Good luck! This looks great so far.
I’ve also sterilized with a three part process of soap/water, then diluted bleach, then a quick spray of Star San before bottling. That process came from chilichump on YouTube, and I’ve had a lot of success with it.








In the US, difficulty in finding a place/surgeon will depend on the state you are in and perhaps your insurance. You can claim bilateral testicular pain as the reason that you want orchiectomy to try to game the system, but many urologists will counsel you towards cord denervation for pain if so.
Recovery is a few weeks. No bike riding or riding lawnmowers for 4 weeks. You may get 5-7 days of narcotic pain medications, but most are typically on Tylenol/ibuprofen before then. Ice packs can help as needed.
Incision is usually through the midline of the scrotum (the raphe), and surgery should leave the entirety of the scrotum in place for future vaginoplasty should you so desire. As others have said, given enough time the scrotum will atrophy/shrink without testicles to stretch it.
Most urologists will follow WPATH guidelines for pre-surgery evaluation, so check those out.