First stage GRS successful

Mumbai: Lalita Salve (29), the Maharashtra police constable from Beed district, underwent the key first stage of genital reconstruction surgery (GRS) on Friday at the state-run St. George Hospital. Doctors said that the surgery was successful and that this was the first stage where a passage is made for urination. A half tube-like structure has been constructed for Salve’s genitals and she will undergo the next surgery after three to six months. Once the process is complete, Lalita will like to be known as “Lalit”.

Salve was born with two testicles - one of which was surgically removed at the age of seven – and a male genital of 1.5cm. Highlighting her extraordinary case, doctors said that Salve never had regular menstrual cycles, and only spotting would be observed, which might have been due to trauma.

Dr Rajat Kapoor, head of plastic surgery, St. George Hospital, who is supervising Salve’s treatment, told The Asian Age, “Salve’s GRS would be done in two phases, of which, one has been completed successfully on Friday. We created a half semi-circle pipe-like structure made of thigh tissues connecting to the urethra for her male genital.”

“In this case, the penis was not fully developed and whatever was there, was fully buried underneath tissues. So, in Friday’s surgery, we pulled out those tissues and elongated the size of the penis from 1.5cm to 5 to 6cm,” said Dr Kapoor.

In another six months, Salve will have to undergo the second stage of surgery. Following this, doctors will do a facial hair transplant. Dr Kapoor said, “Currently, Salve urinates like a woman but after the second stage, he will urinate like a man that will take time i.e. three to six months.”

Asked about Salve’s sex life, Dr Kapoor said, “Salve may ejaculate sperm, if his one testes produces sperms. We need to do a biopsy of his one testicle and a few other tests to find out if he can produce healthy sperms. However, he can enjoy normal sex life with orgasms, since the erection test performed him was also positive.”

While Salve will be discharged within two weeks, it may take a few months for a complete transformation from female to male. Multiple surgeries are involved and Salve has to be on hormone shots for longer durations.

Ms Salve sought permission for a month’s leave to undergo SRS in September 2017 but her superiors dismissed her plea in November.

In April, the constable sought chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s intervention in the matter. Considering Ms Salve’s case as a special one, Mr Fadnavis directed the home department to treat her case positively. The home department forwarded the file to state law and judiciary department, while the latter sent her file to the director general of police’s (DGP) office. The DGP then laid the responsibility to take a decision on the government’s doorstep, and home minister Dr Ranjit Patil — who has charge of law and judiciary — cleared her file.