthlink.net

Dr Bowers only asks for a single letter from your Therapist for doing a bilateral Orchiectomy.

I quote "The HBIGDA Standards of Care requirements for Orchiectomy are similar to those for GRS/SRS (real life experience, etc). Please refer to our GRS Requirements for Surgery page for additional details. Normally, only a single letter of recommendation is required, although patients are expected to be living fulltime."

The therapist letter is the "sanity" check. Not many surgeons want to do this type of surgery unless they have a fair idea the person is rational and able to make this decision. It sounds like this is no problem for you so I would say go ahead and contact her - I don't have first hand experience with her but I've spoken to her and I think she would be able to help you and is very well experienced. *Plus one of the few surgeons who has had SRS so first hand experience might be a plus.

I would echo that there are a lot of other choices. You might want to talk to your GP and get a referal to a local Uro. The nice thing about having it done near home is you don't have to travel so far and you can recover better (I think) in your own "nest" not in some hotel...

BTW if your worried about the URO not being interested in your case a good idea is to call the Triage Nurse and tell her your situation and just ask "Is there a doctor who treats people with GID/transexual? I'm interested in an Orchiectomy and would like a surgeon who has done this before." They will be able to tell you very matter of fact "yes Dr So and So can help you or No, I don't think we have any experts on staff but maybe over at this and that clinic" It sure saves a lot of screwing around. And btw this worked in my case for my m2M sex change (don't ask... Long story)

One personal suggestion. Ask that whoever does it removes the cords as high up as possible and injects the cords with a nerve block before they cut the testicles free. From what my doctor said this lowers the potential for phantom pains. And short cords mean no loose ends dangling inside the scrotum and or possibly attaching to the wall causing you pains you don't want.

Hi,

emj800 (imported) wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:55 pm I'm TG and I've been on HRT for 4-5 years now. My libido and T-levels are, essentially, zero and I'm quite happy with that. I was living as a woman for a while, but I'm currently living as a very androdygnous guy (mostly just an issue of cutting my hair short).

Anyway, I'm not interested in trying to explicitly live as a woman for a variety of reasons (parents, the stress of deception, etc), so I'm not going down that road, but I don't want to have to forever be on high levels of meds (200mg spiro and 4mg estrofem). So I'd like to have an orchiectomy done, but I don't know where to look for surgeons. Someone suggested Marci Bowers but she requires a letter from a urologist and a therapist. I don't mind getting one from a therapist, as I've seen some gender-specialists before, but I'd really rather not have to throw myself out there to random urologists and beg a letter from them for something.

Does anyone know of surgeons that will perform an elective orchiectomy in the US? Someone else mentioned a Dr. Kimmel, but I don't have any contact information. If anyone has any information - names, what they require, prices, or other places to look, I'd appreciate the help

Thanks,

Ev

I think that there would be more practitioners out there willing to do an orchie if it wasn't for the potential for legal problems after the fact is someone wasn't happy with the outcome. The Dr's have to show that they have done some due diligience. I am not sure that I have a problem with that actually but I know that getting a letter from a Therapist can be an impediment. OTOH if it is an impediment it may be that you are not really fully prepared and therefore should think it through one more time.

If you do a Google on Marci Bowers in Trinidad Colorado you will find a lot of information on her and it all sounds like she is not only well qualified to do an orchiectomy but is also practical about it since she has done some pretty professional looking SRS proceedures from the pix she has posted there of outcomes. "Have a look for yourself and think about it" is probably the best advice I can offer right now,

Dr. Bowers knows the field and seems helpful, knowledgeable and competent. From her office I learned of one of her trainees, also transgendered, who has a TG/SRS clinic named Papillion. Find it on the web. It's about half-way between New York City and Philadelphia. They responded fully and almost instantaneously to my queries. I'm a little put off by learning they require evaluations from two shrinks, both experienced in working with TG issues. (trying to find clients who will enable her to network with more and more TGs?)

I've been rejected so far by two "straight" urologists, after a number of visits. They declare I don't need it, they'll "cure" me with antibiotics. I'm a little afraid of getting a reputation among urologists in my area that I'm a slightly dotty old man, and that the more I seek among "straight" uurologists, the more my reputation and sincerity will be questioned. I have the name of one urologiist who, according to information given by one urologist to a personal friend of mine who asked around for me, an MD, "is the sort of person who might do such an unethical procedure." I don't want to go to a surgeon who's seen as being somewhat unethical or careless or money-crazed, or whateever.

