Two get fresh lease of life after gender affirmation surgery at city hospital

New Delhi: Giving two 22-year-olds, who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a new life and identity, doctors at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh recently conducted gender affirmation surgeries.

The first case was of a 22-year-old fashion model, Taksh, who underwent surgery in February 2018, which resulted in the reassignment of her sex from male to female. The second case was of Kritika (22), whose surgery also took place recently, thereby successfully transforming her from a male into a female.

Gender dysphoria is a condition in which a person has a persistent awareness of being in the wrong body. The person’s mind (gender) is at conflict with the current physical body and sex as assigned at birth.

“The condition has a definite neurologic, genetic, and hormonal basis, as proven by scientific research. The first step is to make a firm diagnosis of gender dysphoria and to rule out psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. This is done with the help of psychometric analysis and opinion of two different psychiatry teams.

In our case, while one psychiatry team belongs to Fortis, the other is an outside referral. This is done to remove any potential of a bias,” said Dr Richie Gupta, the director and head of the department of plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

“In the first case, Taksh struggled with her identity for years and was uncomfortable in her own skin. She felt trapped and could not exactly understand why. Since the age of four she had been in touch with her feminine side and would often drape herself in women’s clothing. Her classmates used to tease her and she was taken to various mental health professionals. However, her gender dysphoria was dismissed as a harmless ploy for attention on countless occasions,” said a statement by the hospital.

Later, her situation developed a silver lining because of her supportive parents, who helped her come to terms with her innermost thoughts. They agreed to the surgery as a gift for her 23rd birthday.

In the second case, Kritika’s struggle was overwhelming and painful.

As a male, she was literally mentally scarred when a group of boys tried to sexually assault her. It led to a deep psychological impact, for which she sought therapy. She took the decision to undergo gender affirmation surgery, which successfully took place in 2017.