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Eugene Shrang
2002 update: please see the Eugene
Schrang's site with his recommendations for electrolytsis prior to SRS.
SRS surgeon Eugene Schrang has some information from 2002 on hair removal
prior to SRS:
Hair can be removed by electrolysis or laser prior to surgery. But
better still is the cutting away of the hair follicles while thinning the
graft with scissors which can be done by me at the time of surgery followed
by electrocoagulation of the follicles. This saves the patient time
and money not to mention great discomfort from painful electrolysis.
Since electrocoagulation is time consuming, we charge an extra $500 for
this.
No matter what method is used to remove hair, the removal of ALL hair follicles
is usually never completely accomplished and some hair may grow in the neo-vagina.
This is why you must begin early to remove as much hair as possible from
the scrotum if you wish me to use your scrotum as a full thickness graft
and do not want me to remove the hair at surgery.
He wrote in a June, 1997 patient correspondence:
Full thickness grafts are excellent sources of lining material and can
be obtained from various places such as from across the lower abdomen (if
enough hairless skin is present) leaving a transverse scar which resembles
a Hysterectomy scar or the bilateral flanks which leave oblique scars of
varying length and width that can often be covered with even scanty attire
- but scars result all the same!
For years my objection to the use of scrotal skin
as a source of graft material was the fact that it contains hair and has
a rough texture.
On April 16, 1998, I wrote to Dr. Schrang to follow up on his comments about
scrotal grafts. He's currently very excited about a procedure in which he
scrapes the hair follicles off the underside of scrotal grafts prior to use:
What I have come across, however, is a technique whereby I remove the hair
follicles at the time of surgery. After the scrotal skin is removed, I turn
the graft over and cut away the underlying fascia exposing the hair follicles
which I then remove both by cutting them away with my scissors and cauterizing
them with my electrocoagulation machine. This is VERY effective in removing
the hair from the scrotum but I still tell my patients to get as much hair removed from
the scrotum as possible before surgery because no matter what method or combination of methods are
used, some few hairs always seem to escape our best efforts.
The following diagrams are scanned from SRS surgeon Eugene Schrang's information
package. Thanks to Gwen Smith for this scan! The caption reads:
ELECTROLYSIS OF PENILE AND PUBIS HAIR
All of the hair on the penile shaft should be removed plus 1.5 inches [3.8
cm] to 2 inches [5 cm]
above junction of the penis with the pubis.
Dr. Schrang's statement on laser hair removal
In a 1997 letter about the benefits of preoperative genital hair removal, SRS
surgeon Eugene Schrang recommended laser hair removal. On April 16, 1998, I
wrote to Dr. Schrang to follow up on his comments from a year earlier. I asked
him six questions (in bold). Dr. Schrang's responses
follow in purple:
1. In 1997, you planned to purchase a laser-- what has been your experience?
"I was very excited about it until I realized
that it is efficacious only in persons with dark hair and light skin...
I never got a laser because I see so many patients
with brown to light hair that would not respond to laser that I did not think
it would be cost effective."
2. Have you personally experienced or read clinical data showing permanent
laser hair removal?
[No response]
3. If a patient had a choice between lasers or electrolysis for genital
hair removal, which would you recommend?
"Which method would I chose? --- Laser if I had
very dark hair; Electrolysis if I had very light hair but most likely a combination
of the two if my hair was brown. Then I would ask my surgeon to finish things
off with his scissors and electrocoagulation machine at the time of SRS."
4. Could you give your opinion of laser permanence in one sentence?
"Permanent means permanent to me no matter what
modality is used. I do not believe that we have any foolproof method of hair
removal at this time."
5. I say, "If you cannot afford to risk your time, your money, or your
surgical outcome on unproven hair removal technology, invest in the only method
proven permanent for over a century: traditional electrolysis." Do you
agree?
"I agree with number five if you have light colored
hair or hair which does not respond well to laser but my experience with onsite
surgical removal is by far the best especially if efforts at removal have
already been tried."
6. The quotation on your AOL profile says, "The Bitter taste of Poor
Quality lasts long after the sweet taste of cheap price is forgotten."
Do you think this applies to lasers?
Although the quotation applies in many cases, best
is not always the most expensive. I charge an additional $300 to remove the
hair at surgery which method, as I said, is very effective and not that costly.
Related SRS pages at this site:
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