Every now and then I read or
hear a news story in which a so called ‘cutter’ is arrested for performing a
castration surgery even though he is really not a doctor. These arrests often occur immediately after a
castration surgery on one of his clients goes awry. I also hear of persons who tried to castrate
themselves, and then needed expensive treatment. Very often the client was in desperation and
was willing to obtain his or her orchiectomy at all
costs, even if the price turns out to be one’s own life.
But does this surgery really
have to cost everything?
Why should only a doctor
perform this surgery?
Any type of surgery needs to
be performed by only a qualified doctor.
There are many things that can easily go wrong with any surgery, and a
competent doctor can work to keep the risks of surgery to a very small minimum.
Cutting deep into any area of
the body is going to rupture some blood vessels and cause bleeding. The genitals in particular have many blood
vessels, and one false move by any surgeon or non-professional cutter will
cause dangerous bleeding. A surgeon is
trained to minimize this risk, but a cutter is not. Most people who attempt do-it-yourself castration
have no medical training. Once you start
bleeding heavily, you may rapidly go into shock, and find out that simply
lifting the phone to call 911 may be very difficult or impossible. You might not be able to obtain treatment, or
help may arrive too late to prevent your death from hemorrhage.
If you do survive the blood
loss, you face extreme risk of infection.
Any serious wound in the genital area is very likely to become
infected. Again, a licensed doctor can
perform your orchiectomy while taking sanitary
measures to reduce the risk of infection.
The doctor who performed my castration also instructed me to start
taking Cipro antibiotics starting two days
pre-surgery through the fifth day after.
Cutters tend to perform their castrations in less sanitary conditions
such as their own homes or motel rooms.
Some persons who were castrated by cutters or tried to do it themselves
developed infection even after seeking treatment for hemorrhage.
Another thing to consider is
pain control. A doctor will at the very
least administer a local anesthetic to numb the area. This is necessary for the castration surgery,
because that area of the body is particularly sensitive, and the extreme pain
may put you in shock even before blood loss does. Those who have cutters perform castration
tend to report more pain during their procedure.
Even with non-invasive methods
such as crushing testicles inside the scrotum, you would still suffer severe
internal bleeding and require emergency treatment. I’ve read about one person who injected acid
into his testicles to cause castration, and he also caused life-threatening
infection and gangrene. There is no safe
do-it-yourself method of castration.
Who are cutters?
Cutters are actually
non-medical persons who perform castrations and possibly other surgeries on
consenting but often desperate clients.
They do not have medical training, and they cannot perform the procedure
as safely as a competent physician could.
Sooner or later one of their clients suffers excessive bleeding or
another complication that requires emergency treatment, and then the local
authorities arrest the cutter.
Pain control is less reliable
than with a licensed surgeon, and there is greater risk of potentially deadly
complications. Going to a cutter is not
a safe alternative to going to a physician.
But I don’t have the money for Dr. Kimmel or any other doctor, and it’s too far to travel. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to castrate myself?
You will not save money by
do-it-yourself castration, and will probably pay much more!
One of the common reasons that
persons try to perform castration on themselves is
because they believe they would never have the funds for going to a
doctor. Dr. Kimmel in Philadelphia
charges $2000 but requires no therapist letter.
Several surgeons will perform orchiectomies
for transsexuals who are transitioning and receiving HRT. When travel and boarding costs are added,
even if you are a non-transgendered male, you should be able to obtain a safe orchiectomy by a competent physician for around $2500. But if you try to do it
yourself…
The ambulance ride alone would
cost you hundreds of dollars. Even if a
friend or relative takes you there, you will owe many thousands in hospital
bills. Most of those who try to castrate
themselves end up being admitted to the hospital for multiple days while the
doctors deal with severe bleeding and often infection. Hospital expenses easily exceed $1000 per
day. Insurance policies typically
exclude coverage for self-inflicted injuries ‘whether sane or insane’. If you survive the experience, you will pay
much more for do-it-yourself castration than if you had gone to a licensed
physician.
Do-it-yourself castration will cost you more than just money
Attempting to castrate
yourself or having an unlicensed cutter do it may even cost you the ultimate
price: your life. Wouldn’t you prefer to
continue living after your castration so you can experience the serenity of no
testosterone?
In addition to the high
monetary cost and the risk of your life, you will also have to face the
embarrassment of explaining to the doctors and nurses. Chances are, you will meet doctors and nurses
who are not so open minded about this, and you may even face ridicule. You might end up having to disclose this to
relatives and friends.
Several times a year I hear of
a news story about a cutter being arrested after a recent client of his
developed life threatening complications, and very often the client is also
mentioned in the same news story. Would
you want yourself and your motives disclosed to the media? Some transsexuals have been outed this way.
