Perioperative considerations for transgender women undergoing routine surgery: a narrative review

Abstract

A transgender woman is a person assigned male sex at birth who identifies as a woman. With the numbers of transgender identity on the rise, encountering a transgender woman requiring routine surgery is becoming more common in anaesthetic practice. The perioperative period can be challenging for transgender women, but these challenges can be mitigated by a skilled and sensitive perioperative team. Engagement with patients and their primary physicians is important. Whilst there are anaesthetic issues relevant to both transgender women and men, there are many issues unique to transgender women. This article focuses only on considerations for the perioperative care of the transgender woman. This narrative review provides an overview of the factors influencing the safe care of the transgender woman presenting for routine surgery, including the potential social and pharmacological factors to consider, and anatomical changes to be aware of from previous gender confirming or feminisation surgeries that can influence clinical decision-making.