A personal account of Meta surgery - Dr Miroslav Djordjevic , Belgrade
Surgery Date: Summer 2006
After years of thought, internet and personal discussion with other Men Like Us, months of research into the world’s SRS surgery teams, and consultation with Mr David Ralph in London and Dr Miroslav Djordjevic in Belgrade, Serbia, I made the decision that the unique one stage Meta surgery offered by Professor Sava Pevoric, Dr Miroslav Djordjevic and their team in Serbia was the surgery that was for me.
The main reasons for this decision were that I wanted a one-stage surgery, rather than numerous big operations over a long period of time. I wanted to have urinary function as soon as possible, and I wanted to have sensory feeling in my phallus, even if it was to be small. In addition I could not stomach the thought of huge scars on my abdomen or worse my arm, which would be involved in other types of surgery. Mr Ralph in London was very anti doing the metoidioplasty type of surgery, and I did not get a good feeling from him when I met him. I decided that I did not want t o pout myself in his hands.
I easily established email contact with Dr Miro on his email address uromiros@eutelnet.com, and I arranged to go to visit him in Belgrade for a consultation. I went in February 2006, to an absolutely freezing Belgrade. (minus -10°C). Dr Marko, one of Dr Miro’s team, met me off the plane and I met Dr Miro and the anaesthetist Dr Korac. I was able to ask lots of questions, clarify issues like the price, dates of availability, expected recovery times, possible complications and fine detail about the surgical procedures themselves. I asked about possibilities of having my Hysterectomy etc at the same time and also about the merits of vaginectomy, as I was thinking that I would not have my vagina removed. Dr Miro was able to answer openly and honestly all of my questions and showed me some photos of previous results.
I was immediately struck by how friendly and personable the entire team was and having met the entire team and asked all my questions I felt totally reassured that this was the best surgery for me, conducted by the best team in this field in the world.
The date was set for 20th June 2006, and I arrived in a very hot Belgrade (30°C +) two days before my surgery date. Dr Marta, another of Dr Miro’s team, met us and we (my wife accompanied me on this trip) were taken to the spacious apartment a few km out of Belgrade City Centre, which the team had arranged for us to stay in.
The apartment is in a quiet area away from lots of traffic and other disturbances. Whilst we were there air conditioning was fitted and it is therefore comfortable and ideal to relax and recuperate in. It is approx 60 euros per night to stay there (even if you are alone or with a friend/relative) and everything that you need is in the apartment or within 50m of the front door. (Supermarket and foreign exchange bureau). This is in contrast with the Hotel I stayed in during my February trip, which was 90 Euros a night for a fairly run down room, which was very cold. They are planning to install an Internet connection in the apartment in the near future too. The only thing lacking in the area is anywhere to eat out or have a drink or coffee, as this is a very residential area.
The day before my surgery I was taken to the small private clinic where I was to have my operation. (Dr Miro does most of his work at the Children’s hospital but he has an arrangement with this clinic for his private patients for this type of surgery.) I was the first such patient to use this clinic and I can say that it is very clean, smart and the staff there were all very friendly, providing a very professional and personal service.
I met the anaesthetist and the gynaelogical surgeon who were to be in charge of certain stages of my operation and I was prepared for the surgery by being extensively shaved having a vaginal washout, being given a huge dose of Intra venous antibiotics and full ECG, blood pressure, pulse etc pre op checks.
The clinic has only one operating theatre and one or two recovery rooms so the attention from the nursing staff is fantastic during recovery. The recovery room where I spent 41/2 days had it’s own TV with cable for English speaking channels and a bathroom off one end meaning that I did not have to leave the room to wash or use the toilet.
The day of my surgery I was calm and filled with anticipation. I was to go down about 10am, as my surgery was to be a long one because I was having the hysterectomy etc on top of the Meta surgery. I walked a short distance into surgery, saw a few familiar faces and heard the reassuring voice of the Anaesthetist before I went under.
My surgery took 7 hours and I am told went well and without any unusual event. Unfortunately 5 minutes after I came round I went into respiratory failure and had to be re-intubated and resuscitated for over an hour.
