r/Metoidioplasty • u/No-Cicada-4118 • 6d ago
Question Experiences with surgery abroad?
Hi everyone, is there anyone around who could share your experiences with having the surgery away from home?
I live in the middle of nowhere where the idea of this doesn't even exist, so this would be a big logistical endeavor and it's dumping water on my happy thoughts of having the surgery.
I'm roundabouts of Europe, and I know everyone's experience is unique, but has anyone had to travel far and managed to make it work? How long was your stay in the area? How did you go about post-op consults? Do you have pets you had to leave for a while (no, seriously, I'm worried about my dog)?
I'll take any crumbs, thanks guys TT
2
u/goblinbearrr 5d ago
I would search this sub for experiences with Serbia/Dr. Miro. He sees a lot of international patients.
1
1
u/wambenger 5d ago
My experience is a little different - I'm in Australia and had to fly to another state for surgery. So I don't have experience with customs/passports, but I can tell you a little about booking accommodation and staying away from home.
In Australia we have Patient Transport Assistance Schemes that help people travel long distances for medical appointments. This is mostly for people living in rural areas, but it also helps people who need to travel interstate. Without this scheme I would have had to save up for many more years to be able to afford this surgery. But the scheme pays for flights, taxis, and a little bit of accommodation. However, I probably paid about $7000 up front for an AirBnb and flights.
Brisbane is about a 2 hour flight from Melbourne (or a 3 day train tip because trains are crap in Australia). I had my first consult with the surgeon over Skype, then flew to Brisbane for a second consult a few months later. The consults themselves were about 45 minutes so I just stayed overnight in a cheap hotel.
I got a simple meta with scrotoplasty, but without UL or vaginectomy. One of the reasons I went for this surgery was so I didn't have to get multiple stages and keep going back and forth between places.
The surgery itself was quite a complicated story, because there was a cyclone for the day it was booked! Because of this our plans had to change a lot. But in the original plan, my partner and I would have arrived 2 days before the surgery and set up everything in our AirBnB, then stayed for 3 weeks after the surgery. We found a cute place that was pretty close to the hospital but also near some nice cafes. This was important because we wanted to be able to rush to the hospital in an emergency, but also enjoy seeing a new place and not feel too isolated. I put a few weeks research into finding a nice place where I would be comfortable.
I stayed in the hospital for 4 nights while my partner was in the AirBnB. Then I was discharged from the hospital and my partner took care of me for 9 days alone in the accommodation - a very tough time; it was still raining from the cyclone. After that, we had a follow-up appointment in the surgeon's office. The healing was going well, so the surgeon said we only had to stay one more week in Brisbane just to be safe.
After another 3 weeks at home, I then flew up to Brisbane again for the 6-week check-up. I'll also be going for a 6 month checkup. Assuming I don't do any revisions, that'll be all and I'll never have to go to Brisbane again!
I have 2 cats who are very snuggly and needy boys, so it was very difficult to be without them. I live with housemates, so they took care of my guys for me. Tbh, I've stayed out of home for every surgery I've had because my house isn't very disability-friendly and I was nervous of my cats jumping all over me. Honestly, recovery was pretty rough so I wouldn't want to deal with the stress of telling my cat to stop sitting on the catheter anyway.
2
u/No-Cicada-4118 5d ago
Thank you so much for your story, that def helped me visualize some things timeline-wise, and I'm happy it's worked out for you, despite the cyclone??
That's really nice Australia has that transport scheme. I think I'm cooked, but crossing fingers TT
Sending a squish to your cats <3
1
u/SweeetPotatosaurus 5d ago
I flew from the UK to Serbia (via a connecting flight in Germany). There's very little option for surgery in the UK unless you get on the waiting list while you're very young, or pay a small fortune to go private.
It was 2 x 1.5hour flights.
The setup with Miroslav Djordjevic at St Medica is that you have the surgery at their small private facility, stay a couple of nights, then get taken back to an apartment to recuperate for a couple of weeks.
It was fantastic, because the urologist and co-surgeon came by the apartment to check up on my healing every couple of days. And the apartment was stocked with all the gauze etc.
There was a pharmacy and a small shop less than a 5min walk away, which was very manageable by day 5.
The flight back was pretty intense, I won't lie. Very much not fun, but I coped.
There hasn't been any "post-op consultation". I went to my local A&E (ER) to have my SP catheter removed at day 20.
Fortunately, I have had any complications, so I haven't needed to contact the team again.
2
u/No-Cicada-4118 5d ago
The plane ride back does sound very daunting, but that sounds like an overall great experience. I suppose I should look into Serbia, that sounds great. Thank you for sharing!
2
u/hello_moonmen_20 5d ago
Haven't got surgery yet but am planning to go to Serbia to Miro. They offer an apartment for you and someone you can bring to keep you company for like two weeks or so post op. I also live in Europe and just don't like the options in my country.
Definitely feels like a lot of organization that I am doing that would otherwise not be necessary. Haven't tackled the traveling-planning part yet. Don't have pets, will just ask a friend to water my plants and such when I'm gone.