Voice Surgery

[tori-e]

Hi there,

I just thought I'd past this along for those that are interested. This past Tuesday I had a trachea shave and voice surgery. Everything has turned out very well so far. Aside from the swelling, the bump seems mostly gone and my voice pitch so far is very good. No "mini-mouse" sounds. I've written more on my website... http://members.shaw.ca/tori-e/VoiceSurgery.htm

One thing I have to say is the staff at the UBC hospital were amazing. Didn't hear a male pronoun all day.

lots of love,
Victoria

[jenna19]

Congratulations Tori. UBC has a very good hospital. I had to go there several times with a woman I used to work for and the doctors and nurses were always top notch.

[Lissa Stevens]

Congradulations. I hope all goes well with you recovery and I hope you like the results.

[Siobhan Marie]

Congratulations Tori, I wish you a smooth recovery hun.

huge :hugs: Anna Marie x

[CaptLex]

Congrats, Tori. Time to celebrate. :cheers:

[Cora]

Good to hear you are doing well. Pleese keep us up to date with how you progress. Best wishes!

Cora

[Shellybean]

Hey, I am interested in having that done. Do you have any more details.? Since I live so close to UBC...
Hugz

[Lauren B]

I'm glad that your surgery went very well. I was sort of surprised to see this kind of post because everything that I've read about voice surgery has been negative and cautionary. Had you heard the same things, and if you did, what made you go through with it anyway?

I hope that your recovery continues to go well.

Danielle

[Danielle_oc_ca]

Is this becoming a UBC Hospital thread? My daughter was in the mental health ward for 2 weeks in 2006. She was totally mis-diagnosed and it was a total waste of time and resourced. I got her cured in LA on an outpatient basis by simply having the LA doctor stop the progestins she was taking for endometriosis. However, the staff and facilities there are top notch.

When she was to get her hysterectomy for the enfometriosis, we could have had it done (on insurance) at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, Western Pennsylvania Medical (she goes to college in Pittsburgh), Hospital Angeles in Tijuana (a top notch hospital for those with no insurance and who want to pay alot less) and most ant ither place inOrange County Califirnia and we chose the UBC Facility of Vancouver Hospital. What was previously known as Vancouver General. The place had terra cotta in the netrance instead of marble like Hoag in Newport Beach but otherwise everything was the best. The only thing is that because it is a teaching hospital, there were something like 17 interns observing.

I'm a Canadian living in the USA, and except for maybe a couple superstar places like Cedars Sinai in LA, comparing to hospitals regular unsured people can afford, I would put Canada's facilities up against anyone's.

Danielle

[tori-e]

Hey, I am interested in having that done. Do you have any more details.? Since I live so close to UBC...
Hugz

Hi Shellybean,

(Sorry for the delay. I don't get into the forum much these days.)

The doctor is Murray Morrison and he works in the Pacific Voice clinic. If you want to see him you will need a referral from your doctor. Please PM if you want more info.

Victoria

[tori-e]

I'm glad that your surgery went very well. I was sort of surprised to see this kind of post because everything that I've read about voice surgery has been negative and cautionary. Had you heard the same things, and if you did, what made you go through with it anyway?

I hope that your recovery continues to go well.

Danielle

Hi Danielle,

My main intent was to have the TCR done. This particular doctor also does the voice surgery and it cost only a bit more to have it done and it is no more invasive than the TCR itself.

I have done voice training for over two years and was still not satisfied with the results. So I took a chance and did this. As far as final pitch is concerned, the procedure, as the doctor did it, is actually quite unpredictable. He agreed to doing some tuning for me instead of the usual "crank it all the way" that he would normally do. I know a few other transwomen that have gone to him and was comfortable that he would do a good job.

I think I did my research and considered my decision carefully. However, if you can get the desired results without surgery, I would not do this.

Now after about, what six weeks, my pitch has settled to about 160 Hz. A little lower than I wanted. But, with the voice training, I feel more confident talking to people in day to day living. I guess that's all the really counts.

Danielle oc ca,

Hi Danielle,

I've had a few occasions to use the BC medical system and despite all the griping you hear in the media, I have had no problems or suffered long delays. When it comes to needing health care, I still think Canada is pretty good place to live.

lots of love,
Victoria