Male to Female Surgery

What Is Male to Female Surgery?

Male to female sexual reassignment surgery involves a series of procedures from hair removal to breast implants to vaginoplasty (reshaping the penis and testicles to look and function like a vagina).  Men considering sexual reassignment surgery also usually opt for hormone treatments to complete many of the endocrinological changes necessary for the transformation.  

While procedures for male to female surgery tend to vary, in most cases, the plastic surgeon removes the testicles and inverts the foreskin and penis to form a flap that preserves the nerve endings and blood supply.  The glans sometimes forms the innervated clitoris.  Circumcised patients or a shortage of skin for the inside of the vagina may require the use of scrotal skin from which the pubic hair follicles have been removed.  The rest of the scrotal skin becomes the labia majora.  Where there is an extreme shortage of skin, grafts can be taken from the thighs, hips, or colon.   

Further surgery in the form of a labiaplasty may be necessary as a follow-up procedure to enhance the appearance of the outer vulva once the tissues, nerve endings, and blood supply have recovered from the original male to female surgery.   

After the procedure, the patient must maintain vaginal dilation with medical graduated dilators, dildos, or similar substitutes.  Sporadic sexual intercourse is not sufficiently effective for this purpose.  Patients typically also require regular applications of estrogen in the vagina as part of their prescribed estrogen dosage.  With the help of a gel-based lubricant, vaginal intercourse is usually possible within 2 to 3 months of the surgery. 

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