Another thing I want you to
consider is that the medical staff at the hospital where you seek treatment
will likely try to reattach your testicles if you have succeeded in severing
them from your body. Many of those who
attempt do-it-yourself castration fail, either because they inflicted
life-threatening trauma on themselves before they detached both testicles, or
because those doctors who provided emergency treatment managed to reattach
their testicles. You might fail to
castrate yourself, yet still have to pay thousands of dollars and all the
non-monetary costs for treatment of your attempt, meaning that all your pain
and efforts got you nowhere. Then the
only things you might gain are hospital bills and a lot of embarrassment.
Money is not the real issue. I wish to be castrated a certain way.
I notice that some people who
seek castration wish to have it done in a certain manner, such as by a woman,
or done in some sort of scene, and place little or no emphasis on their life
after castration. If you have merely
thought about how you want to be castrated, and have not thought about your
life after castration, then you seriously need to reconsider why you seek castration,
and what long term benefits you would gain from the procedure. The castration procedure will be so brief,
yet the aftereffects of it will remain for the rest of your life. Castration is so much more than merely
removing testicles from the body. This
results in profound changes in sexuality, emotions, and your overall life. Please read my Castration Effects
page as well as my Castration Factors
page and seriously consider what your life will be like without testosterone or
fertility.
But I heard about somebody who went to Dr. Xxxxx for castration, and yet they almost died from complications. Is it really safer to go to a licensed surgeon?
The risks of orchiectomy or any other surgery will never be absolutely
zero. Even the best doctors will have a
very small rate of complications.
I am a transitioned woman who
has not yet had her SRS but is now investigating all her options, so lately I
have read accounts from many women who recently had SRS surgery with various
surgeons. While most of the reports have
been positive, and some of them overwhelmingly so, I
have also read some very negative reports from patients who suffered
complications after having surgery by almost every SRS surgeon on the
planet. Even the most reputable surgeons
in North America have had a very few patients die shortly after their
surgery. If the surgeon is competent,
his or her complication rate will be much lower than that of unlicensed cutters
or the person who tries to do surgery to themselves, so the licensed surgeon
remains the safest option for any surgery.
One thing you will need to
consider is if the benefits you would obtain from castration or any other
surgery are worth taking the very small risks of complications. I would not reject any surgeon just because
one patient died in his hospital, particularly if that patient was a smoker or
already had a health condition that they tried to conceal from the
surgeon. Some surgeons have had their
reputations unfairly tarnished because a patient was already committing risky
behavior or did not follow the surgeon’s instructions. If a particular surgeon seemed to have a
greater rate of complications than other surgeons, then I would hesitate to use
such a surgeon. Every surgeon has at
least a few dissatisfied patients, the question is
whether that surgeon has an unusually high number of unhappy patients. If one surgeon seems to you to be
incompetent, then seek another.
When you see a surgeon for
castration, or for any surgery, you need to work with your surgeon to reduce
the risk of complications. Your surgeon
may instruct you to take antibiotics, or to rest for a certain amount of time
before returning to work. Following the
instructions of your doctor will greatly reduce the risks of post-surgery
complications, particularly of infection.
In addition, factors such as smoking or excess weight may increase the
likelihood of complications, any you can increase your chances of a successful
surgery by not smoking, or quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy weight.
I live in the city of Xxxxx. Is there anybody here who would perform my orchiectomy?
Depending on where you live,
you may have to travel some distance to obtain your orchiectomy. I traveled from Fayetteville Arkansas to
Philadelphia Pennsylvania to obtain my own orchiectomy. Obtaining your dreams and the improved
quality of your life will take some effort, and part of that effort is
travel. I traveled all the way to
Thailand so I could obtain a safe and affordable vaginoplasty.
However, even if you don’t
live in Philadelphia, you might not have to travel far. Most doctors won’t perform orchiectomy on a healthy male, but once in a while somebody
gets lucky and finds the right surgeon.
Transsexuals who are transitioning seem to have more options for
surgeons, since a very few doctors would perform orchiectomy
on someone who has a therapist letter and has already been on HRT for a
while. There are two possible ways that
some patients have found a doctor near their home.
One very good friend of mine
tried these methods and found a surgeon to perform her orchiectomy
in the city I currently reside in.
Many persons from all over the
USA, Canada, and outside the USA have E-Mailed me asking if I knew of a surgeon
in their area. If I have not listed any
surgeons in your city on my Castration
surgeons webpage, that means that I either don’t know of anyone in your
area, or there might be a doctor there who does not wish to have his or her
name disclosed on any internet site.
In the days before the
internet, when I didn’t know of any doctors who would be willing to perform orchiectomy, I often thought about trying to remove the
unwanted parts myself. When I had my
surgery in 1999, Dr. Spector was the only surgeon
that I knew of who would do this surgery.
During the past several years, I have become aware of a few more doctors
who would be willing to perform orchiectomy for those
of us who are making the transition from male to female, but unfortunately
options remain limited for non-transgendered men who would simply live an
improved life without testosterone. It
is my hope that doctors will be more understanding, and that there will be more
surgeons who would provide a safe orchiectomy for all
persons (both transitioning and not transitioning) who would benefit from this
surgery and have an improved quality of life.
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