Hey everyone! On Tuesday I posted that I had my GRS surgery with Dr. Christopher McClung in Columbus, OH. I wanted to take the time now that everything has calmed down to share my experience in hopes that you all find it informative and helpful should you either be 1. Getting ready to have your surgery or 2. Looking for a doctor to consult with.

On Tuesday morning, I arrived at Grant medical center in Columbus at 5:30am with my boyfriend. Registration took me in and got all my paperwork done in like 5 minutes and then sent me upstairs to wait for the nurse to call me back to surgery prep. I changed into my gown, put all my personal belongings in a bag and they took my vitals. Surgery wasn’t until 7:30am but they have you get there early since everyone on the surgical staff will be coming around to talk to you.

Around 6:30am, I met with Dr. McClung and Dr. Toma who was the anesthesiologist. They asked me extremely detailed questions about my health and allowed me to ask any and all questions I had about surgery and started hooking up my IV’s. They were so helpful and informative that my nerves started to go away and I started to relax and calm down. My boyfriend was allowed back with me so having him there helped immensely.

Around 7:25am, they gave me relaxation medication in my IV and I was floating in the clouds within 5 minutes, they let me kiss my boyfriend goodbye and then wheeled me to the operating room, all while I was giggling the whole time, lol. Once in the operating room, I was given an epidural and then told to lie down on the table and relax. They gave me an oxygen mask and the last words I heard from the doctors were “sleep well!”.

I woke up around 1:30pm, which was the expected wake up time they predicted after the anesthesia wore off. I didn’t think it actually happened because I was right back in the prep room but they assured me that everything went smoother than expected and they were just waiting for recovery to assign me a room. Shortly after, I was wheeled upstairs to my room for the next few days.

The first night was very quiet. I slept all through the night, given a dinner of clear broth and water and pain medication every few hours. I was connected to a Foley catheter and 2 drains. My boyfriend was allowed to stay with me so the staff brought him a bed and pillows to sleep on.

Wednesday: The next morning, my day started around 7am when the morning nurse came in to check in on me, around 7:30am labs came to draw blood and told me this would be a reoccurring thing while I was in the hospital. Around 7:45am Dr. McClung came by to visit me and see how everything was doing and answer any questions I might have. I was told I could now resume a normal diet but to take it a little easy so as not to put too much pressure on my stomach or bowels. Around 10am, physical therapy came and attempted to work with me on getting out of bed and walk a few steps around the room. I failed miserably because as soon as I stood up, my blood pressure dropped and I ended up passing out. They put me back into bed and said they’d try again tomorrow but not to strain or force myself. I spent most of the day in bed relaxing and trying to get as comfortable as possible. Pain was still not too bad as long as I didn’t move around too much.

Thursday: Thursday was roughly the same as Wednesday. PT was the same.

Friday: Friday went extremely well. PT came early and I was fully prepared. I had done the in bed exercises they told me to do to get my blood moving, ate a full solid breakfast to have energy and made sure to take my time standing up. I was able to stand, walk up and down the hall and go to the restroom all on my own. By late afternoon I was back up and moving like I was before and it felt so good to have my independence back. I did a second session with PT again in the afternoon and was able to tackle stairs and the mock up tub they had set up.

Saturday I’m expected to have my packing taken out by Dr. McClung in the morning. He said a lot of the pain should go down and I should be able to resume normal bowel movements. The catheter will be in until Sunday when I’m expected to be discharged so long as I can pass urine on my own. If not I’ll have to be sent home with one for a few extra days. I won’t be starting dilation until 2 weeks post surgery. It’s a technique Dr. McClung uses that I’ve been told works extremely well and has no loss of depth.

I highly recommend Dr. McClung to anyone looking to have GRS, his numbers for complications are extremely low and his numbers for satisfaction are extremely high. You may not be able to find photos on his website but he has plenty on file at his office and takes your wants and needs into consideration when designing your genital area. He takes his time with everything from the first initial consultation to the very end and even beyond that. He makes sure to make everything look as aesthetically pleasing as possible but also functional to the fullest extent. Post op pain is extremely minimal and the hospital staff is by your side 24/7. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor or nurses.

Thank you guys again for checking in on me these last few days. If you have any questions at all, please leave a comment below or shoot me a message!