Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:417-426
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Sex reassignment surgery: historical, bioethical, and theoretical issues
LM Lothstein
The reported 68%-86% overall success rates for sex reassignment surgery
must be viewed cautiously; the lack of long-term follow-up studies makes
these statistics misleading. There is evidence suggesting that some gender
dysphoric patients benefit primarily from sex reassignment surgery. Most
such patients, however, are secondary transsexuals who can benefit from
various modes of psychotherapy. Sex reassignment surgery should only be
considered as the last resort for a highly select group of diagnosed gender
dysphoric patients. As physicians learn new ways to diagnose and treat
transsexualism, either sex reassignment surgery will be abandoned as a
routine treatment modality or new predictive variables for choosing
suitable patients for sex reassignment surgery will be established.
