Abdophallo Procedure
In our practice the most common type of phalloplasty patients opt for is abdominal phalloplasty. This is where tissue from the lower abdomen is used to create the new penis as a “local flap” meaning the tissue doesn’t have to come off the body and go back on like in a free flap. This makes it a much less complex procedure. Dr Gallagher can perform a masculinizing tummy tuck on the remaining abdominal tissue. The size of the penis will depend on the amount of tissue available. In many patients we can get up to 5-6 inches. Abdophallo has some distinct advantages but also some disadvantages as follows
Advantages
- The major “win” with abdophallo is the “donor site” or where we take the penis from. This is the lower abdomen where in most folks there is extra to spare. Not only does this mean that we won’t have bad scarring or must take an additional skin graft from somewhere else, but we will also masculinize the torso at the same time with a masculinizing tummy tuck.
- This can be done as an outpatient meaning we can avoid expensive hospital stays making this surgery more attainable for folks with no insurance coverage. This is in fact the most affordable type of Phalloplasty.
- The aesthetics of the new penis itself is usually good as it is a good color match to the surrounding skin.
- The recovery from this procedure is faster than many other techniques and is often like a tummy tuck recovery – most folks return to work in 3-4 weeks and working out in 8 weeks.
Disadvantages
- The abdophallo does not have a nerve we can connect in to provide sexual sensation to the new penis. Most patients will regain sensation in the penis however we leave the anatomy intact below to provide sexual sensation.
It is important to note that we do not offer urethral lengthening or “stand to pee” procedures currently -however we can refer you to a urologist in Miami to have this done. The patient’s urinary anatomy is left alone at the first stage of this surgery with us, so no catheters are usually needed.
Testicular implants, glansplasty and scrotoplasty as well as an implant for erection as possible to do at later surgeries also.
Financing
In patients with benefits for gender affirmation surgery this procedure can be covered by insurance our team will discuss this with you.
Recovery
This procedure takes about 5 hours, and we usually recommend out of town patients stay for 1-2 weeks depending on their recovery. This procedure gets best results with patients with BMIs of under 40. Click here to see images in the gallery.
