Unfortunately, these issues are common in both MTF and FTM procedures, often leading to extreme anxiety, disappointment, and concern. Thankfully, HBOT is here to help you heal well, reduce the risk of complications, and avoid revision surgeries.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Avoid the Risk of Post-Op Complications

First and foremost, it is important to know that, in the field of hyperbaric medicine, “a flap is a flap is a flap” and “a graft is a graft is a graft.”

That is to say, when it comes to HBOT, the science upon which decades of remarkable results have been achieved in all other flaps and grafts also applies to the flaps and grafts utilized in gender affirmation surgeries.

In MTF sex reassignment surgery, a common postoperative complication is “stenosis,” which refers to a narrowing of the tissues. When this occurs, revision surgery is needed. Rather than face the prospect of another surgery and long recovery, undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy after MTF surgery has been exceptionally successful. In FTM surgery, the surgical risks can include poor incision healing, fluid accumulation, blood clots, excessive scarring, or asymmetry.

A phalloplasty is a delicate surgical procedure involving moving a flap of tissue from another body area to create the phallus from natural tissue, including skin grafting. This procedure is often just one of a set of surgeries. The ideal result is a surgery that is successful and free from complications – which is where HBOT becomes a vital recovery therapy for gender affirmation surgery in San Francisco.

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patient smiling after her recovery therapy for gender affirmation surgery in San Francisco

Flap and Graft Surgery

When a “flap” procedure is performed, transferring natural tissues from one body location to another in gender affirmation surgery, the newly created body part needs to integrate into the tissues in the region.

This requires the transferred tissues to develop new capillaries to provide healthy blood flow to avoid tissue death (necrosis). HBOT has the amazing capacity to stimulate blood vessel growth, offering a critical benefit for patients undergoing flap procedures in gender affirmation surgeries

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Reduce the Risks of Complications From Gender-Affirming Surgery

You now have the option to significantly reduce the risk of needing revision surgery due to complications experienced after gender affirmation surgery.

To speed healthy healing and tissue repair, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, can produce a remarkable change in the body’s reaction to the physical trauma of surgery. When it comes to a recovery therapy for gender affirmation surgery, San Francisco has 8th Element to offer the benefits of:

  • Faster healing time
  • Reduced scarring
  • Decreased inflammation
  • Wards off infection 
  • Promotes blood vessel formation
  • Enhanced antioxidant performance
  • Synergy with certain antibiotics
  • Faster bone regeneration
  • Improved collagen production

8th Element Hyperbaric Medicine and Gender Affirmation Surgery

At 8th Element Hyperbaric Medicine, we have created an oasis of healing for transgender patients. We are a highly specialized group providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy to the transgender community who have chosen to undergo gender affirmation surgery. We are the first treatment center in the USA to provide hyperbaric medicine specifically for gender affirmation surgery.

Our goal is to reduce the risk of postoperative complications and dramatically improve cosmetic and functional results. We have a high clinical success rate, and our treatments are both non-invasive and pain-free. We are committed to providing friendly, empowering, caring support to the LGBTQ+ community. Our treatments are generally covered by health insurance and are performed with state-of-the-art equipment. This is a recovery therapy for gender affirmation surgery San Francisco trusts. You can expect the highest level of personalized care and respect. Naturally.

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