Toby Meltzer

Infobox_Celebrity
name = Dr. Toby R. Meltzer


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birth_date = Birth date and age|1957|9|19|mf=y
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Surgeon
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networth =
website = [http://www.tmeltzer.com/ Official Site]

Toby R. Meltzer (born September 19, 1957), is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who currently practices in Scottsdale, Arizona. [ C. Beam "Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers" pg 133-135 Harcourt 2007 ISBN 0151011966] 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. [ 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] 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. [Questions " [http://www.tmeltzer.com/questions/ How many vaginoplasties/GRS procedures has Meltzer performed and how often does he do them?] " Official Site] Meltzer is considered one of the leading surgeons in this specialized field. [J. Roughgarden "Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People" pg 285 University of California Press 2004 ISBN 0520240731]

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 [ Biography " [http://www.sstarnet.org/download/2006FinalProgram.pdf SSTAR 200631st Annual Meeting] " Society for Sex Therapy and Research pg 80] . 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. [Dean Kotula "The Phallus Palace: Female to Male Transsexuals" pg 174, Alyson Publications (2002) ISBN 1-55583-654-2 ] 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. [ Associated Press " [http://www.avitale.com/VL.247-12.16.2002.htm Sex change surgeon relocating to Arizona] " Dec. 12, 2002 Tuscan Citizen ]

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, 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. [Tennessee Vals Newsletter " [http://www.tvals.org/Newsletters/VNL2004Jul.pdf] " July 2004 ]

urgical practice

During the 1990s, during his practice in Portland Meltzer developed a vaginoplasty technique. [Anne Lawrence, MD. Note: Graphic photos: [http://www.annelawrence.com/twr/meltzersrs.html "Vaginoplasty: Dr. Meltzer - Twenty-five page step-by-step photographic walkthrough with narrative captions"] ] 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. [ J. Meyerowitz "How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States" pg 272 Harvard University Press 2004 ISBN 0674013794 ] He is also one of just a few surgeons in the U.S. who performs metiodioplasty procedures to create male genitilia for FTM transsexuals.

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. [Toby Meltzer, MD et al, [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12090702&dopt=Abstract "Cricothyroid approximation to elevate vocal pitch in MtF transsexuals: results of surgery"] 111: 477–485 Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, (2002) [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12090702&dopt=Abstract| PMID: 12090702] ] 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), [ Toby Meltzer, MD, PC [http://www.tmeltzer.com/procedures/mtf.shtml "Toby Meltzer, MD, PC: Procedures MTF"] ] 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.tsroadmap.com/physical/vaginoplasty/toby-meltzer.html TSRoad
]
* [http://www.annelawrence.com/twr/meltzersrs01.html TWR: Step by Step Pictorial of Meltzer's Vaginoplasty Surgery]
* [http://www.annelawrence.com/twr/labiaplasty.html TWR: Step by Step Pictorial of Meltzer's Labiaplasty Surgery]
* [http://meltzersupport.blogspot.com/ Patient's Information Site About Meltzer With Photographs]
* [http://www.annelawrence.com/twr/meltzer.html Photos of Meltzer's Vaginoplasty Results]