Last week, I mentioned that the biggest barrier to a smooth recovery isn't a lack of information, it's a lack of a System. Why do some people navigate this process with a sense of calm, while others feel like they are drowning in chaos? It isn’t about who has the better surgeon or the most money. It’s about moving from Reactive to Proactive. Most people treat phalloplasty as a series of random medical events. They react to problems as they happen. But true peace of mind comes from having a...

If we don't laugh during recovery, we’ll cry. So let’s laugh at my expense for a minute. Story 1: The Orange Disaster. I had a shy bladder during voiding trials, so I was prescribed FlowMax to help. FlowMax creates urgency. I also ended up with a UTI as well. So I took AZO for the UTI pain. AZO turns your urine bright neon orange! So because of this urgency from the medication, I didn't make it to the toilet one night. My nice cream-colored area rug in my bedroom? Permanently stained...

We need to talk about the two words every Stage 2 patient fears: Strictures and Fistulas. What if a complication wasn't a "failure," but just a plumbing adjustment? The Stricture: This is a narrowing of the urethra due to scar tissue. If your stream feels weak, starts "spraying," or you feel like your bladder isn't emptying, contact your team. The Fistula: This is a small hole where urine leaks out from somewhere other than the tip of your penis. The Good News: Most fistulas heal on their...