hey, I’ve been AFK from Lemmy for a while (sorry about that, life IRL has been rather busy and insane) - but I wanted to pop-in and see if I can answer any questions people might have about my surgery, I’m 1 year post-op. Ask me anything!
(EDIT 2026-06-10: alright folks, I’m probably going to go back to my AFK hole for a while until life gets a bit more chill; I have a tendency to want to spend all my time on the computer otherwise, lol. Love you all!)


aw, thank you - I like seeing you around too 🫶
so, the problem with buccal lining for mucus-production is that it won’t produce the right kind of mucus for a vaginal microbiome (nor will it behave like vaginal epithelium in terms of managing pH), so while a buccal graft is closer to vaginal epithelium than a skin graft (like from a scrotum), the mucus it will produce won’t promote lactobacillus or sufficiently replace cervical mucus … that said, I don’t think it’s the worst logic that a buccal graft gets you that much closer to something like vaginal epithelium, so I don’t blame you for wanting to try that, esp. if a uterus transplant could install a future cervix that does produce the mucus that would help feed lactobacillus.
Since no successful uterine transplant has ever been performed on a trans woman, I tend to hold some skepticism that it will be an option in my lifetime - but I do see that they keep trying, and hopefully someday there will be a success (and more than that, that eventually they will find a way to perform uterine transplants in a way that isn’t a huge risk and becomes routine, the way vaginoplasties have been developed over the past century to the point that risks are relatively low and outcomes relatively positive).
Regardless, I don’t fault you for seeking a uterine transplant (if I thought it were possible, I would certainly consider it myself), just be careful and weigh those risks seriously. I also would look into what the requirements would be, such an experimental and new surgery they may have stricter requirements around age, health, etc.
Thanks for sharing that article, I’ll read it more carefully when I have a chance.
Also thank you for alerting me to the reality of uterine transplants in cis women, I wasn’t aware they were as far along as that - that’s so exciting and gives me so much hope!
Hmm. Are there other places in the body that have a similar microbiome and ‘feel’ as the vaginal lining? I think there’s the gut, but I’m not sure.
Actually, a uterine transplant has been done before on a trans woman (Lili Elbe), though she died from organ rejection in the 1930s - when immunosuppressors weren’t really a thing yet. With modern technology, I think outcomes would be much better.
It def has advanced a lot in the past years! The first succesful modern uterine transplant pregnancy was iirc completed in 2014, but now it’s picked up steam and that gives a lot of hope for those who want to undergo pregnancy but cannot.
unfortunately I don’t know of any tissue that acts like vaginal epithelium in terms of how it alters pH, let alone something that acts like the cervix in producing mucus that feeds lactobacillus - maybe someday they could theoretically grow such tissues in a lab to be used for a graft?
I didn’t include Lili Elbe because it was a failure, I don’t know of any successful transplant - but it’s a good point that the surgery was completed. Her story is so moving and tragic …