Abstract
This study examined the impact of sex reassignment surgery on the satisfaction with sexual experience, partnerships, and relationship with family members in a cohort of Brazilian transsexual patients. A group of 19 patients who received sex reassignment between 2000 and 2004 (18 male-to-female, 1 female-to-male) after a two-year evaluation by a multidisciplinary team, and who agreed to participate in the study, completed a written questionnaire. Mean age at entry into the program was 31.21±8.57 years and mean schooling was 9.2±1.4 years. None of the patients reported regret for having undergone the surgery. Sexual experience was considered to have improved by 83.3% of the patients, and became more frequent for 64.7% of the patients. For 83.3% of the patients, sex was considered to be pleasurable with the neovagina/neopenis. In addition, 64.7% reported that initiating and maintaining a relationship had become easier. The number of patients with a partner increased from 52.6% to 73.7%. Family relationships improved in 26.3% of the cases, whereas 73.7% of the patients did not report a difference. None of the patients reported worse relationships with family members after sex reassignment. In conclusion, the overall impact of sex reassignment surgery on this cohort of patients was positive.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2002). DSM-IV-TR. Manual diagnóstico e estatístico de transtornos mentais (4th ed.). Porto Alegre, Brazil: ARTMED.
Beatrice, J. (1985). A psychological comparison of heterosexuals, transvestites, preoperative transsexuals, and postoperative transsexuals. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 173, 358–365.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2005). Gender identity disorders. In C. Gilbert, R. C. Harrington & H. C. Steinhausen (Eds.), A clinician’s handbook of child and adolescent psychiatry (pp. 695–725). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & van Goozen, S. H. (1997). Sex reassignment of adolescent transsexuals: A follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 263–271.
Conselho Federal deMedicina do Brasil. (1997). Resolução CFM, 1997 (No. 1.482). Brasília, D.F., Brazil.
Conselho Federal deMedicina do Brasil. (2002). Resolução CFM, 2002 (No. 1.652). Brasília, D.F., Brazil.
Gelder, M. G. (1996). Problems of sexuality and gender identity. In M. Gelder, D. Gath, R. Mayou, & P. Cowen (Eds.), Oxford textbook of psychiatry (3rd ed., pp. 482–509). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Green, R. (2005). Gender identity disorders. In B. J. Sadock & V. A. Sadock (Eds.), Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of psychiatry (8th ed., pp. 1979–1991). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Krege, S., Bex, A., Lummen, G., & Rubben, H. (2001). Male-to-female transsexualism: A technique, results and long-term follow-up in 66 patients. British Journal of Urology International, 88, 396–402.
Lawrence, A. A. (2003). Factors associated with satisfaction or regret following male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 299–315.
Lobato, M. I., Henriques, A. A., Ghisolfi, E. S., Kegel, S., Schestatsky, G., Correia Filho, C., et al. (2001). Transexualismo: Uma revisão [Transsexualism: A review]. Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria, 50, 379–388.
Ministério da Saúde. (1999). Manual de controle de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis (3rd ed). Brasília, D.F., Brazil.
Monstrey, S., Hoebeke, P., Dhont, M., De Cuypere, G., Rubens, R., Moerman, M., et al. (2001). Surgical therapy in transsexual patients: A multi-disciplinary approach. Acta Chirurgica Belgica, 101, 200–209.
Rakic, Z., Starcevic, V., Maric, J., & Kelin, K. (1996). The outcome of sex reassignment surgery in Belgrade: 32 patients of both sexes. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25, 515–525.
Rehman, J., Lazer, S., Benet, A. E., Schaefer, L. C., & Melman, A. (1999). The reported sex and surgery satisfactions of 28 postoperative male-to-female transsexual patients. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28, 71–89.
Smith, Y. L., Cohen, L., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2002). Postoperative psychological functioning of adolescent transsexuals: A Rorschach study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 255–261.
Smith, Y. L., van Goozen, S. H., Kuiper, A. J., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2005). Outcomes and predictors of treatment for adolescent and adult transsexuals. Psychological Medicine, 35, 89–99.
Stoller, R. J. (1993). Masculinidade e feminilidade: Apresentação do gênero (M. A. V. Veronese, Trans.). Porto Alegre, Brazil: Artes Médicas. (Original work published 1985).
World Health Organization. (1992). ICD-10: Classification of mental and behavioural disorders. Geneva: WHO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lobato, M.I., Koff, W.J., Manenti, C. et al. Follow-Up of Sex Reassignment Surgery in Transsexuals: A Brazilian Cohort. Arch Sex Behav 35, 711–715 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9074-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9074-y