Gender Affirmation

Gender affirmation surgery is a set of procedures designed for patients with gender dysphoria to help them look and feel like their authentic selves.

What is Gender Dysphoria?

Gender dysphoria (formerly known as gender identity disorder) is a condition affecting individuals whose personal gender identity does not match the gender that was assigned to them at birth based on external sexual characteristics. People with gender dysphoria feel like and identify with a gender different from their assigned gender in all other respects. For example, a person with male genitalia who identifies in all other ways as female, or a person with female genitalia who considers themselves to be in all other ways male, can be described as having gender dysphoria.

“Transgender” is another term for individuals with gender dysphoria. This term is becoming outdated among some groups.

Gender dysphoria is not a diagnosis made lightly – the patient works with a psychiatric team and their primary health care provider to arrive at a gender dysphoria diagnosis.

Gender dysphoria can be extremely distressing, causing anxiety, depression, and social isolation in patients who feel they are not able to live their full, authentic lives. In order to help these patients to become who they truly are, Crozer Health has developed a Gender Affirmation Surgery Program.

What Is Gender Affirmation Surgery?

Gender affirmation surgery helps gender dysphoria patients create an external appearance and sexual function that matches their interior selves. Crozer Health offers both medical and surgical options to better align the internal and external beings. Other terms for this type of surgery include gender confirmation surgery, gender reassignment surgery, and sex reassignment surgery (the last two are now considered outdated).

Appearance and Vocal Gender Affirmation Procedures

Hormone-Only Therapy

• For patients not seeking surgery at this time: This can include hormones to promote breast development in male-to-female (MTF) transgender individuals, or male hormones to increase muscle mass, lower the voice, and promote the growth of facial and body hair for female-to male (FTM) patients.

Facial Surgery

• For MTF/transfemales/transwomen:
  • Facial feminization
  • Adam’s Apple reduction
  • Vocal cord surgery
  • Hair transplants
    • Receding hairline
    • Eyebrow restoration
• For FTM/transmales/transmen:
  • Eyebrow restoration
  • Beard
  • Receding hairline

Top Surgery

• For MTF/transfemales/transwomen:
  • Breast implants
  • Breast lift
• For FTM/transmales/transmen:
  • Surgical breast removal (bilateral mastectomy)

Genital Gender Affirmation Surgeries

Some patients choose to complete their transition with “bottom surgery” or genital transformation surgery. This surgery alters the genitals to physically resemble and function like those of the patient’s identified gender. Prior to this surgery, patients must have been taking hormones for at least a year while living in the gender to which they are transitioning.

Our reconstructive team offers male to female (MTF) and female to male (FTM) genital reconstruction surgeries, including:

Abdominal Flap Phalloplasty

For FTM/transmales/transmen: a simpler procedure than the MLD flap that results in less scarring and a penis with tactile and erotic sensation limited to the base of the phallus; the urethra is not redirected, so the patient will continue to sit to urinate

Metoidioplasty, also known as “Meta" 

For FTM/transmales/transmen: using existing genital tissue to form a neophallus, or new penis, from a testosterone-enlarged clitoris; individuals undergoing this procedure may chose to continue to sit to urinate or they can opt to have urethral lengthening in order to stand to urinate

MLD Flap Phalloplasty

For FTM/transmales/transmen: using the skin, fat, nerves, arteries, and veins from the side of the back to create a penis with a redirected urethra allowing the individual to stand to urinate

Vaginoplasty

For MTF/transfemales/transwomen: the process during which surgeons construct a vaginal cavity between the rectum and the urethra to create a vagina out of tissue of the penis; the new vagina has the depth and appearance of a biologically developed vagina

Requirements for Gender Affirmation Surgery

All patients must meet certain requirements before their procedure. These requirements will be discussed during your initial consultation.