Psychiatric, socio-legal and perioperative aspects of vaginoplasty

Abstract

The number of scientific papers on gender-confirming surgeries as well as the surgeries themselves have increased by leaps and bounds in recent years. This leads to sometimes considerable waiting times for people seeking treatment. Social media and the internet do not always provide reliable and high-quality information. Therefore, it is necessary that both surgically and conservatively active urologists are familiar with topics regarding transgender persons. The establishment of structured training, the guarantee of minimum quality standards in the treatment of transgender persons and the further education and training of medical staff pose particular challenges. The German Society for Urology (DGU) and the German Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (DGPRÄC) have already founded their own working groups on the surgical side, which coordinate their work. Under the auspices of the professional societies DGU and DGPRÄC, aguideline on surgical procedures for gender incongruence was developed under the umbrella of the AWMF ("Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften") which is currently being finalised. For along time, the health care of transgender people has been moving in afield of tension between the right of self-determination of those seeking treatment, on the one hand, and the fear of making the wrong medical decisions, on the other. In contrast to most other conditions in urology, the goal of treatment is largely determined by the person seeking treatment and does not necessarily follow predetermined schedules or content. The treatment should primarily aim at reducing the individual's suffering and promoting quality of life.