Aesthetic medicine for transgender people

TL;DR:

• Aesthetic medicine helps transgender people achieve gender congruence through medical, social, and legal processes.
• Steps in gender reassignment: psychological/psychiatric diagnosis, hormone therapy (testosterone for trans men; estradiol/progesterone for trans women), and surgeries.
• Surgeries for trans men: breast removal, hysterectomy, and phalloplasty.
• Surgeries for trans women: vaginoplasty, breast implants, and Adam’s apple reduction.
• Total process can take up to 2 years; costs range from 7k to 70k zlotys.
• Benefits: self-acceptance, improved sexual satisfaction, external appearances aligned with gender identity.
• Legal gender change requires a court ruling and updated documents.
• Contraindications: lack of consent, heart issues, or blood pressure problems.
• Gender correction is permanent and multi-stage.

Aesthetic medicine works on many areas of our bodies. These include not only treatments to delay skin aging but also treatments that enable transgender people to feel comfortable in their own bodies. Many people struggling with a lack of acceptance of their own bodies can have their gender corrected thanks to aesthetic medicine.

What is aesthetic medicine for transgender people?

Aesthetic medicine for transgender people is essentially a gender reassignment. This is a long-term and complex process, so it requires constant care from a specialist. Gender correction surgery proceeds differently in women and in men. Its goal is to achieve the appearance of the opposite sex through a series of procedures that change the internal sex organs and external appearance of the patient. However, it is worth remembering that gender correction surgery is only one of the many stages that a transgender person can go through, according to his or her will, in order to be able to undergo gender reassignment and complete transformation.

Transgender people undergo treatments according to their individual needs, and not all of them opt for every option (for everyone, a different stage will be the completion of the transition and its fullness). However, if a person needs to take advantage of all available transit options, medical correction alone is a multi-stage and lengthy process – and on top of that, such a person still has a legal and social transition to go through. Although gender reassignment is a long and complex process, it yields excellent results, allowing people with gender dysphoria to live with dignity.

• self-acceptance,
• ability to feel pleasure in sexual life,
• obtaining the characteristics of a woman or a man,
• complete change of external appearance,
• change of sexual organs.

How does the sex reassignment procedure proceed?

Many people considering a transformation wonder what a sex change looks like and how long the process takes. In addition, an important question is how much does a sex change cost. The treatments we offer at the OT.CO Clinic, which help you go through the entire transition process, depend on the characteristics of the individual patient. Prior to surgical intervention, the patient must be diagnosed with transexuality, and the person wishing to undergo gender reassignment must undergo numerous examinations, including psychological ones.

That’s why it’s worth bearing in mind that gender reassignment surgery is a complex process that most often begins with obtaining psychological, sexological, and psychiatric opinions. This is followed by a decision on hormone therapy, which is, of course, up to the individual. A trans man (i.e., a person labeled female at birth) is given testosterone, which results in, among other things, a lowered voice or the appearance of facial hair. A transwoman (that is, a person marked at birth as male) is given estradiol, and often progesterone. Here, hormone therapy is designed to cause breast growth, inhibit androgens, or smooth the skin, among other things. In both cases, fat is also redistributed. Unfortunately, female hormones do not cause a change in the voice (or even if they do, it’s a minor one) – transwomen exercise their voice to feminize it because, without exercise, they are unable to achieve a typically feminine timbre. If a transmale stopped taking testosterone and had already undergone mutation, his voice would not return to its previous timbre under the influence of his natural female hormones present in the body.

The final and most important stage of gender correction is surgery. In transgender men, this is vaginoplasty, during which a penis is formed from the female genitalia. This is an extremely complicated and difficult procedure, which is why not all people opt for it. During gender correction surgery for transgender men, the breasts, uterus, and ovaries are removed. In contrast, gender correction surgery for transgender women primarily involves removing the testicles and penis and creating a vagina from the skin of the penis or from a piece of intestine. A clitoris is created from the glans, and labia are created from the scrotum. The skin from the removed penis is used to form the vagina and clitoris. In addition, breast implants are performed, as well as laryngeal surgery related to the removal of the so-called “Adam’s apple”. Many people also opt for procedures that affect the appearance of the face and the shape of the figure. It is worth bearing in mind that gender correction procedures must take place at certain intervals, so a complete gender correction can occur up to two years after the first measures. The strengths of the procedure are:

• Self-acceptance – the patient feels comfortable in his own body after undergoing the gender correction process;
• Precision – the procedure produces results that reflect the characteristics of the gender;
• Effectiveness – after the gender correction procedure, patients continue to feel satisfaction with their sex life.

The gender correction process is undergone once, but it is important to remember that it is a multi-step process. It is very difficult, and in some cases even impossible, to undo the gender correction measures that have begun. Individual procedures must be carried out at recommended intervals, but each is performed without repetition. Gender correction surgery is intended for people who feel uncomfortable in their own bodies due to their gender identity. The operation is performed on people who, according to the law, can formally correct their gender. In order to do so, a lawsuit must be brought in a gender determination proceeding. As a result of a favorable judgment, the person receives a new Pesel and personal information. Some procedures, such as: mastectomy, breast augmentation, feminizing or masculinizing facial treatments, and hormone therapy are available before the data change. Gender-correcting procedures are for all individuals in whom:

• are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, i.e. lack of acceptance of their own bodies.
• the desire for gender correction is determined by psychological gender identity.

Contraindications to the procedure

Gender correction treatment involves many steps, so it is an extensive process. It begins with hormone therapy and ends with genital surgery. For this reason, it is a procedure that makes changes practically throughout the patient’s body. Contraindications to gender correction surgery include lack of legal consent for the operation, heart disease, and blood pressure problems. The process of medical transition itself, i.e. interference with the patient’s body, is complex. Also, one should not forget about the need to make changes, for example, legal or social.

Conclusion

Aesthetic medicine empowers transgender individuals to align their bodies with their true identities. From hormone therapy to transformative surgeries, the process involves highly personalized and carefully planned steps. While lengthy and complex, these procedures help alleviate gender dysphoria, promoting self-acceptance and improving quality of life. Each journey is unique, but the goal remains the same: enabling individuals to live authentically, with dignity and confidence. Expert care and thorough planning make this transformation possible, offering life-changing results for those ready to embrace their true selves.