Sex reassignment surgery

Introduction to Sex Reassignment Surgery

Sex reassignment surgery is also known as sex change or gender reassignment surgery. This surgical procedure is performed with one goal-to change genital organs from one gender to another.

Firstly, the very surgery is performed in newborns suffering from intersex deformities that require early assignment to particular gender. In these children intersex deformities are only a stage between the primordial female genitals and transformation into male genitals due to stimulation by male hormones. Secondary, the surgery may be performed in men and women who consider themselves physically different and they feel more as a person of the opposite sex.

The very surgery is much simpler and successful in case of conversion to a female than to a male. In case of newborns majority of children are assigned to the female gender. The doctors opt for a male gender only in case the penis is at least an inch long.

Sex Reassignment Surgery - the Very Procedure

In case a man wants to become a woman his penis is surgically removed and the rest of the genital tissues are reshaped to appear more female. The vagina is constructed from a skin graft or an isolated loop of intestine. After the surgery patients are administered female hormones, to be more precise estrogen. The goal of hormonal surgery is to reshape the body and stimulate the growth of breasts.

In case of female to male surgery the desirable results may not sometimes be achieved. Namely, it is highly complicated to create a functioning penis which is commonly obtained from much smaller clitoral tissue. Creation of the penis is never performed less than a year after the introduction surgery performed to remove female reproductive organs. One more surgery in this case includes removal of the breast tissue and alteration of breasts so that they more resemble breasts in men. This particular surgical procedure is highly successful. Fortunately, the ability to experience an orgasm is preserved in almost all patients.

Sex reassignment surgery is rather expensive and this particularly refers to female to male sex reassignment surgery which includes several surgical procedures.

Sex reassignment surgery carries several risks and they include infection, bleeding and in some cases patients need to undergo repair surgical procedures. The most common complication after creating a new vagina in men is narrowing of the vagina. The problem is easily dealt with dilatation or by using a portion of colon in formation of the very vagina. In women who undergo sex reassignment surgery the most common complication is dysfunction of the penis. Once the person has made decision to undergo this surgery he/ she must be absolutely determined since the surgery is irreversible. Both genders may require psychiatric care for many years after the surgery.