Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Potentially Groundbreaking New Procedure for Transgender Women

A vaginoplasty for transgender women, often referred to as gender confirmation surgery, involves the creation of a vagina from either penile or peritoneal tissue. Penile tissue has been the tissue of choice for the majority of vaginoplasty procedures, as the tissue is inverted and formed into a vaginal canal. However, penile tissue can be considered less than ideal for this purpose, as there is a limitation in depth that can be formed, the tissue does not produce natural secretions, and still grows hair. A new surgical method has recently been pioneered by Dr. Jess Ting at Mount Sinai using peritoneal tissue to form the vaginal cavity. This tissue is able to regenerate at a high rate, does not grow hair, and secretes its own fluids naturally, making it a fairly ideal choice for this procedure. However, peritoneal tissue is not the perfect solution in its own right. The tissue is somewhat thin, which leaves concern for potential tearing over time. With that being said, Dr. Ting and his patients have had extremely successful outcomes up to this point, and he has a wait list for the procedure in the hundreds as a result. Currently Dr. Ting is one of the few (and potentially only) surgeons in the United States that offers this procedure, but hopefully the success found so far will lead to the spread of this new technique as yet another improvement in the field of transgender healthcare.

2 comments:

  1. Extremely interesting and groundbreaking none-the-less. It's extremely interesting because I read that Dr. Ting did not in fact think of the idea for the surgery herself! Hayley Anthony, who was her patient, came up with the idea herself and actually let Dr. Ting perform the surgery on her. The surgery was successful and now more than 100 women have signed up to get the surgery. I found this on the mount Sinai website. They are thinking of creating a whole medical fellowship for reconstructive surgery under the supervision of Dr. Ting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Extremely interesting and groundbreaking none-the-less. It's extremely interesting because I read that Dr. Ting did not in fact think of the idea for the surgery herself! Hayley Anthony, who was her patient, came up with the idea herself and actually let Dr. Ting perform the surgery on her. The surgery was successful and now more than 100 women have signed up to get the surgery. I found this on the mount Sinai website. They are thinking of creating a whole medical fellowship for reconstructive surgery under the supervision of Dr. Ting.

    ReplyDelete