The Neo-Vagina and Clitoris.
Post-surgical Changes in the Neo-vagina
A lot is said about the depth of the neo-vagina. "Mine is 8” deep, oh! Mine is 9”." In fact, unless the surgeon has cut through the Peritoneal Reflection or ‘Douglas pouch’ the greatest depth achievable is typically 11cm to 14cm, this is limited by the length of the Rectovesicle Septum (thin layer of connective tissue that separates prostate and seminal vesicles from rectum ...).
Honest vaginal depths of 15cm or more are rarely encountered, except with Colon Segment procedures.
Post operatively, you will appear to achieve an additional depth due to tissue swelling at the vaginal entrance and persists for several weeks.
When I dilate I stop at the Peritoneal Reflection, or ‘Douglas pouch’ at around 12cms, on inserting the dilator and can increase to 14cms after several minutes of continuous pressure, depending where I start measuring from and this is after ten weeks post op. This will probably be the greatest depth that I will achieve.
As a matter of interest the average penile length is 13cms to 15cms. The average neo-vagina will easily accommodate this length.
Width will be limited by the opening in the pubic bone. I am using a 4cm wide dilator and there is still a reasonable amount of clearance through the bone. (At 8 months post op. I could accommodate up to 6cms, but still usually dilated using the 4cm dilator. I have achieved a depth of 14.5cms.) 8 Years post op. the dimensions are the same and I rarely dilate.
You will see on some specialist surgical websites how many will return from their surgery, often in Thailand and say what a wonderful job their surgeon has done; he is the best. Of course when you see your new genitalia, it is beautiful. I cried when I saw mine. It was a million times better than I had before my op. But to be honest, it was swollen, bloodied, loads of stitches, a mess and wonderful.
Now it is different to what it was six months, a year, two years or more, post op. The surgery matures and changes over many years. So when someone claims that their surgeon had done a wonderful job post op. you will not know what the end result is until years later. I am very happy with mine. It looks like a female vulva. You will get this result from all the well known SRS surgeons, whether NHS or Private; in the UK, USA or Thailand.
In the UK, there are two methods of forming the vagina. 1. penile inversion technique where the penile skin is used to line the vagina and 2. penile scrotal inversion technique where the penile skin and part othe scrotal skin is used. The rest of the donor material is used to form the labia, clitoris, etc. My surgeon used the latter, a more recent development and gives greater sensitivity to the vagina. All surgeons will do a variation of both methods giving similar appearance.
Post-surgical Changes in the Neo-vagina
About 10 weeks post op. I noticed that my vagina had started self-lubricating. I had heard that the neo-vagina can become mucosal but did not understand why, if and when. I certainly did not expect it to happen so quickly, or at all. It can take many years.
A week or so later I found that it was lubricating enough to insert the 4cm stent, carefully, without any additional lubrication.
Regular douching with clean water will keep the vagina clean and fresh. Although, in view of my researches, it may not be such a good idea. I will have to consider this.
As a matter of interest and for the article, Tim Terry does a penile/ scrotal inversion vaginoplasty.
I decided to do some research and came across the following article:
Post-surgical Changes in the Neo-vagina
Neo-vaginal Lining Becomes Indistinguishable from "Normal" Vaginal Tissue. by M. Italiano
Recent attempts at vaginoplasty for transsexuals have utilized a variety of techniques, including split-thickness and full-thickness skin grafts, penile inversion procedures, and sigmoid-colon methods.
Although the advantages and disadvantages of each continue to be debated, many stated advantages are clearly exaggerated or are erroneous. For instance, Masters and Johnson's (1966) pioneering work on the artificially-constructed vagina clearly demonstrates that "the method of creating an artificial vaginal barrel is incidental, since the functional reaction patterns of artificial vaginas are identical regardless of how they are constituted" (p.101) This statement includes behavior during arousal and orgasm as well as lubrication, a subject steeped in controversy.
Some surgeons opt for the use of sigmoid-colon methods in the belief that this provides an advantage of lubrication secreted by colon mucosa. Other surgeons employ mucosal flaps from the urethra to supplement penile inversion for the purpose of providing lubrication. They believe lubrication can't be achieved by the use of skin grafts or penile inversion. This is untrue.
There is much to be learned from non-transsexual women who have had surgery for "inadequate" vaginas. From months to sometimes years after skin grafting, the graft loses all of its skin properties and adapts to its environment, becoming a mucosa which takes on "the exact cytology, gross and microscopic, of a normal vagina" (Sherfey, 1973). Masters and Johnson state, "Suffice it to say that on the basis of pure cytologic evaluation, it is impossible to differentiate the epithelial cells taken from the artificial vaginas of Subject 'A' (when under the influence of adequate hormonal replacement) or Subject 'B' from those of a normal vaginal mucosal smear" (Masters & Johnson, 1961, p. 203).
Some surgeons disagree, stating that the tissue is not mucosa, but only resembles mucosa. They are only partially correct, since the normal female vaginal tissue is not truly mucosa either. It is called mucosa only because it lines a body passageway. It contains no mucous-secreting glands (Fawcett, et. al., 1995). That is why lubrication is a transudate phenomenon, the source being dilation of the capillaries that surround the barrel and the subsequent squeezing out of fluid through the vaginal walls, which in normal and artificially constructed vaginas have been shown to be a functioning two-way membrane. (Masters & Johnson, 1966). Although Masters & Johnson note that production of lubrication usually takes longer in the artificial vagina, they also showed that some artificial vaginas are capable of lubricating as well and as rapidly as any normally constituted vaginal barrel and that two of their patients had "lubricated, in fact, more effectively than many women with normally constituted vaginas" (Masters & Johnson, 1966).
Pierce ET. al. (1956) demonstrated the conversion of skin to vaginal epithelium, which after twenty years, included normal vaginal PH levels, complete loss of hair, complete loss of pigment, complete loss of sweat glands, and normal vaginal epithelial glycogen levels. They proposed, "the process is not one of metaplasia, for no new cell types are produced. Rather, there is alteration of existing cell layers and the loss of the skin organs."
The clitoris and Female Prostrate
About the clitoris
The clitoris is a bud-like formation that can be found where the top of a woman's inner labia (vaginal lips) begin. Usually, the clitoris lies discreetly under a layer of skin usually referred to as the "hood."
The size of the clitoris differs from woman to woman. While the average size varies from about 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch in width, there are some that are smaller and some that are bigger.
It may be surprising to know that, biologically, the clitoris is the direct equivalent of the penis. That's why when a woman gets excited, blood rushes to her clitoris and it swells up. That's her proverbial hard-on.
And if you haven't yet heard, finding the clitoris is usually a lot easier than the G-spot. As well, women tend to achieve orgasm more easily via clitoral stimulation than penetration.
The G-spot is the female equivalent of the Prostrate gland. In M-F Transsexuals the Prostrate, under the influence of female hormones, shrinks to roughly the size of the G-spot.
In most cases, Transsexuals can experience Vaginal and Clitoral orgasms.
Page updated 22-09-’13.
