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[–]motionlessoracle 29 insightful - 1 fun29 insightful - 0 fun30 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

So, first off, they're not the same and yes, a gynecologist can tell the difference.

I'd like to put to rest the "wound" analogy, though. After surgery, transwomen do eventually heal. The neovagina doesn't bleed endlessly. However, since the pouch (for lack of a better word) is not being held in tension by all the ligaments and muscles that female vaginas have, it tends to want to atrophy. They have to keep stretching that skin daily or the depth of the pouch will shrink. There is (obviously) no cervix. Just a blind pouch.

(The inside of a female's vagina will also atrophy a bit after menopause unless estrogen is supplemented. That's for a different reason.)

A "clitoris" is constructed using the head of the penis that has atrophied in the absence of testosterone plus some skin to cloak it in something resembling a clitoral hood. There is no clitoral root inside the body and thus no G spot. There are no vaginal rugae or other interior features present in females.

Depending on the surgeon, the interior of the neovagina may be made of mucosal tissue from the bowel, in which case it will self lubricate with the same mucus that is in the bowel, or it is made using the skin of the penis that has basically been hollowed out and shoved into the body. The penile skin variant will not self lubricate. Some neovaginas are a hybrid of penile skin and bowel tissue because the penis was too small to permit much depth.

The urethra is relocated to a hole just above the neovaginal pouch and a crude vulva/labia are created. These will often be refined in later surgeries.

Penile skin often has hair follicles, so the skin must be laser hair treated prior to surgery to destroy them. Many neovaginas do wind up with pubic hair inside, though. Also, the "seam" where the scrotal skin joined together before birth is often obvious between the anus and the entry to the neovagina.

[–]chrysthefeminist 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

in which case it will self lubricate with the same mucus that is in the bowel

Since it's bowel tissue, doesn't it smell like feces?

[–]motionlessoracle 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

It might if you stuck food in it and let it ferment... The bacteria alone probably have very little odor unless there's an unwanted invasion of yeast.

[–]chrysthefeminist 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I did a chemistry lab in college once with gastric enzymes. Smelled awful. The enzymes alone, not enzymes plus food.