Transgender Genital Electrolysis For Surgical Preparation In Chicago
Clear The Surgical Area. Sleep Through The Session.
Vaginoplasty · Phalloplasty · Metoidioplasty Preparation
Every Plan Is Quoted Individually And Built Around Your Surgery Date.
If you have a date for vaginoplasty, phalloplasty or metoidioplasty, your surgeon will want the surgical area cleared of hair before they operate. Electrolysis is how that gets done permanently, and it is usually the longest running part of surgical preparation, which is why it pays to start early.
What has changed at our clinic on North Larrabee Street is what the sessions feel like. You can now have genital electrolysis under general anesthesia and be asleep for all of it.
Four Levels Of Comfort For Genital Electrolysis
Genital clearing is slow, precise work in an area most people would rather not be awake for. You decide how much of it you are present for. All four levels below are available for pre-surgical genital treatment.
General Anesthesia
You are unconscious for the whole session, so the part most people dread is not something you experience at all. Anesthesia starts with inhaled anesthetic through a mask, so nothing goes into a vein, and no numbing injections go into the surgical area either.
IV Twilight Sedation
An IV goes in and the anesthesia professional gives you sedation. You may drift in and out and remember very little of the day. Lidocaine still numbs the treatment area, because sedation settles your nerves but does not numb skin.
Oral Conscious Sedation
The medication is taken by mouth, so no IV is needed for the sedation itself. You stay awake and can talk to your electrologist while feeling considerably calmer, paired with numbing cream, lidocaine and nitrous oxide.
Awake With Local Comfort
Prescription numbing cream, lidocaine injections dosed by your weight, and a ProNox mask you hold yourself and breathe from whenever a spot turns out sharper than the rest. More people get through genital sessions this way than you would expect.
The Practitioner Who Sedates You Stays For The Whole Session
Whichever level you choose, the licensed practitioner responsible for it stays at our clinic with you from the first minute through to discharge. They watch your breathing, oxygen and comfort, and they adjust or re-dose whenever it is medically appropriate. Nobody gives you medication and then leaves the building.
Why Your Surgeon Asks For Electrolysis
Genital electrolysis destroys the hair growth cells in the surgical area one follicle at a time, using heat or chemical energy delivered through a fine probe. Surgeons ask for it specifically because it is permanent and because it takes every hair, including the light, gray and fine ones that laser cannot see.
Laser is cleared for hair reduction, not permanent removal. It works by targeting pigment, so it can thin dense dark hair quickly but leaves behind exactly the hairs you do not want left inside a graft. That is why surgeons want the area fully cleared rather than mostly cleared, and it is why electrolysis is the step that finishes the job.
We work from your surgeon’s hair removal diagram and treat precisely the area they specify. If you have that diagram or a surgical protocol, send it over before we plan treatment. We are happy to coordinate with their office directly.
Licensed, experienced and qualified electrologists who respect your privacy and confidentiality.
Three Ways To Structure A Genital Treatment Day
We do not sell fixed packages. Each treatment day is planned around your hair, the area your surgeon needs cleared and your surgery date. Every format below is a large-volume session with one electrologist, and all of them follow your surgeon’s hair removal diagram exactly.
Asleep
Genital Treatment Under General Anesthesia
One electrologist works continuously for up to six hours while you sleep. The anesthesia professional looks after you from start to finish and does not leave the clinic during your session.
- Anesthesia is started through a mask, so there is no IV for induction
- No local numbing injections are needed for comfort
- The work continues without stops for injection bruising or swelling
Drifting
Genital Treatment With IV Twilight Sedation
Suited to a concentrated clearing of the surgical area, or to a follow-up visit once regrowth has slowed. You stay deeply relaxed, and the hours tend to pass quickly.
- One electrologist for up to six hours
- Local anesthetic numbs the treatment area
- Sedation is not limited to a single starting dose
Relaxed
Awake, Comfortable Genital Treatment
For clients who want a high level of comfort without an IV or general anesthesia. You stay awake and can talk with your team the whole time.
