My interest in having a transcrotal first surfaced a number of years ago somewhere around five years, probably more. I was still in the infancy of my own genital modifications. For example, I've had my Prince Albert for almost seven years. I appreciated the transcrotal for a number of reasons: the size, the severity, the rarity, and the secrecy. A transcrotal is not something to take lightly. It is a surgical procedure with very real consequences if not preformed or cared for properly. That is why this story begins so long ago.
At A Glance Author Christopher Contact AirCB328@hotmail.com When A month ago Artist Efix Roy Studio D-Markation Location Quebec City, Quebec Almost two years ago, towards the middle and end of 2006, I renewed my search in greater depth. I had just gotten married, bought a house, and was working at a stable job. I'm an Industrial Engineer, so I'm "corporate," and with that comes certain modification limitations. Knowing that it would take some time to find a practitioner I could trust for such a procedure, I scoured BME for information. I spoke with my regular piercer, who had only a basic understanding of the procedure, never having any training on it, but he gave me some good advice, a few names, and a direction to start.
So, I did my homework. I researched, and e-mailed practitioners. I asked for references, and I followed up with them. My findings yielded Efix Roy as my choice. He displayed an excellent combination of knowledge, skill, and professionalism. His portfolio looked excellent. Best of all, it was a joy speaking to him via e-mail. A few people I had spoken to made me feel like I was wasting their time. Efix was not one of them. He understood how I felt when I said that I was not physically, emotionally, or financially ready at the time.
Time passed. I needed an opportunity to be able to take enough time off from my job to drive up to Quebec City, Quebec from New Jersey and return. In February of 2008, I contacted Efix once again to tell him that I was ready, and we picked a date in early June. Driving from New Jersey to Quebec is about nine hours, so it became part of a larger tour of the northeast, with Efix as my final destination.
My wife, Jennifer, and I met Efix at D-Markation in the historic district of Quebec for a 2pm appointment. With Efix was his apprentice Olivier, who would assist him with the procedure. We spoke a little, going over any last questions. I had some butterflies, but no more than for any other modification that I had gotten. While Oliver was finishing preparing the area, I settled the bill with Efix. Base price was $350 (Cd.) plus another $50 (Cd.) for a second piece of jewelry, still in its sterile bag.
We walked into the piercing room. It was neat and organized. Tools were laid out and everything ready to go. I dropped my pants and sat over on the table on a large sanitary pad. Efix looked me over and we decided on placement, marking my scrotum. I had requested to go as high as possible, but, at the same time, the transcrotal needed to fit safely and comfortably.
My penis was taped back to keep it out of trouble, and next came the clamps. Everything inside relating to the testicles needed to be pushed up and out of the way to allow for clear access for the procedure. One clamp for each testicle, and Olivier would essentially be the one in charge of keeping my testicles out of harm's way. After that, it was time for the local anesthetic. I am no expert, but I believe Efix used Xylocaine. What I do know is that I was concerned when I saw him fill up the first syringe and then got told we'd probably use more. But, Efix knew what he was talking about. The key is to make sure there is no pain during the procedure, so there was no reason so skimp. He placed a bunch of shots in my scrotum to numb the area, first the front and then the back. He then went back poking the area to make sure I couldn't feel anything. If I felt something, he added a little more. My wife, watching about 8 feet behind Efix and Olivier, found this quite en tertaining. I, on the other hand, was flat out on the table, legs over the side, not able to see much more than the ceiling. The shots were not nearly as painful as I had feared. In fact, they were no more uncomfortable than any piercing, and in most cases significantly less intense. The worst ones were in the back of my scrotum.
Now, it was time to cut. This process took only 15 or so minutes, consisting of using a scalpel to cut along the drawn lines. I felt nothing. Efix and Oliver spoke French to each other, so I had limited understanding of what was happening. From what I was told, everything went very smoothly. Next, came the longest part, the suturing. Efix started with one at each of the four corners of the incision. He then added additional ones so that the total would be in the neighborhood of 18. This was a lengthy process, taking more than an hour to complete. I had long lost count of the number of time both men had changed their gloves as they went back and forth getting items like additional sutures. Periodically, Efix would check in on me to see how I was doing. Me? I was fine. I had zoned out, listening to the music. Sometimes I would talk to the guys about various body modification type things, but mostly I wanted to let them do their work. At one point, I had been so q uiet, everyone thought I had fallen asleep.
When the guys were finished suturing the area, they inserted the jewelry a half inch diameter piece of Teflon, about an inch and a half long with a screw-on end and cleaned me off. It was at this point I got to get the first good look at what I had chosen to have done to myself. I carefully put my clothes back on, reviewed aftercare with them and said my goodbyes. Door to door was only two hours.
The sutures are dissolvable, so they should disappear on their own after about three weeks. The key is to keep the area dry to prevent them from dissolving too quickly. Quick showers, no baths. Sea salt soaks for about five minutes twice a day. Dry thoroughly. In theory, I could have had intercourse within a few days of getting this done, but it was strongly suggested I wait until the sutures start to disappear. There would be discharge/lymph for some time. Ibuprofen (Advil) could be taken for pain and swelling but no Aspirin, since it is a blood thinner. I should keep an eye on the area. There was a possibility of bruising, but unlikely considering how little blood was lost. And, of course, no touching.
Efix had said that I probably had another hour or two before the local anesthetic began to wear off. This was ideal since Jennifer and I needed to start our journey back to the states. Luckily, I got about three hours before I really began to feel what had happened down there. We stopped for dinner and the night in northern New York. I popped two Advil and cleaned the area for the first time. There was blood and discharge, but not too much. I slept lightly that night. I usually sleep on my side, and that position was quite uncomfortable. I spent most of my time on my stomach with my legs spread out. I could feel the incision area of the transcrotal on the back of my scrotum.
