chewing on drywall thinking about how many people never pursue phalloplasty because of transphobic misinformation about functionality & appearance & the belief that anything less than the Platonic Ideal of Human Penis is completely worthless
My mother tells me it's not an option for "Someone like me", but I was a little interested in the concept as a potential procedure to look into. Do you have any links where I could read up on it?
I was told that no one who gets phalloplasty feels it, there's no nerves there, the ability to feel pleasure is completely gone, and that there is a high risk for mistakes. I never really believed any of the stuff people told me about it, but I have no other sources to get truthful resources.
Yes! phallo.net is a good resource for information. They have a ton of articles explaining all different parts of the process (including stuff for nonbinary people) and have resources on finding surgeons. (There's also metoidioplasty.net for people interested in meta!). r/phallo on Reddit is another good place to check out. There's a lot of discussion about the process & different experiences, & people post photos ranging from "day after first surgery" to "fully completed, healed and tattooed." You can also check out Finley Games, who has extensively documented his experience with phalloplasty on his blog and in his memoir.
Its not true that phallo means you won't have any nerves or be able to feel pleasure. Nerves are taken from the donor site and connected to the nerves in the pelvis (like the clitoris), & they regrow so that the new penis develops sensation. The most common type of phalloplasty (RFF, where the skin is taken from the forearm) has high success rates. Dr. Blair Peters is a queer surgeon who specializes bottom surgery & has done a lot of work focusing on sensation; they were the doctor who did the study that found out how many nerves are in the clitoris. He has written a lot of articles looking into improving sensation in bottom surgery & their team at OHSU has a guide on how to improve post-op nerve rehab.
Phallo.net has a page on the risks & complications here. It is nowhere near as bad as people will make it out to be (it is extremely unlikely that it will become necrotic, despite how much people love talking about that). From what I know, most complications come from urethral lengthening, which is what is done to allow people to stand to pee. Phalloplasty is much more complicated than top surgery, but its not a butcher job & it has been shown to have a high satisfaction rate despite this. A good doctor will ask you what you want to prioritize and avoid in your bottom surgery, & work with you to find out the best course to take.
@genderkoolaid i'm reblogging this post again because it legitimately sent me on my journey to obtain phallo. i am currently 3ish weeks post-op and have a small amount of wound separation on my leg and some maceration. all should heal in time :)
if the kind of sex or masturbation you want to have involves a penis of your own that you can feel, it's a reality you can pursue. you can even keep your vagina if you want to, depending on your goals.
i opted for a pedicled thigh graft because i had some tissue loss on my nipples with top surgery (which used a free flap graft). pedicled grafts are usually a little less risky for necrosis/graft loss, if that is a concern.
life is short. don't wait.
CONGRATS!!!!!! no honor greater than inspiring someone's penis journey :)