- Oral conscious sedation and anxiety medication
- Prescription topical numbing cream
- Local lidocaine numbing injections
- ProNox nitrous oxide
Electrologist-hours are actual treatment time, which is not the same as the time you spend under sedation or anesthesia. All sedation and anesthesia services require a medical evaluation and depend on individual eligibility. They are administered and monitored by qualified anesthesia professionals, who remain responsible for every anesthesia-related decision and may change the planned approach when patient safety requires it.
Every Genital Plan Gets Its Own Written Estimate
The cost of pre-surgical genital electrolysis depends on the area your surgeon wants cleared, how dense the hair is, which comfort level you choose and how many visits your timeline allows. A single price list would be inaccurate for most clients, so we quote each plan individually.
Send us a few details through our contact form. We will reply with a personal estimate that sets out the treatment hours, the number of visits, the comfort level that suits you and the full cost, before you commit to anything.
What To Include In The Contact Form
- Your planned surgery: vaginoplasty, phalloplasty or metoidioplasty
- Your surgeon, your surgery date and your surgeon’s hair removal diagram, if you have them
- Your hair color and density, and any laser or electrolysis you have already had
- The comfort level you are leaning toward, or that you have not decided yet
- Whether you are traveling to Chicago and which dates suit you
Once you approve your plan, a deposit reserves your treatment date. Sedation and general anesthesia also require medical screening and clearance before booking.
How Many Sessions You Will Need
Most people need four to six clearing sessions, spaced several weeks apart. Here is why, and how to fit them in before your surgery.
Hair Grows In Cycles
Only follicles in an active growth phase can be treated at a given visit. The rest show up later, which is why the work has to be repeated over several sessions.
Long Sessions Are Normal
Six hours in a day is typical for genital clearing. You choose how you spend those hours: under general anesthesia, with IV twilight sedation, with oral conscious sedation, or awake with numbing cream, lidocaine and nitrous oxide.
Start As Early As You Can
Starting early gives the clearings time to finish well before your surgery. If you already have a date, tell us at your consultation and we will plan the sessions backwards from it.
Payment Plans And Insurance Reimbursement
Cost is one of the main reasons people delay pre-surgical hair removal. There are two ways to make it easier to manage, and it helps to understand both before you book.
Spread The Cost Over Monthly Payments With Affirm
Our appointments are booked through Vagaro, which offers Buy Now, Pay Later through Affirm. You can split the cost of a genital treatment day, or your full pre-surgical plan, into monthly payments rather than paying everything on the day of treatment.
- You will find the Affirm option at checkout when you pay for your treatment.
- The application takes a couple of minutes and does not affect your credit score.
- Rates and terms are set by Affirm, not by our clinic.
- You will see the full terms before you confirm anything.
How Insurance Reimbursement Works
Most insurers still treat hair removal as cosmetic. Hair removal before gender-affirming surgery is the exception, and it is approved case by case through prior authorization. Several insurance companies have approved our transgender patients.
We do not bill insurers directly. We are an out-of-network provider, so you pay us, we give you an itemized invoice and your insurer reimburses you.
- Call your insurer, tell them you are having surgery and explain that you need hair removal beforehand as a medical necessity.
- Send the same documents that qualified you for surgery: your two WPATH letters and a letter of medical necessity from your surgeon. We can provide our own supporting letter if they ask for one.
- Wait for written prior authorization before you start treatment.
- Submit each invoice promptly. Late claims can be denied even when prior authorization was approved.
Book Your Treatment Day
We are at 1315 N Larrabee St, Chicago IL 60610, open Monday through Friday, 9:00AM to 6:00PM, by appointment only with no walk-ins. If you have never had electrolysis or laser hair removal with us, we require a consultation first. Out-of-state clients can do that consultation by phone or video.
Booking And Cancellation Policy
To be fair to all clients and to use our time effectively, we have established the following cancellation guidelines.
- Appointments of one hour or less: at least 24 hours notice.
- Appointments longer than one hour: at least 72 hours notice.
- Treatments of four hours or more: at least 14 days notice.
- If proper notice is not given, a fee of 100% of the scheduled service will be charged.
To change an appointment, call us at (252) 722-5006 or email [email protected].
More On Pain Relief
We offer four levels of comfort, from fully awake and numb to completely asleep. Our transgender electrolysis page compares all four side by side, and the pain management page explains each option in full.
By appointment only. No walk-ins. We speak English, Romanian and Russian.