With the fun stuff done and the anesthetic worn off, the real work began healing. On the ride home, I tried using one of my wife's feminine pads and quickly realized how grateful I am to be a man. It lasted twelve hours before I got rid of it. I rather ruin underwear than use another of those. By the time I arrived back in New Jersey, I was ready for a cleaning. The irritation was horrible.
I had the following day off, but after that, it was back to work. My days followed a pattern: Wake up after an uncomfortable night's sleep, shower & soak my scrotum, pop two Advil. That would get me to lunch, when I popped two more Advil. By the end of the day, I was horribly irritated. My walking was noticeably weird. I told people it was nothing, that I had pulled a muscle. Sometimes it would be awkward to even sit down, and, when I did sit, I would be fidgety. I would get home and immediately do my second sea salt soaks. After dinner, before bed, I had another dose of Advil. I would use two pairs of boxers/briefs a day to keep the area clean and monitor discharge. There wasn't too much, but there was some, mostly trace amounts of blood and lymph. As unappealing as this may sound, I can tell you, after a long day, it smelled like a large gauge piercing. Of course, the hot summer weather and sweating didn't help matters, either. Once healed, I can see myself ta king the barbell out daily for a proper washing. The good thing was that, otherwise, my scrotum continued to look good. No scary looking discharge, odd discoloration, or unusual puffiness. Some periods of incredible itching, which I needed great willpower to resist.
My fifth day during afternoon cleaning, I noticed that I had lost a suture by finding the loosened fiber while I cleaned. It had either popped out or unraveled. A call to Efix relieved my fears with him telling me that losing a few was not uncommon, and I'd likely lose a few more in the next few weeks. He put in more than necessary for that exact reason. Otherwise, I should be okay and that everything that I had been experiencing had so far been normal. That night, I was rudely awakened from one of our cats barreling across myself and stepping on my crotch. The area throbbed horribly, and I ran to the bathroom to assess damage. There was some blood coming out of the rear hole, and I was freaking out a bit. Thankfully, the blood stopped after two minutes or so, and I returned to bed, desperately trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.
Days five to nine were by far the worst. I think I had started losing sutures at a faster rate. The amount of discharge increased, becoming watery and sometimes bloody. Q-tips were used to help clean the area around the incision. Keeping the area dry was essentially impossible. I turned to a hair dryer (no heat setting) to get into the hole. I had to do too much walking at work, and everything was irritated. I have never regretted getting a modification before, but, during this time, I was having second thoughts. I was not happy and worrying that I had bitten off more than I could chew. I still had no visible signs of infection, but that didn't mean I was enjoying the healing period.
By day ten, the tide finally started to turn for the better. The blood had pretty much stopped, and discharge had finally started to reduce. The area, honestly, didn't look that impressive. My sutures looked to have largely dissolved. I had white scabs in the incision area in a few spots. They reminded me of canker sores that you can get in your mouth. Twice a day cleaning and three a day Advil weren't going anywhere yet. I was also still using two pairs of boxers a day, too.
At the two week mark, the little by little improvements started to finally add up. I stopped the Advil. Irritation decreased, so my walking improved. Sleeping improved. The white scabs became a bit larger, but much less defined. They were almost translucent. Any blood stopped and discharge, which was getting even lighter in color, decreased, although my best days were those that I walked the least. I kept two a day boxers to monitor discharge, although by this point, I probably could have gone back to one a day. The biggest problem I had was that the top of the rear disc on my barbell rides into the back of my scrotum about between 10 and 2 o'clock. Any irritation I had at this point was directly related to that. There is a noticeable mark in that area from the barbell pushing in. That area looked to be my biggest concern.
After the three week mark, I continued to have small, incremental improvements. I stopped the two-a-day boxers as discharge decreased a bit more. The white scabs had mostly faded. The irritation spot, however, was still there. It had gotten better, but not much. Still, by this point, I found myself walking well and able to put my legs in positions that I had not been able to since getting the procedure done. What had been a near constant healing annoyance had now become a minor nuisance. That was a plus.
At four weeks and approaching the one month mark, I could clearly see that I was in the home stretch. Discharge had become 10% of what it was three weeks prior. The front area of my scrotum looked like the barbell had always been there. There was still that irritation spot on the rear, but it was less troublesome. That spot was going to take the longest to heal. When my scrotum was most relaxed, there was a half to three quarters of an inch of barbell visible. If my scrotum was tight up against my body, there was no barbell to be seen. That's when irritation would be at its worst. Still, by this time, things were going much better.
I've reached the seven week mark now. I have reduced to one sea salt soaking a day. There is virtually no discharge anymore. That irritation spot is almost gone, but it's been partially replaced by some growth that looks similar to "ear lobe blowout" from stretching too fast. I'm going to keep an eye on it. Overall, I've reached a point where in most of my walking and movements, I am not even aware of my transcrotal. I have even removed the barbell a couple of times to clean the jewelry. However, I feel that I am not ready to be doing that on a regular basis.
I just want to conclude by saying that in my ten years of getting various body modifications, this has been by far the most involved thing I've ever done. While I had prepared myself for the procedure, I wasn't really ready for the extended healing process. Taking care of tattoos my primary modification as of late for so long had made me soft when compared to real healing. I cannot speak more highly of Efix Roy. He was great during the procedure and professionally and kindly answered my calls and e-mails when I was at my most worried. I have promised him that I will keep in touch, and when I'm back in Quebec, I will visit. Chances are I'll have something else for him to do.
If anyone has questions, I am always happy to help. I love to talk body medication and meet like-minded people, as my current lifestyle isn't always conducive to those things. Feel free to e-mail me at AirCB328@hotmail.com. Thanks Chris.