Transgender./Sex Reassignment Surgery(SRS)
One has to have both a masculine body and mind to be rightly called a man. The same applies to a woman. A condition of mismatch of body and mind is experienced in a number of individuals. It is called trans-sexualism. Trans-sexualism is regarded as a gender identity disorder. These sorts of persons are dissatisfied with current gender & wish to live as the opposite sex. For achieving this, they resort to a specific surgery called as sex reassignment surgery. The surgery is known by different names like genital reconstruction surgery, gender reassignment surgery, sex realignment surgery, sex affirmation surgery etc. However, the common name is called ‘sex change’.
A man who identifies himself as a woman is called transsexual man or transwoman. A transman or transsexual man is a woman who identifies herself as a man.
The reassignment process occurs much before the surgical process. The significant steps prior to surgery are diagnosis, psychotherapic consultation, hormonal therapy and finally the surgery. Before the surgery, it is essential for the person to be identified with Gender Identity Disorder (GID). The disorder is classified based on the different age groups. In certain cases, persons may have ambiguous genitalia. However, cases of this type are uncommon.
The psychotherapic consultation analyses the mental stature of the patient & decides if there is absolute necessity of gender reassignment. For those patients who are desperate for conversion, comprehensive information is given about the treatment modes, their implications etc. In hormone therapy, appropriate hormones are given at definite amounts. Female hormones like Estrogen, testosterone blocking agents and progestrone are provided for transwomen. Transmen are given androgens and similar hormones.
Information about the real-life experiences of persons who have undergone similar surgeries can be of great help.
Many aspects may need to be considered in a sex change. Almost all the major sexual features need to be transformed.