The unfortunate reality for all of us, TG or otherwise, is that most doctors want nothing to do with us because of the aforementioned fear of lawsuits by some guy that does it and regrets it.

Also troublesome is the fact that once you go find a non-licensed person to help you, then they bring you into the system with nearly open arms and treat you like an actual patient instead of a wacko. Everyone that I've talked to that has gone through the urological route expressed the same issues - Antibiotics, pain, etc. and nobody would help. Once they took matters into their "own" hands, suddenly the medical establishment was there with all the help they could want.

The issue is getting the medical community to recognize this as a legitimate issue and not see gender and genitals as merely binary (male or female). They all seem to think that if you're male and you want to lose the twins, that you're obviously on the road to be a woman, and I can *definitely* say that isn't the case with 95% of us.

I just wish we could get someone like Dr. Bowers to pay attention to us. Even if it is to bring a colleague of hers into the mix to treat us.

Losethem (imported) wrote: Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:13 pm The issue is getting the medical community to recognize this as a legitimate issue and not see gender and genitals as merely binary (male or female). They all seem to think that if you're male and you want to lose the twins, that you're obviously on the road to be a woman, and I can *definitely* say that isn't the case with 95% of us.

I just wish we could get someone like Dr. Bowers to pay attention to us. Even if it is to bring a colleague of hers into the mix to treat us.

I think that everyone is taking the wrong approach in getting castrated. I don't understand why everyone is so scared of having to see a shrink or two. I had to see 3 shrinks. The first two were to get Dr. Alter to see me and the third was a shrink of his choice that he trusted. They all said I was gender dysphoric, but the main thing they said was that I wasn't crazy and knew what I was getting myself into. When Dr. Alter wrote down the reason for my castration, he just wrote down "Dysphoria". I asked him if he would be willing to help others on the Eunuch Archive and he said he would as long as they weren't crazy. I don't think that is too much to ask. I think that if your not willing to jump through a few hoops and pay the price of a safe and correct procedure, you don't want it bad enough to get castrated. I've said this before, but it holds true; you either have to pay to get it done right or you have to pay with money and pain if you get it done the wrong way. I'm happy that I chose the right way. I think it cost me less in the long run. I had very little pain, no complications, minimal scarring, didn't have to have someone else fix any screw ups and I didn't loose much work. I was back to work in 12 days and that was with scrotum removal also. Do yourselves a favor and do it right or don't do it at all!!!!

I want to echo Hairless. The shrink I had to see before my "castration" for pain / atrophy said that being asked for this was becoming more and more common for more and more treatments.

The shrink I saw said that my "rational" for this sounded perfectly normal to him. And it was rather nice to have my wishes "validated" before going under the knife. I have taken the position that Doctors have a valid reason for asking for this what with the sue happy people in the world making things difficult for everyone and remember people. This is a one way street. There are no "do over" orchiectomies. A fact which I was reminded of about 20 times...

Hairless (imported) wrote: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:17 pm I think that everyone is taking the wrong approach in getting castrated. I don't understand why everyone is so scared of having to see a shrink or two. I had to see 3 shrinks. The first two were to get Dr. Alter to see me and the third was a shrink of his choice that he trusted. They all said I was gender dysphoric, but the main thing they said was that I wasn't crazy and knew what I was getting myself into. When Dr. Alter wrote down the reason for my castration, he just wrote down "Dysphoria". I asked him if he would be willing to help others on the Eunuch Archive and he said he would as long as they weren't crazy. I don't think that is too much to ask. I think that if your not willing to jump through a few hoops and pay the price of a safe and correct procedure, you don't want it bad enough to get castrated. I've said this before, but it holds true; you either have to pay to get it done right or you have to pay with money and pain if you get it done the wrong way. I'm happy that I chose the right way. I think it cost me less in the long run. I had very little pain, no complications, minimal scarring, didn't have to have someone else fix any screw ups and I didn't loose much work. I was back to work in 12 days and that was with scrotum removal also. Do yourselves a favor and do it right or don't do it at all!!!!

Hairless (imported) wrote: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:17 pm I don't understand why everyone is so scared of having to see a shrink or two.

Been there, done that.

Last time, I was 11.

Next time, if forced, I take 4 handguns with me.