Gender confirmation surgery involves a customized surgical plan intended to convert your gender appearance. Gender alteration may involve transformation from a male to a female or a female to a male. The areas of the body that may undergo gender alteration include the face, breast, arms, abdomen, back, buttocks, or genitals. These surgeries require complex tissue rearrangements and fat redistribution that can be performed by a surgeon with intimate knowledge of differences in gender shape and muscle anatomy.

Any and all patients who desire gender identification reassignment may be excellent candidates for gender confirmation surgery. Most patients seeking gender alteration surgery have undergone counseling and are typically on hormone replacement therapy well in advance of any gender-changing surgery.

Gender confirmation surgery requires a commitment to your treating surgeon. The surgery does require general anesthesia and thus a brief 2 to 3 days of assistance from a responsible adult or nursing supervisor depending on the extent of surgery. Patients should plan on a minimum of one week of avoiding all physical activity and resting at the house.

Gender confirmation surgery involves major tissue rearrangement and fat reshaping surgery. As a result, tissue healing is of optimum importance. This requires optimizing your nutrition by taking in 150grams of protein daily. Patients are also advised to avoid any blood thinners. Finally, ALL smoking must be stopped at least one month prior to surgery to optimize healing of skin incisions which are required for tissue rearrangement maneuvers performed during gender reassignment surgery.

Gender confirmation surgery involves the creation of dramatic changes in contour that portray the change of a female to a male or male to female. For the breast, females changing to males will observe a change in the femininized appearance of a full and rounded breast to a flat, yet bold armor plate chest appearance; in contrast, males changing to females will observe a transformation of their flat chests to a more robust and rounder feminized breast appearance. Abdominal changes involve conversion between a more feminine abdomen which is lean, narrow, and long to a more masculine appearance that is chiseled with a six-pack and more square in appearance. Torso differences will become apparent with females demonstrating exaggerated waistline curves and males more linear in their appearance.

Your gender confirmation surgery will be performed at one of our accredited surgery centers. Due to the invasive nature of the surgeries, patients are provided general anesthesia to avoid any pain from irritation of nerve fibers during the operation.

Your gender confirmation surgery will be performed while under general anesthesia. General anesthesia is recommended to patients since major tissue rearrangements and fat removal and repositioning is required. For example, etching of your underlying muscles if you are trying to masculinize your abdomen can be painful. This is because the sensory nerves (which produce a pain signal) are at their highest density in the muscle layers.

When you wake up from surgery, you will find yourself in a compression garment that is customized to fit your transformed contour. This garment will minimize pain, swelling, and bruising in the treated areas.

Patients who undergo gender confirmation surgery will require 1 to 4 weeks of recovery following surgery depending on the extent of tissue rearrangements and a number of areas treated. If a single region is treated, then 2 weeks of recovery is typically adequate. If more extensive surgery is performed involving multiple areas such as the breast, abdomen, back, and buttocks, then 4 weeks may be required for a full recovery. Patients are universally allowed to return to the gym at 3 - 4 weeks.

Patients who desire conversion of their body appearance from one gender to another are excellent candidates for gender reassignment surgery. Regardless of your start point, you should expect to have a transformative change in your gender appearance.  Patients universally should understand the surgery being performed and approve of the gender alteration desired. Patients should have completed counseling and be comfortable with their hormone regimen which should be managed by their personal doctor

Patients who undergo gender confirmation surgery should recognize that this surgery will convert their appearance permanently. Patients will typically prioritize their surgeries so that they will operate on the body area that they most associate with their gender change appearance. Most often, patients start with their breasts then followed by their abdomen, back, and buttocks. Patients who are older may seek to have their facial and neck work done. The genitals are usually altered last as they are typically non-reversible.

Patients undergoing gender confirmation surgery are evaluated much in the same manner as other surgical patients. If patients are undergoing extensive surgeries lasting much longer than six hours or if they have comorbidities they are more inclined to require more aggressive medical care. If liposuction is performed greater than 5 L of infiltration/aspiration, then more aggressive monitoring is required. If patients have any complications during surgery such as hypotension(low blood pressure) or desaturation (low oxygen), then nursing care may be recommended. If patients are overweight with a high body mass index (BMI) that is greater than 33, the patient may be considered a high-risk candidate and asked to spend a night with a registered nurse. Finally, if good social support is not available at the house, then patients will be asked to spend a night at one of our aftercare centers.

For patients undergoing gender confirmation surgery, there is a safe time limit of 6 to 8 hours which allows for several areas to be treated at once.  Patients can expect to perform the breast, abdomen, back, and buttocks in a single session. The face gender alteration surgeries and genital reassignment surgeries are also performed independently.