DR . WHO
Dr . Fensterer with her husband Will , and sons Oliver and Henry . Dr . Fensterer performing a surgery in Brazil in 2002 .
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training and the technology . “ The way things were being scored , measured , classified , they were all different . So I saw just how fast things can change . Now I make sure I never say , ‘ This is the way things have always been done , so that ’ s how we ’ re doing it .’ We need always to look around and see that things are changing . If you don ’ t look at that and appreciate it , you ’ ll be far behind .”
When her general surgery residency was nearly over , she matched in plastic surgery at the University of Iowa , nearly eight hours away from her new home . Her fourth and final residency program was three years , meaning that either her husband would have to move and leave his job as then-Vice President for Business Development at Capital Access Corp . -Kentucky , or they would be married long-distance . They chose the latter and made it work with weekend visits and phone calls . During this increasingly stressful time , the couple struggled with infertility , and Dr . Fensterer was undergoing IVF treatments while in residency . While in Iowa , she did two rounds of IVF and got pregnant . “ I had my whole pregnancy alone . As much as my husband could come visit , he would , but since I was a surgical resident , I couldn ’ t leave at all .”
She gave birth to her now 2 1 / 2-year-old son Oliver during her final year , but knew that there was no way she could care for him while completing a surgical fellowship . Her husband took the baby back to Louisville with him and as a first-time father , assumed the challenging role of single dad for a year . The new family of three would drive to a halfway point on the weekends to see each other for the entirety of that year . During his time raising their child and balancing a long-distance relationship , Will was promoted to President and CEO at his company . During the last week of her residency , she did another round of IVF and got pregnant again . This time , she could spend her entire pregnancy and delivery with her husband , and 11 months ago they brought Henry home to meet Oliver .
Once back in Louisville ( for the final move of her lifetime , she hopes ) Dr . Fensterer approached the fellow she had met during her time in the research lab , Dr . Banis , and happily joined his practice in 2019 . At their practice , she specializes in a variety of plastic surgeries including cosmetics and gender confirmation surgeries . She was the first in the state of Kentucky to perform a facial feminization and said that it was baffling to her that it hadn ’ t been done before .
“ I can ’ t believe it that everyone had been missing that !” she said . “ I love doing these surgeries and being the first one , it ’ s almost like I came here to do that . It was worth it to me to re-do the whole residency just to make this happen for this community .”
In addition to facial feminizations , she also performs many other gender confirmation surgeries such as breast augmentations and mastectomies . To do any type of gender confirmation surgery , she follows guidelines from The World Professional Association for Transgender Health , Inc . ( WPATH ) to make sure that the patient is fully prepared for the gravity of the surgery , as many procedures cannot be reversed . The guidelines include patients being on medications , socially transitioning and seeing a mental health professional . She said she is proud to do these types of surgeries and is honored to be able to help a population that is discriminated against so often in our society .
“ Going into the medical field , I saw how transgender people were treated , how they were addressed . In Iowa , I had an attending say that they didn ’ t want to take care of ‘ those kinds of people .’ And I just ask … what ’ s the difference ? I placed myself in the patient ’ s position and I wouldn ’ t want to be discriminated by something so superficial . We are all humans .”
She looks forward to continuing to grow their practice , adding a new physician later this year . She says that with the addition of team members and a growing patient population , they are able to work on more complicated cases and serve more patients in the community . The challenges in her job are what make her work fun , interesting and rewarding , which is something she knows firsthand you should never take for granted .
“ When I came to the US , I couldn ’ t work as a doctor and that was devastating to me . It was awful . I studied so much and went through so much training , and then I couldn ’ t practice . It really makes me not take any of this for granted . The fact that I have work to go to every day , that ’ s great . It ’ s so wonderful to be able to work and help my patients .”
Kathryn Vance is the Communication Specialist at the Greater Louisville Medical Society .
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