What is the surgery and medical procedures trans FTM have to go through? I think I am transgender and don't know what I'm looking at when searching online.
All forms of hormones and surgeries are completely optional for FTM trans people to undertake. Keep in mind, to be trans, you don't necessarily have to want to have every surgery. Testosterone: can be taken through gels, creams, pills, or injections. I would say that injections are probably the most common form. T (as it's usually called) cause voice deepening, body hair increase, sweat increase, change in fat distribution, libido and clitoris increase, male pattern baldness (irreversible), acne, increase in appetite and energy, cease of menstruation. Basically, it's a second puberty. (Pretty much had this one memorized, lol) Breast Removal: Keyhole Surgery: the least invasive form, doctors suction out breast tissue. Usually only done for A cups. This one has the least amount of scarring. Bilateral Mastectomy: for larger guys, leaves two large scars beneath the breast and removes tissue. Nipples are removed and resized. This can cause loss of sensation in nipples. This site is pretty helpful for any of your questions. Female to Male Transsexuals | Gender Reassignment and FTM Surgery I'm not very familiar with the different types of bottom surgery, so another member might be able to help you out there. Hope this helped!
Pills are less common now because they can cause liver damage, and injections are generally the most common and affordable. For all things FTM related, check out this site: Hudson's FTM Resource Guide
Hormones Puberty blockers/period blockers: Delay puberty or stop periods. Most commonly Luprolide or Depot Lupron, which are injected every 3 months or Suprellin or Histrelin-which are implants, replaced once a year and put in under local anesthesia (which reduces pain in a specific area, the patient is awake). Puberty blockers are ideal when a person is first starting to hit puberty, like developing breast buds or body hair, period blockers are for any age. Testosterone (T): Can be injected (most common), worn as a patch, or as gel. It can't be taken as a pill, like MTFs take estrogen because T can't be digested properly. It takes about six years for all of the effects to take place, depending on the person. Most will happen within the first year. The effects are thickening of the vocal chords and deepening of the voice, increased body/facial hair, enlargement of the clitoris, no more menstruation, onset male pattern baldness (not necessarily right away) and a more masculine hair line, body fat redistribution (fat moves to stomach, and muscle is built more easily), increased perspiration, acne (not necessarily permanantly), increase in red blood cells and LDL, rougher skin, increased libido and change in smell. DHT: Stands for dihydrotestosterone. Unlike regular T, it cannot convert to estrogen, so it is very potent. Once a person has been on T far at least two years, he might use this to enlarge his clitoris--usually if he's opting for metoidioplasty in the next few months. It can also result in hairless and growth is guaranteed. It takes 3 months for growth to be maxed out. Top surgery Bilateral mastectomy: Two incisions are made below each pectoral muscle to get rid of excess skin, breast tissue is cut and liposuctioned out. Skin is repositioned for a more masculine chest and sometimes nipples are made smaller. Then drains are usually sewed into the area, so fluid can drain out. This is done under general anesthesia, so the patient is unconscious. The surgery can take 2-3 hours. Normal exercise can usually be resumed in 2 weeks, but support (like a binder or elastic shirt) needs to be worn for a month. This is usually performed on patients with a large B-cup or bigger. Leaves visible scars. Periareolar and keyhole: Two small incisions are made under the areola, and the tissue is liposuctioned out in keyhole. Periareolar is similar, but it's around the entire areola. Sometimes nipples are reshaped, sometimes not. Under general anesthesia, periareolar surgery takes 3-5 hours and keyhole takes 1.5-3 hours. Most regular activity can be resumed after 2 weeks, support should be worn for a month, no heavy lifting or raising your arms over your head for 4-6 weeks. Usually performed on patients with an A-cup or small B-cup. Does not leave scars Hysterectomy and Oopherectomy Total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH): Uterus and cervis are removed from an incision made in the abdomen. Surgery lasts 1-3 hours, there's a 3-5 day hospital stay, 6-8 week recovery, and a 4-6" scar above the pubic hair line. Total vagical hysterectomy (TVH): Similar to TAH, but through the vagina. 1-3 day hospital stay, 6-8 week recovery, no scar. There are alternative options involving a several small incisions so a laproscope can be inserted into the abdomen for more visibility. For a laproscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy, recovery is 4-6 weeks shorter and the hospital stay is 1-2 days. For a total laproscopical hysterectomy, the uterus is removed vaginally or abdominally with incisions in the abdomen for a laproscope. The recovery for that is 2-4 weeks, and there's a 1-2 day hospital stay. Bilateral Salpingo Oophorectomy (BSO): This removes ovaries and fallopian tubes, and is typically done at the same time as a hysterectomy. Bottom Surgery Phalloplasty: Flesh is taken from a donor sight (usually forearm, thigh, or back) and is used to construct a phallus. This is done in multiple stages. It have a rod implant or be inflated. Sensation is generally decent, and it looks realistic. It's usually around 6 inches. It can also have veins tattooed on it for realism. Glansplasty: Typically done with phalloplasty to make the head more realistic Vaginectomy: The entire vagina is removed. Not necessary for bottom surgery, but highly recommended. Not getting one increases the risk of fistula. Metoidioplasty: Tissue is repositioned to create a phallus. It ends up being roughly the size of the patient's current junk, but it's shaped differently so he can stand to pee. Scrotoplasty: Labia major is constructed into a scrotum, then testicular implants are put into it. Sorry that was so long, but I didn't want to leave anything out.
