Transsexual people often live with a strong desire to live or be recognized as a member of the opposite sex. For this purpose then also a sex change serves, which can succeed with hormonal or also surgical possibilities the optical and also mental approximation to the other sex. Also intersexual people help a gender reassignment surgery to be able to better define their own gender.
What is gender reassignment surgery?
Many transsexuals feel the need to change their physical status. However, there are risks associated with surgical procedures. Sex reassignment is conceptually understood as the transformation of a biological sex through hormonal and surgical measures. These interventions change a man into a woman or a woman into a man. Why some people feel an identity different from their body is not yet fully explained scientifically. According to some hypotheses, hormones are assigned a supporting role in this altered gender orientation. Already in the womb, sex hormones provide for the corresponding sexual orientation. If these hormones work against the formed sex, the later identification with the other sex is already laid out early. People then feel trapped in a body that is foreign to them. These feelings lead some of them to surgical and hormonal sex changes, so that the result is that they live in their desired gender according to external characteristics. These sex changes lead to infertility. Nevertheless, more and more people are looking for ways to eliminate the disproportion they feel between their body and their perceived gender. Increasing experience in the field of sex reassignment surgery is making it possible to effectively help these people.
Function, effect and goals
Gender reassignment surgery is perceived by many people as a liberation. They subsequently feel that they can now finally live their real lives. However, gender reassignment is not an easy path. A large number of individual steps of hormone therapy and surgical interventions are necessary to achieve real success. Hormonal therapies work better when the affected persons are correspondingly younger. However, the individual effect of hormones is different for each patient. In male-to-female conversions, female hormones are added to the male body. These estrogens cause a decrease in libido and breast growth is initiated. The final breast size cannot be influenced by the amount of hormones taken. It depends on personal predisposition. There is also a female fat distribution, although this is naturally limited by the male bone structure. The pitch of the voice does not change, a higher voice can only be achieved through voice training. Male hormones that are still present can be inhibited by an antiandrogen. Estrogens – about 2 mg/day – must continue to be taken even after testicle removal. If hormone therapy results only in relatively small breasts, breast augmentation is performed surgically. However, the basic operation in man-to-woman conversions is the formation of a vagina from the penile skin. With the penile invagination method, part of the glans and corresponding blood vessels are removed and sewn back in as a new clitoris. The urethra is shortened. The testicles and erectile tissue on the penile shaft are removed completely. The scrotum is used to form the labia. Sex reassignment surgery refers only to external features. Internal sexual organs cannot be transformed. There are also combined methods, where the clitoris is also formed from the glans, nerves and vessels of the back of the penis. However, the complete material is used to form the female sexual characteristics. In this way, a deeper vagina can be achieved. If the Adam’s apple in the neck is very large, it can be reduced by an unproblematic minor surgical procedure. Furthermore, there are plastic surgery procedures that further improve the optical effect as a woman. These include facial operations that make the nose narrower or raise the cheekbones. Hips can be padded with inserts. There may also be removal of the lower ribs to keep the waist narrower.In female-to-male conversions, the hormone testosterone has the effect of masculinizing a woman significantly after a short time. Hair growth increases and the voice becomes noticeably darker. Building up genitals so that they appear male is a complicated process. First, the female reproductive organs (uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries) are usually removed, since hormone treatment increases the risk of cancer. If necessary, a scrotum can be formed from the labia. A penoid is formed from the patient’s own tissue and the urethra is extended to the tip. There are now several methods to build penis-like muscles.
Risks, side effects and dangers
According to legal regulations, an adult does not need surgical or hormonal sex reassignment surgery to change his or her marital status. However, many transsexuals feel the need to change their physical status. There are risks associated with the surgical procedures. Hormone treatments can also have non-negligible side effects and even opposite effects. Antiandrogens can cause decreased drive, fatigue, and osteoporosis. Estrogens can cause lasting damage to the liver. Excessive doses of hormone supplements can be detrimental to the physical health of the body. In addition, there are the psychological stresses of gender reassignment surgery. Hormones also affect the psyche and the risk of mental illnesses, such as depression, is not small. The completed gender reassignment may also fail to achieve the desired results, placing a heavy burden on the psyche of the affected person.
