A Rebuttal to TGCD.net Admin Laura Gonzales

The following was posted to the TGCD.net forums in response to a front page blog in which admin Laura Gonzales, shortly after her SRS in Philadelphia, proceeded to issue a blanket condemnation of Non-US SRS surgeons. As someone who was asked, explicitly, all about my experiences in Bangkok with Dr. Pichet by this woman at a time when she herself was considering Dr. Suporn in the same city, I could not let this slide. I realize this is a bit of a side-step to my typical blog, but I wanted to provide an additional source for this document, as well, just in case the version on TGCD should "disappear."



Dear Laura:

I consider you a friend, and have since I met you. I can safely say that meeting the love of my life at your club changed me forever. For that, I do not want you to consider this an attack. However, your recent front page blog posting regarding US SRS doctors has me somewhat concerned, and more than a little upset!

In the months between my January SRS and yours in June, you approached me multiple times, both in person, and through various media, inquiring as to the services provided to me by my surgeon, Dr. Pichet Rodchareon of Bangkok, Thailand. I gave you my honest review, one that I have posted numerous times to many sites dedicated to the topic, and one that I repeat here below:

"Dr. Pichet Rodchareon, Dindaeng district, Bangkok, Thailand, of Bangkok Plastic Surgery, has been serving the cis & trans communities of the world for over 20 years. His training has taken him from Boston to Barcelona and beyond. His staff is comprised of men and women from all over with a full knowledge and experience of what it means to truly care for the trans community; indeed, the clinic includes several trans women among the nursing staff, as well. English, Japanese, and Chinese interpreters are available 24/7 while under care, and other interpreters can be arranged as needed.

When I arrived at the airport at 3am local time, the doctor had arrrainged a free shuttle to the hotel where I was booked. The next day, I was driven to the clinic itself for my first face-to-face consultation after many months of phone and e-mail conversations. I received a full step by step coverage, complete with pictures (to my mother's surprise, as she was not expecting them at first) detailing the procedure. Before any further preperations could be made, I had to be certified by another psychologist in Bangkok. I was shuttled, for free, to a nearby hospital for an objective 3rd party opinion. This was in addition to the previous psychological clearence I obtained from Dr. Paul Oberron in West Hollywood, back home.

Only after all was cleared and paperwork was provided for everyone's insurance records was the procedure to be finalized. The next morning, I was picked up again from my hotel, prepared to stay at the clinic for the next 4 days. The procedure went very smoothly, and for the next few days, I was the center of the staff's attention. I knew I could count on the nurses for medication, meals, exercise. On the 3rd day, even though I knew I could not take a full shower with the medical packing and catheter still in, I asked politely for a chance to wash my hair, and Ana, the senior nurse supervisor, personally walked me into the shower and helped me wash my hair and wipe my body down. Her nurses then took the extra time to style my hair for me. I felt so much better after that. I'll never forget those little things that made my experience so wonderful!

For the remainder of my 3 weeks in Bangkok, I continued to be examined twice a week or more to ensure that recovery would continue smoothly once I returned to the states. Throughout my entire stay, the same was always true: I was treated with amazing kindness and politeness. I never paid any extra fees once my initial charges were paid; every little medical supply was included. All of my transportation was included. The only things I needed to pay for were my hotel, airfare, and any extra sight seeing I wanted to do after discharge to the hotel. They even helped arrange for a two day excursion to Pattaya!

It has been 5 months now and I am fully recovered. I am completely orgasm-capable via clitoris or g-spot; I can even squirt (female ejaculation). I have all the functionality I could ever have wanted and more. And I was treated so well. I will continue to advocate for Dr. Pichet's practice and his wonderful, kind, caring, and incredibly knowledgable staff."

Back to you, Laura. You mentioned before you were looking into Dr. Suporn's practice several times after I came back from Dr. Pichet. I gave you what I knew. I find it very strange, then, that you now seem to condemn any person that wishes to travel outside the states for SRS. It has an almost classist tone to it, too; we know that many trans people need surgery in order to feel complete in their identity, and we also know that Western doctors, mostly due to US gouging in health care, cannot afford a US doctor. Asian doctors help provide that option to lower class trans people who need these services.

I wish you the best in your recovery.
With love,
~Sera Wohldmann

Day 5

Wow, feels like today was a long one. Best start from the top, then...

