How does a female get surgery to be a male?My cousin wants to know because she might have it done.Thank You?

Answer 1

Well, first of all, I hope she has a lot of money. I myself, am a female to male transsexual. Here's what's involved in the surgery:

First, you have to be approved by a therapist to start hormone therapy, as it's part of the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care for transgender/transsexuals. This is the usual order: therapist, approval letter for hormones, hormones, 1 year "in the life" living as the opposite gender, approval for surgery from your doctor, and then surgery. It's not like you can just say "I wanna be a boy" and go into the hospital and come out the next day. It doesnt work that way.

Now onto the surgery part of your question...like I said, hope you have a LOOTTT of money for this, because it's more than just one surgery and it's generally NOT covered by insurance.
First, there's the breast removal. (oh did you forget about those? lol) which depending on how large the breasts are can be done with a simple surgery where they go in behind the areola and remove tissue in a kind of like liposuction procedure. This only works if you're an A or small B cup and not overweight. The downside to this is that it leaves the nipples the female shape and generally larger than a males. This can be about $6,000 in and of itself. Then if you're larger up top, you get a double mascetomy. They will go in underneath the breasts, make 2 large incisions like a "U" shape and removal all the breast tissue, take the top skin pull it down and sew it to the incision, creating a smooth, male chest. They will also detach the nipples, resize them, and attach them back on at a higher position. Again, this surgery can run anywhere from $6,000 to roughly $9,000.
You also have the cost of a hysterectomy. A hysterectomy has to be done before any other type of SRS or sexual reassignment surgery can be done, since the vaginal opening will be sewn up, all female internal sexual organs have to be removed. A hysterectomy alone can range from $20,000 to $50,000.
Then, as far as a penis goes, there's two options: one is a metoidioplasty. This is where the elongated clitoris that has become elongated due to testosterone hormones will have the ligament that holds the clitoral "hood" in place is released, thus making the clitoris longer in length (usually only a max of 3 inches) the vaginal opening is sewn shut and the outer labia are sewn together and silicone testicles are implanted in the outer labia giving the creation of a scrotum. Urethral lengthing is also an option that allows you to stand while peeing. The pro's to this is that you retain your natural nerve endings and can form natural erections. The downside is that the pseudo penis is not long enough for full penetration. Cost of this surgery can be anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000.
There's also the second option which is a phalloplasty. This is where a skin and tissue graft is taken off the inside of the forearm, the skin and tissue is rolled up and reconstructed to create a penis. Then the penis is detached from the artery of the forearm and attached over the clitoris. Again the vaginal opening is sewn shut, the testicles are created from the labia, and a urethral lengthing may or may not be done to allow peeing while standing. Pros to this is that you get a flesh colored, somewhat natural looking penis that can be around 6 inches or so long. The cons is that is does not get erect naturally and in my personal opinion, isn't that cosmetically analagous to a male penis. For an erection, silicone rods and pumps have to be surgically implanted into the penis. Also the downside to this is that you have a HUGE scar on your forearm. This surgery can easily cost over $100,000.
Also not factored in is the cost of therapy, the cost of hormones, and the cost of doctors visits and lab work for blood tests.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Gender reassignment surgery is extremely complicated, and should not be consitered lightly. It can take many years for the transformation to be complete, as you have to begin hormone therapy to adjust to "being" the opposite sex before the surgery can take place. Many surgeons will only perform the surgery if the person has been professionally diagnosed with having Gender Identity Disorder (GID), and have been going through extensive professional therapy to deal with their issues. If she really feels so strongly about becoming a man, she should first seek a psychiatrist specialiing in gender disorders to see if she in fact does have GID. She must also be aware that gender reassignment surgery makes you infertile. Once they remove your uterus, you can't get it back, and the testicles you aquire with your new penis does not produce sperm. So if your cousin really wants to be the biological parent of her own children, she might want to reconsiter.

Answer 3

Your cousin sounds like a FTM (female to male), so if you don't mind, at this point I'll use male pronouns when speaking of this person. I might not be totally correct on this as a lot of it is based on what I know from MTF. To make it simple, he would need lots of money (as in the thousands and ten-thousands range), see someone for a long time, live as a male in society for at least a year, and more. As far as surgery, I know breast removal is one of them, so in the mean time, he would have to bind his breasts. Then of course there is the genitals surgery, which seems to be even harder and more risky then it would be in the case of a MTF.

I know, I don't exactly know that much. Your best bet is to look up FTM information and not just transsexual, as many of those sites tend to be geared toward MTF transsexual information. Despite that, you could still get information out of them that would also apply to FTM.

Answer 4

first she has to go for counselling to make sure she really wants this. they also have to determine that she really should have the surgery. then she has to live like a man in all respects for a year. it's several surgeries, not just one. she'll have her genitals altered and a mastectomy. she'll take male hormones to help deepen her voice and make facial hair grow. she might need lessons on how to act more masculine. first, she should find someone to talk to about reassigning her sexuality.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_reassignment_surgery_female-to-male

This article has a full explanation of the history and procedures, but does mention that the article itself doesn't cite sources. Also if you just search "sex-reassignment surgery," you'll get a bunch of hits.

Good luck.

Answer 6

She "might" have it done? Hardly an easy decision to make lol