Sex change surgery: an effective solution to an unusual mental condition
Sex reassignment surgery offers transsexuals a way to accept their bodies; it is not undertaken lightly, but is the last step in a long journey
The necessity of sex reassignment operations and the legal implications for people who wish to change their sex has come under discussion in the community recently. With more than 20 years of experience in dealing with transsexual patients, I can offer an insight into the kinds of people they are and what their pre-surgery journey involves.
First of all, transsexuals are physically fit adults of sound mind. The only major mental distress they suffer is an incongruence between mind and body. They feel they should belong to the opposite sex.
Typically, they cannot accept the sexual characteristics of their bodies - for a born male, a penis, testes and a prominent Adam's apple. Similarly, a born female is distressed by her sizeable nipples, breasts and menses. Furthermore, they want to gain the sexual characteristics of the opposite sex: a vagina for a born male; a penis for a born female.
This is a very unusual condition. Over the past 30 years, only about 100 people have had sex reassignment surgery in Hong Kong.
During adolescence or later adulthood, transsexuals usually try modifying their hairstyles, clothing and lifestyles to better suit their state of mind. But this does not always provide relief, so some seek medical help.
A general practitioner is the first stop - from here the patient is referred to a psychiatrist to assess their mental condition.
One important task is to distinguish the condition from other psychiatric diseases, which require very different treatments. After the diagnosis is established, the patient is referred to a clinical psychologist for assessment.