Eventually I managed to get a sleeping pill that put me out pretty good, though it was at lest 03:30 by then. I was out pretty damn good, though, as I was still groggy when they woke me up and walked me to the OR at 08:00 sharp. At that point, the anesthesiologist greeted me with a "Good Morning" and a mask, and I was back on my ass. I woke up a good 3 hours after my 30 minute touch up. My packing and catheters were finally out and my leg mobility greatly improved. There was a minor issue with my IV coming dislodged, and I noticed it very quickly when I needed another round of painkillers. They removed the first one and put a new one in the other hand. Got a lot better after that.

They showed me my after-care regimen. It seems like a lot of steps until the swelling goes down, but I want the best result, so I'll keep it up. I can walk pretty well now, no dizziness, no walker, nothing like that.  Actually the only thing I have to wear is a good old fashioned sanitary napkin as the area drains. And by old fashioned I mean the kind that hook to an inner belt. I also am sitting on a hemorrhoid donut to keep pressure off.

All in all, it feels GREAT to have both the packing bulge and the "natural" bulge from before out of the picture. I go back to the clinic for a follow up visit on Monday. I have enough supplies until then. We'll see how the weekend goes :)

Day 3

Not quite as much excitement today. Sleep was pretty hellish as painkillers came and went throughout the night. Got kinda nauseous around mealtime a couple times today. They hit me with some kind of injection and made it easier to eat. The anti-biotics and anti swelling medicines are working fine, as most of the soreness dissipated throughout the day. All in all, much better, though I stayed in bed almost the whole time, of course.

I got to talk to my baby a couple of times. I love talking to her. She makes my world in every way. As much as I love my Mom physically being here and supporting me, helping me with little things, I know she is here in spirit, and the soreness just goes away. I love you, baby :)

In the evening, they brought a walker for me. I got a chance to walk around the hospital floor, and got a quick washdown while I was up. Felt a lot better, though such a small walk was surprisingly exhausting. I got kinda dizzy and very hot. After a rest, though, I managed to do fine. My legs are very restless anyways, so I needed it.

Hoping tomorrow I should be able to get the packing out and cleaned up, and if so, a shower and a shave! Afterwards I'll probably be starting my dialating regimen. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Love you all, and thank you for the support!

Day 2

Don't suppose anyone got the license plate number on that truck, eh? No? Oh well. At least that's how I feel right about now, along with wondering why I was chosen  to test drive the world's largest tampon.


The day of the big surgery. I woke up and took a shower, then chatted a bit with my mom while she ate breakfast at the hotel. The plan was to check out of the hotel and stay at the clinic for up to 4 days until I could stand on my own, then back to the hotel. We got picked up at 8am sharp.

Shortly after arriving, I had to take care of the fun stuff, like blood work, urine sample, and a colon wash. That was fun. I'm not gonna lie, I like anal sex, so I'm no stranger to things being back there, but that was still a weird feeling. We then moved out things into the room we'll be staying for a couple days, my Mom and I. I got her set up on the wi-fi before they came in and told me it was time.

I met the anesthesiologist, who told me what he'd be hitting me with as he laid me down on the table. They put on the heart monitors, the blood pressure cuff, and the IV. They set my legs up on the other end. I had a good size team of nurses running around. I got numbed from the middle of my back on down, and then they partially knocked me out. Partially, apparently, though they put the blanket propped up in front of my face. I felt like I was in there for about 45 minutes, though I was in a bit of a haze most of that time. Turns out it was really 3 hours. All I heard was commands in Thai, so it was hard to focus on what was being said around me, as I don't speak any Thai.

When I ended up back in my room, they got me some more morphine. I felt at peace, though I wouldn't feel my legs for a couple more hours. Once I was cleared to lay up, I tried video chatting with Elizabeth - that failed miserably, as I was too doped up, and a sudden drop in blood pressure made me nearly faint. I had to let her go quickly, but I asked Mom to e-mail her later with what happened. I didn't want my baby to worry.

I had my dinner of roast duck and rice. Best hospital food EVER. As the night wore on, I ended up fighting with the painkillers and the catheter bag. Neither one lasted very long, but I kinda pieced together a night's sleep. I'm still propped up with "packing" right now, which feels like a lot of cloth stuffed in there to clean it up and hold it in place. Which is why I made the crack about the large tampon earlier. I think it's appropriate.

