Dangers of Transgender Surgery
July 27, 2023 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE: Trans surgery nightmares revealed: 81% endure pain in the five years after gender-change procedures, more than half say having sex is painful – and a third are left incontinent, survey shows
One of the first studies into the side effects of transgender surgeries has revealed alarmingly high rates of post-op pain, aching during intercourse, and bladder problems, raising troubling questions for this new frontier of medicine.
A huge majority – 81 percent – of those who had gender-affirming surgery in the past five years said they endured pain simply from moving around in the weeks and months after going under the knife.
Researchers from the University of Florida and Brooks Rehabilitation, a health non-profit, showed that more than half of trans surgery patients endured pain during sex, and nearly a third could not control their bladders.
Dr Meryl Alappattu, a UF physiotherapy professor, said she would publish her report later this year, but released provisional findings in a private online workshop that DailyMail.com was able to attend.
Dr Meryl Alappattu (left), a UF physiotherapy professor, and Dr Alexandra Hill, a UF expert on pelvic problems, support trans surgeries despite the drawbacks
‘There is a high percentage reporting musculoskeletal pain, difficulty moving, and pelvic floor dysfunction,’ said Dr Alappattu, adding that more research is needed in a poorly-understood area.
‘In terms of getting information related to the efficacy of these types of treatments … we still have a lot of work to do.’
Surgically altering male and female genitals to match those of the opposite sex — known as vaginoplasties and phalloplasties — are widely understood to be tough and problematic procedures.
Women who transition to become men may opt to have a penis constructed from tissue extracted from their arms, although this procedure is also complex, and the result is still markedly different to a biological penis.
Removing the breasts of female-to-male transitioners is simpler, but can also lead to pain, infections, and such problems as stitches bursting apart, particularly on overweight patients.
The procedures are a hot-button issue in America’s culture wars, especially those on children.
UF researchers studied 21 trans and non-binary people aged between 20 and 70 who had undergone trans surgeries in the past five years — mostly mastectomies and vaginoplasties.
81 percent endured pain in their lower back, groin, pelvis, chest, or shoulders in the weeks, months, and even years after their procedures, researchers found.
Another 57 percent found sexual intercourse painful.
Meanwhile, 29 percent suffered urinary incontinence or a frequent and urgent need to go to the bathroom, researchers found.
