Now that I’ve got your attention, I was watching a documentary called “You Don’t Know Dick,” about women who have become men through sexual reassignment surgery. It was really interesting, but I didn’t get a chance to watch more than a few minutes of it.
My question is, how do they construct a penis? Does the testosterone make the clitoris enlarge? I would imagine even if it does, further surgical augmentation is necessary.
I found some info on the web about how they make vaginas and clitorises for male to female transsexuals (before I started turning green and had to stop reading - I definitely don’t have a brilliant future ahead as a surgeon), but didn’t find anything on the reverse process.
I have an old school-friend who works at a Pennsylvania gender identity clinic; she can help you. I don’t want to give out her number or address over the Internet, but call the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia (NOT the University of Pennsylvania) and ask for Lynn Hubschmann, or their Gender Identity Clinic. They can get you plenty of info, maybe even some good interview subjects.
Okay, here’s the Straight Dope. Be warned–it’s probably more than you want to know. (the magic phrase for Search engine purposes turned out to be “penile reconstruction”. This gets you past all the XXX-rated sites that “transsexual penis” gets you. Although maybe you go in for that kind of thing…)
No, they don’t ask a clitoris to grow into a penis. Basically, they use a flap of skin on your forearm, convince the skin to grow in a tube around a plastic tube, so you end up with a phallus that you can use to pee out of, but which isn’t really as erect as a real penis.
P.S. Adults Only: Along the way, I spent a few truly horrifying moments at http://www.maleenhancement.com/recnstct.htm (be warned–this is truly graphic and kinda scary.) This is the website of a plastic surgeon who specializes in penile reconstruction, mainly in the field of penis enlargement, which the American Urological Association says is NOT a viable medical technique. To confirm this, I noticed that this guy’s #1 success story, so proudly and graphically posted, was to fix the guy’s unsuccessful penile enhancement, done by some other doctor. Guys, if you look at this website, be prepared to feel your jewels shrivel up till they’re the size of jelly beans. Tiny little Jelly Bellies, that is, not nice big Easter Bunny jelly beans.
Gets my vote for Most Unerotic Pictures of Penises on the Web.
OK Duck, it was my own dammed fault. I went to that URL after you warned me not to. BRRRRRRR!!! The idea of ‘reconstruction’ like that makes Lorena Bobbitt even scarier. “Significant Other wanted. Women with serrated knives or teeth need not apply”.
I saw some of that too. Maybe someone can attach some cosmic significance to this: Have you noticed that female to males are almost always undetectable, but male to females always look, well, like drag queens.
I went to grad school with a guy who started with hormone treatments, then got breasts and started dressing female all the time, and finally got the sex change. He/she definitely still looked male, large hands, adam’s apple, chiseled protruding jaw. He/She then proceeded to become a lesbian, and now everytime I see her/him, she’s with a “butch” looking female. Gender identity is a lot more complex than people realize…
I got to know Dr.Biber through a claim against him and he said: you take the labia, extract a lower rib, wrap the labia around the rib, making sure that the clit is near the head, tie it up and let it heal.
THe good side: perma-woody
The bad side: it is tough to stand in front of the class.
Well, as usual, I’m gonna post something I’ll regret but I am compelled to do this.
I went to high school (junior high, too) with Doctor Biber’s daughter. She was a female in all respects.
The favorite quote I can attribute to him is: “It’s easier to make a pole than a hole.”
Additionally, he was a respected surgeon in the southern Colorado town of Trinidad and helped many folk w/ GI (gender-indentification issues) before it was possible to even talk of them.
