Yesterday, Jan. 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) – Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of patients who have gender-affirming surgery do not later regret it.
According to a recent review of the data, less than 1% of people who underwent gender-affirming surgery said they wished they hadn’t done it.
The researchers noted that this is significantly lower than the percentage of transgender individuals (those whose gender identity does not match the gender they were assigned at birth) who regret having undergone any type of surgery.
When it comes to treating trans patients, the three Johns Hopkins experts are urging healthcare professionals to reconsider their approaches. In a recent viewpoint article in the journal JAMA Surgery, they claimed that it is supported by science.
The group reviewed clinical literature on post-surgery regret under the direction of Harry Barbee, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
According to them, the reasons each group has for having surgery may be the cause of the differences in levels of regret between cisgender people and those who are transgender or gender-diverse (TGD). For instance, they compared sex reassignment to a concept like cancer treatment.
According to the Hopkins team, lower levels of regret among trans people may also be caused by the requirement that they demonstrate in advance that their assigned sex and gender identity do not coincide.
However, the team noted that it is still difficult to accurately assess patient satisfaction and post-operative regret.
They advised asking patients about it a month after surgery and taking into account any possible factors that might affect regret, such as age, race, level of education, and quality of life. They continued, “A better analysis of post-surgery regret may help improve public policy and the long-term wellbeing of transgender or gender-diverse people.”
Drs. Bashar Hassan, a doctoral research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender and Gender Expansive Health, and Dr. Fan Liang, the center’s health director.
