Possible health consequences after transgender transformation

Transgender people have come out of the shadow. Movies are made about them, books are written about them, they go out on the runway and promote cosmetics. Clinics of the corrective surgery already offer the complex procedures for people who have decided to have genital reconstruction.

Nowadays, the gender reassignment is a quite natural procedure which goes without any difficulties. The only issue is much time and money. On an average, the entire process including papers and rehabilitation may take 5 to 10 years during the regular financing. This period is divided into several stages:

• Observation in the mental institution for up to 2 years
• Having a medical screening
• Hormonal therapy within 1 year
• Gender reassignment surgery
• Legal arrangements of the gender reassignment

The gender reassignment is a common theme both in the medical sources, and in the regular magazines. Therefore, a person changing his/her gender will easily take the procedures. The only thing that is not indicated in these sources is possible consequences.

Most people just see a final result of the gender reassignment and does not know what difficulties this person faces.

First of all, a patient has a hormonal therapy. It changes the balance of the hormones in the body but the body is not always ready to accept these changes. Patients after the genital reconstruction often have serious pathologies of the endocrine system and a disorder of the endogenic hormones. Patients have to stick to the hormonal replacement therapy within whole life because of the absent of the genital glands.

Moreover, serious surgeries are required during which all gender signs are removed. These surgeries are sometimes severe especially after the prolonged hormonal therapy. The recovery may take years, and an elimination of the internal organs (in women) change the location of the organs in the abdominal cavity. It may also cause some dysfunctions.

However, the most important is a social adaptation. Many patients do not even realize that they have adapt themselves in society during the rehabilitation. This process is complicated, and not all cope with it. Many patients develop psychological disorders, depression and anxiety. That is why, psychiatrists prepare the patients at first, and then, if a person is ready, the further procedures are conducted.