While many transgender people opt for gender-affirming surgeries, little research has been done to examine how such operations may affect their wellbeing afterward. A new study, presented at the annual European Association of Urology conference [in March], offers a perhaps more accurate picture of how surgery affects the lives of transgender people.
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According to Jochen Hess, who led the research team, standard surveys that ask about a person’s quality of life don’t take into account transgender people’s unique experiences and hardships. “The [Essen Transgender Quality of Life Inventory] is more specific for this very diagnosis and more sensitive for that specific group of persons,” he said.
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Hess and his team found that, overall, three-quarters of those that participated in the survey experienced strong, positive changes in their life satisfaction following their surgery, while 61 percent felt satisfied with their appearance. Seventy-one percent were pleased with the physical results of the surgery, while 65 percent said they were happy with the functional changes it brought. Seventy-six percent said they were able to have orgasms. And 80 percent said they perceived themselves as women.
“We could detect a distinct improvement of general and trans-specific [quality of life] and psychosocial resources in our transgender cohort during the transition process,” Hess said.
Read full, original post: Study Measures the Benefits of Surgery to Transgender Women
