New Study Shows Majority of Sex Change Patients Satisfied

(Because my own page view counts indicate that this topic does get a lot of page views, this is one of the few I would submit for no pay.)

Scientists in the United Kingdom surveyed 220 people who underwent a sex change operation. The survey conducted by the University Hospital of Leicester found that only 7% of people who underwent sexual reassignment surgery were unhappy with the result.

The survey conduced by the British researchers followed up with 70 people a year later and found that 29% of the 70 people interviewed had suffered complications as a result of a sex change operation. Male to Female sexual reassignment surgery is a major procedure in which the testicles are removed and the remaining tissue is used to form a vagina so that the person undergoing a male to female sex change can function as a woman.

Candidates for either male to female or female to male sex change operations undergo extensive psychological support. Candidates for either type of sex change operation must undergo a period of time. The complications that typically result from a sex change operation are a prolapse of the newly constructed sex organ and necrosis which may require further medical procedures. In the study even the 29% of the seventy people who had complications were still happy with their decision to go through with a sex change.

The lead researcher in the study, the Urology Registrar John Goddard said that the successful outcome of sexual reassignment surgery more commonly known as a sex change operation depends on many factors, but the most important one to determine the outcome and potential complications is the skill of the surgeon performing the procedure. Other factors that determine a successful sex change operation were the amount and quality of tissue that each patient has available for reconstruction and the expectation of the sex change patient.

Because people who are candidates for sexual assignment surgery have already gone through a long and difficult journey to get to that point, it is possible that the determination of the people surveyed played a major factor in their overall satisfaction. People who go through a sex change typically undergo hormone replacement therapy for several years which often results in a second puberty. After living as the target gender for a period of at least a year, a transgendered individual willing to undergo this procedure must then obtain a letter of recommendation from their therapist which will be given to the surgeon. The procedure is usually not covered by insurance plans as it is viewed as elective.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7006942.stm

http://www.srsmiami.com/MTF-male-to-female.html