More info as it happens. Love you all!

On the big day

Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! These past few days have been incredibly exciting. I'm growing rather fond of the place, even though the language eludes me.

Because of how soon I was to go in for surgery after arriving, and I had instructions to be on a liquid diet for 48 hours, I brought some Slim-Fast cans with me on the flight. Even though there was nothing against it on the TSA's website, it flagged me and I had to get a pat down. I asked for a private screen. They took forever to find a second female officer. This second one was a bit ignorant, grunt level S/O. She sauntered towards me and said, "That don't look like no female. You sure that's a female?" Granted, I had a flat sport bra on and no face makeup, so maybe that was why, but damn that seemed rude. Especially since she asked her superior in a not-so-subordinate tone - the first woman that initially told me I was flagged was a Lead Officer (L/O).

Before the second S/O arrived, I told the L/O that I was trans, and that if she examined my genitals in the new standard fashion she would find them, well, "out of the ordinary." She confirmed whether or not I wanted a male or female examiner - I told her female as that is my true comfort level. She had no issue with that. The actual pat down was not as bad as I was expecting, actually. Which was good, as I was a bit sore from hormone withdrawal by that point. Still am, actually.

Well, no more issues on that leg. Shanghai was fun -we had clear customs twice in order to transfer to another flight, even in the same terminal :P I guess that's how it goes over there. We made it to Bangkok late - 130am by local time. And, of course, the immigration window was short staffed. We cleared customs 2 hours later! But my ride was still there and waiting, which was wonderful. They took us to the hotel, and we checked in without any issues.

Today, we went to the Bangkok Plastic Surgery clinic, where we met the surgeon, Dr. Pichet Rodchareon and his staff. Wonderful people! I felt instantly comfortable inside. I signed all the papers, and the doctor explained everything, with photos, that he was going to do. I had seen all that before in my research; Mom, on the other hand, was not as thrilled about it :P But we got it all done. It's now 20:02 local time (about 05:02 Pacific US) on 3 January. In the morning, we'll be checking out of the hotel for a couple days, then getting shuttled to the clinic at 08:00. After a bit of prep, I'll be in surgery. Less than 24 hours now! Think I should say some kinda weird eulogy for "them?" :P I'll keep you guys posted with more details as they go.

On the option of surgery

Those around me are well aware that I have a small handful of days before I board an airplane to Thailand. While there, I am going to achieve what is, for me, a milestone in my transition: Gender Realignment Surgery.

Among the transgender/transexual community, surgery has many different thoughts and ideas. No one of these ideas is, nor should be, the be-all, end-all idea that rules over the entire spectrum that we call trans. Simply put, as I think I've touched on below, everyone has different ideas of what their transition will encompass. For most, the common thread is that their idea of gender differs from the rigid gender idea bestowed upon the person by their biological sex. Past that, I think that gender becomes so different that if we imposed a universal "this is what transfolk must and will do to be trans" rule, we will hurt far more than we will harm.

From here on, I will speak mostly in "male to female" terms, as that is what I know best. Some transwomen want to be able to change their names and identities permanently so as to be constantly known by their new gender. Some do not, and are completely satisfied with just being women part of the time. Some transwomen want estrogen and progesterone hormones to assist in their physical and emotional appearance. Some don't. Some transwomen want to enlarge their breasts surgically, either with or without help from hormones. Some don't. Some want to enhance their facial appearance by surgically minimizing masculine features in a procedure we call FFS (Facial Feminisation Surgery). Some do not want this. And, of course, some want to modify their genitals for hormonal and/or sexual needs. Many do not. This is all important to realize when we talk about what the transgender community wants or expects. It would be horrendous to say that certain ideas should be applied across the board to all trans identified persons. That would cause far more damage to individual identities than it would help.

Speaking ONLY for myself, here is what I want. I wanted hormones; I got them. I wanted to be fully seen as female, or what many of us call "full time." So I changed my name and identification. And I wanted to modify my genitals by completely realigning my penis into a functional neovagina, permanently removing my testes in the process. Now, in a week, I will have that. At this moment in time, though, I do NOT want FFS! And I'm on the fence about my breasts; I actually rather like them, but would like them to be a bit larger. However, since I haven't been on hormones for very long, they may still grow to my satisfaction, so I can't say that I want augmentation at this time.

But that is just my story. Your mileage may vary.