Female To Male(FTM) Sex Reassignment Surgery

Sex reassignment surgery (Female To Male) includes various procedures to increase the masculine features. It is observed that many transmen go for procedures like mastectomy rather than genital reassignment. Surgical procedures are generally preceded by hormonal therapy using testosterone (male hormone).

Mastectomy: It concerns with the removal of breasts. When both the breasts are removed, it is called bilateral mastectomy. The much familiar name for this surgery is ‘top surgery’. In addition to mastectomy, reconstructing the nipple-areola and grafting must also be performed. The surgery may be a 2 step procedure. In the first procedure, cuts are made around or inside the areola and the contents of the breast are removed through this cut. After this, the skin is left to retract for a period of time. After this time span, the 2nd surgery is performed wherein the excess skin is removed. The advantage of employing this technique is that there is no need of grafting or removal of nipple areola. Also the scarring is much less. For persons with smaller breasts, the mastectomy may be done through a keyhole incision. Larger scars of the conventional method can be avoided. The amount of denervation (nerve damage) of the chest wall is also relatively lower.

Bilateral salphingo-oophorectomy (BSO) & Hysterectomy: Fallopian tubes and both ovaries are removed in BSO. Removal of uterus is hysterectomy. Certain individuals may opt for BSO due to the fact that they feel uncomfortable of having reproductive organs. Hysterectomy and BSO may also be performed as preventive measures of various cancers like ovarian, endometrial, cervical cancer etc.

Genital reassignment: Clitoris generally gets enlarged after hormonal therapy. Genital reassignment treatments (GRT) make use of graft tissues from arms, clitoris tissues, or tissues from belly or thigh. Scrotum can be formed by the union of labia minora. Sometimes, prosthetic penis may be inserted.