Sex reassignment in Thailand : all you need to know

Male to female sex reassignment surgery

Before undergoing male to female sex reassignment, the patient must do several psychological assessments provided by health professionals who will assist him before and after the surgery (gynecologic therapy, mental health…).

The patient will also have to do a complete medical check up (chest X ray, blood test, heart function measures…). This intervention is for people who are biologically male but they want to live their life as women, it includes different stages that can be performed according to the case of each patient, it involves :

Orchiectomy : the removal of testicles

It is realized before the removal of the penis in order to reduce the intake of female hormones. During this intervention, some of the scrotum skin is left behind to be used in creating the labia or to line part of the vagina during vaginoplasty.

Penectomy : the removal of the penis

It consists in removing the penis, there are some cases when the patient does not want to have a vagina, so, he will stop with penectomy, but, if it he wants to have a vagina, some of the penis tissue will be used during the vagina surgery.

The creation of the female genitals :

It includes : vaginoplasty, labiaplasty and clitoroplasty.
The patient must tell the surgeon his expectations about the vagina he wants to have.

The non-genital interventions :

It includes feminisation procedures to make the appearance feminine like breast enhancement, facial procedures, voice change surgery, hormone therapy, laser hair removal.

After male to female sex change surgery in Thailand

The length of hospitalization after the surgery is of 6 to 8 days until the recovery.
You will be given antibiotics and medication.
By the second week, you will feel more comfortable and resume your normal life.
Your surgeon will make sure you are taking the appropriate dose of hormones after your sex reassignment Thailand, but, if you prefer to avoid taking oestrogen, you must replace it by another type of treatment so as to avoid loss of bone density.
Following a regular follow up is obligatory, the patient must have regular appointments with his surgeon, a mental health professional, a urologist…while following the advice of these health professionals so as to avoid complications and for a successful intervention.

Female to male sex reassignment surgery

This surgery requires several psyhological assessments like male to female sex reassignment in addition to a complete medical check up and health assistance by health professionals.

This intervention includes mastectomy (the removal of breasts), bottom surgery (the removal of the uterus, the removal of the vagina, the construction of a penis).

Before undergoing this surgery, the patient must receive testosterone replacement therapy. The procedures are as follows :

Chest restructuring

Breast tissue must be removed while testosterone therapy will stimulate the growth of chest hair.

The removal of the ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes

• Partial hysterectomy : removing only the uterus.
• Total hysterectomy : removing the cervix.
• Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy : removing the right and left faloppian tubes and ovaries.

Metoidioplasty

It consists in constructing a new penis by changing the clitoris into a penis, so before the procedure, the patient must receive hormone therapy in order to enlarge the clitoris and during this intervention, the surgeon will remove the vagina. Metoidioplasty lasts between 2 to 5 hours.

Phalloplasty

This technique uses mainly grafted skin from the thighs, the abdomen…to construct a neopenis.
During this intervention, the surgeon performs a vaginectomy and lengthens the urethra.