Mumbai: Dombivli resident undergoes sex reassignment surgery

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A 25-year-old Dombivli resident underwent sex reassignment surgery who was suffering from a gender identity disorder. The surgery of changing his gender from woman to man was successful and got him a new identity to live a normal life.

The life of those who feel their physical body doesn't match the gender they are inside can turn out to be hard and cruel. A person who is going through a conflict with their own body is already suffering from a great emotional turmoil, which is often made worse by societal and familial ostracizing and condemnation. There are so many people who identify themselves with gender identity disorder, but there are only a few who get to live something akin to a normal life. Among these, few are those who decide to undergo surgery of transition from their birth-assigned gender to the gender they actually identify with. One among them is Aditya, born Aditi Khurana, (name changed), a 25-year-old Dombivli resident, who underwent sex reassignment surgery to change his sex from female to male. His transition from a woman to a man is heartwarming, to say the least.

Aditya was born biologically female. By the age of 13, Aditya already felt trapped in a body that did not match the gender he identified with. Aditya soon believed that his decision of opting for a sex change surgery is the right one as he would otherwise live a life that was only half true and half fulfilled. However, for many years, he kept to himself and couldn't muster the courage to open up about this to his family. Three years ago, he opened up to his mother and confessed that he would like to opt for sex-change surgery. To his surprise, his mother supported him after hearing about his ordeals, and Aditya was in tears of joy. But his happiness was short-lived as his father and brother did not approve of the way he felt or supported his decision of transition. While this broke his spirit a little, he still decided to fight for himself. Aditya left no stone unturned to try and get his father and brother to understand how important it was for him to live his life the way he wanted. He never gave up on trying to persuade them of the truth of his life and, eventually, he managed to convince his father and brother.

Aditya visited SRV Mamata Hospital, Dombivli, where he was started on a plan of action based on his situation matching a diagnosis of gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is the condition of feeling where one's emotional and psychological identity is different from one's birth-assigned biological sex. In some such cases, surgery is performed to transition individuals with gender dysphoria to the gender they identify with. Aditya wanted gender reassignment surgery (GRS), also known as sex reassignment surgery (SRS), and undertook various psychological tests and evaluations. These are mandatory to rule out any psychopathology that may need to be addressed. Since an SRS is an irreversible procedure that affects all aspects of a person's life, it is necessary to determine that the person is mentally sound to take this decision. Aditya was assessed for two months. However, he suffered from hypothyroidism and after his thyroid levels returned to normal with the help of medications, he was declared fit for the surgery.

Aditya's surgery was planned in two stages. The first one was bilateral breast reduction with bilateral Salpingo-oophereohysterectomy, which is a breast reduction surgery in which the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tube are also removed. Aditya was discharged after a week. In the second stage, he will be undergoing genital reconstruction surgery, after which he will walk out with a physical gender that finally matches his gender identity.

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Finally, on his way to freedom and happiness, Aditya said "My journey wasn't smooth, but I am happy that I remained firm on my decision. It is important for people like me to accept the way they are. A person has the right to live life the way they want. I am fortunate that my family especially my mother and my partner supported me throughout thick and thin. I thank the hospital for counselling my mother and making them comfortable. My mother's concern was that the surgery should be carried out in the hospital which is well-equipped with the latest technologies, and this is why we opted for the hospital.

"Though largely today, such cases may bring stigma, shame and discrimination, one should not get bogged down by all that. Not only this, many are humiliated and this can take a toll on one's self-esteem, and can be painful. I urge people to support those who are like me and help them live their lives as normal citizens. We go through a lot of social, physical and financial trauma, and we surely deserve a life of dignity, equality, and respect," he added.

Sameer Pawar, CEO of the hospital said, "It's our endeavour to ensure the best possible outcomes to all our patients seeking any kind of tertiary medical care. We are proud of our team who helped Aditya to pursue the life he dreamt of and many like him who want to fulfil their dreams. Once again we thank Aditya for posing faith in us to achieve his life ahead and our team of specialized doctors to successfully manage this landmark surgery."

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