Having come out of that I then had a very rare reaction and went into a violent delirium, where six people had to hold me down. I was physically tied to the bed and was sedated for a while. This happened 3 further times each time to a lesser extent and was back to normal only around 7am the day after my surgery. Up to that point I did not recognise or respond to the any of the doctors or my wife, the only exception was Dr Korac the anaesthetist.
They asked me if I was any kind of drugs legal or otherwise (almost accusing or suggesting I was on anabolic steroids and had not told them) as they could not explain my reaction, and have never seen anything like it before. I can tell you that I do not take anything (not even herbal teas or vitamin supplements) and do not know what caused this reaction. During the course of my violent reaction, y right leg made a powerful move upwards towards my chest and this caused a displacement in the position of the testicular implant on the right side. This is clear from the attached photos and will need a revision in a few months time to correct the position.
After the bad start the rest of recovery was uneventful. The nurses that looked after me were very attentive, and the main 3 or 4 spoke fantastic English. They made me feel comfortable and relaxed the entire length of my stay. An added bonus is that 2 of them were very beautiful, which is always a pleasure.
When I got back out of clinic to the apartment my wife looked after me and I got a daily visit from either Martha or Marko to check how I was doing and to make sure my stitches, tubes and catheter were Ok. Where else in the world, even as a private patient would you get a home visit from a Doctor every day? The after care I received was truly amazing.
During my time in the clinic and my post op recovery in the apartment I felt very little acute pain. I did not take any additional painkillers at any stage. I have discovered the literal meaning of the phrase “A real Ball Ache” as the testicular implants did cause me quite a lot of discomfort as the skin stretched and my body adjusted. This did improve gradually in the days post op, and by the time I was 10 or 12 days after surgery the levels of discomfort were very bearable, until quite late into the evening when I’d been up and around all day. I was able to travel home by aeroplane without sitting on the ring they had provided or having any additional padding.
I am now 3 weeks and 1 day after surgery. I am at home and my stitches are healing well. I have had my catheter removed and am able to pee well through my urethra, although there is the inevitable spray and unpredictable direction to deal with. I am able to pee standing up and out of the hole in my underwear without any problems. I will continue to pump again when all the stitches have gone and this will make urination much easier.
In summary the Serbian experience went very well, and I am very grateful to Dr Miro and his team for all they have done for me. I will probably need a small revision (repositioning of my right testicle) in about 6 months, but that could have happened anywhere and is not a fault or criticism of the surgical team.
Standing to pee, which I have already done in public, is fantastic and I am looking forward to seeing what my new manhood can do when he is sexually excited. At the moment there are too many stitches and my balls are a bit tight for all the extra blood down there, so I am trying to wait a bit for that. I can say that I feel my life has been made complete by this surgery and this has finalised my physical transition to manhood!
THE COST:
This entire experience has cost me in the region of £9,500! At the time 1 Euro was about 66p.
The flights to Serbia are not cheap as no Budget carriers go there. I went with British Airways from Heathrow in February where the flight cost around £180. However there is the added expense/inconvenience of getting to Heathrow. The flight left at about 8am and was direct landing in Belgrade at lunchtime.
In June I went from Manchester with Luftahansa. The flights were just a touch cheaper but are not direct and the journey takes a lot longer.
In February I stayed at a not very good hotel called Park Hotel for 90 Euros a night for 3 nights (flight arrangements mean that you have to go for at least 2 days!). I had to eat out, which is not expensive but adds up over time.
In June we stayed in the apartment for 16 nights at 60 Euros a night. It cost us only about £160 to live there for that time, but we did eat at the apartment almost every day, buying food from the supermarket. The rest of this money was in Taxis around the city and for my wife to visit me in the clinic.
The surgery itself was 10,500 Euros. This included Hysterectomy etc but not a vaginectomy. That would have been a further 1500 Euros.
The testicular implants were a further 780 Euros.
All this has to be paid to the surgery team (Dr Miro) by direct transfer in advance. The instructions are not very clear, be careful with bank spellings, name spellings and the number of digits on International Bank Account Numbers. There will be a bank fee (about £25) for each payment you make. I hade to make 4 in the end as one was unsuccessful due to the wrong number of 0’s and a missing letter in his surname.
I hope this helps others considering this type of surgery.