Toby Meltzer

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Toby R. Meltzer, MD

Born September 19, 1957 (1957-09-19) (age 50)
Occupation Surgeon
Website
Official Site

Toby R. Meltzer, MD (born September 19, 1957), is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who currently practices in Scottsdale, Arizona.[1] Meltzer specializes in sex reassignment surgery male-to-female, sex reassignment surgery female-to-male, and facial feminization surgery. In the 1990s, Meltzer pioneered the neovaginal construction technique that increased the ability of the neoclitoris to feel sensations.[2] In 2007, Meltzer reported that he performs 2-4 vaginoplasties a week, and that he has performed over 3000 male and female sexual reassignment (SRS) surgeries during his practice.[3] Meltzer is considered one of the leading surgeons in this specialized field.[4]

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[edit] Education and early practice

Meltzer is a graduate of the Louisiana State University school of medicine, where he completed a residency in general surgery. He completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Michigan[5]. Meltzer then began his practice, while working as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). There he specialized in general surgery, plastic surgery, and completed a fellowship in surgery for treatment of severe burn injuries.

Working with the chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division at OHSU, he began training in SRS surgical techniques. Meltzer researched and interviewed pediatric urologists with experience treating children born with ambiguous genitalia, and surgeons already performing vaginoplasty surgeries such as the late Stanley Biber, MD. In 1993 he began performing vaginoplasty surgeries, which eventually became a large part of his practice. In 1996, he opened his own private practice in Portland, Oregon.[6] He relocated his practice to Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A. in 2003 becoming the first doctor in the state of Arizona to specialize in gender reconstruction surgery.[7]

Dr. Meltzer was forced to relocate to Scottsdale after a conservative physicians consortium, Symphony Healthcare, purchased Eastmoreland hospital. Meltzer was reportedly forced out due to Symphony's hefty price increase, that some claim was a ruse due to the conservative corporation's objections to transsexual surgery. According to reports, Dr. Meltzer's surgeries accounted for 50 percent of the hospital's revenue. Symphony Healthcare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than two years later. [8]

[edit] Surgical practice

During the 1990s, during his practice in Portland Meltzer developed a vaginoplasty technique.[9] Meltzer's demeanor and surgical skills gained him respect in the transgender community as he was considered having surpassed the veteran Stanley Biber in terms of referrals.[10] He is also one of just a few surgeons in the U.S. who performs metiodioplasty procedures to create male genitilia for FTM transsexuals.

Meltzer performing forehead reduction with an electric burr
Meltzer performing forehead reduction with an electric burr

In the late 1990s, Meltzer performed many cricothyroid approximation surgeries. This procedure attempts to raise vocal pitch by surgically modifying the cricoid and thyroid cartilage structures.[11] The intent of the procedure is to raise the vocal pitch of patients unable to do so through voice training. Improved voice training methods (which often produce better results than the surgery) and the inherent risks of vocal surgery have largely eliminated the demand for cricothyroid approximation.

Meltzer also performs facial feminization surgery (FFS),[12] including: mandibular angle osteotomy, genioplasty, cranioplasty, scalp advancement, trachea reduction, and other feminizing procedures. Additional surgical procedures including: reconstruction of severed limbs, scar revision surgeries, and more familiar plastic surgical procedures such as breast augmentation, are also aspects of Meltzer's practice.

[edit] References

  1. ^ C. Beam Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers pg 133-135 Harcourt 2007 ISBN 0151011966
  2. ^ A. Lawrence "Patient-Reported Complications and Functional Outcomes of Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery" pg 720-723 Archives of Sexual Behavior Springer Netherlands Volume 35, Number 6 / December, 2006 doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9104-9
  3. ^ Questions How many vaginoplasties/GRS procedures has Dr. Meltzer performed and how often does he do them? Official Site
  4. ^ J. Roughgarden Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People pg 285 University of California Press 2004 ISBN 0520240731
  5. ^ Biography [http://www.sstarnet.org/download/2006FinalProgram.pdf SSTAR 2006 31st Annual Meeting] Society for Sex Therapy and Research pg 80
  6. ^ Dean Kotula The Phallus Palace: Female to Male Transsexuals pg 174, Alyson Publications (2002) ISBN 1-55583-654-2
  7. ^ Associated Press Sex change surgeon relocating to Arizona Dec. 12, 2002 Tuscan Citizen
  8. ^ Tennessee Vals Newsletter [1] July 2004
  9. ^ Anne Lawrence, MD. Note: Graphic photos: Vaginoplasty: Dr. Meltzer - Twenty-five page step-by-step photographic walkthrough with narrative captions
  10. ^ J. Meyerowitz How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States pg 272 Harvard University Press 2004 ISBN 0674013794
  11. ^ Toby Meltzer, MD et al, Cricothyroid approximation to elevate vocal pitch in MtF transsexuals: results of surgery 111: 477–485 Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, (2002) PMID: 12090702
  12. ^ Toby Meltzer, MD, PC Toby Meltzer, MD, PC: Procedures MTF

[edit] External links