Gender reassignment therapy is an umbrella term for all medical procedures regarding gender reassignment of both transgender and intersexual people. (Sometimes also called sex reassignment, as it alters physical sexual characteristics to be more in line with the individual's psychological/social gender identity, rather than vice versa.) Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ... An intersexual or intersex person (or animal of any unisexual species) is one who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ...

Gender reassignment therapy consists of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), various surgical procedures (see below), and epilation for transwomen, that is permanent hair removal on the face and body is accomplished with electrolysis or laser hair removal. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for transgender and transsexual people replaces the hormones naturally occurring in their bodies with those of the other sex. ... Depilation is a generic term for hair removal which affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin. ... Transwomen or trans-women are transsexual or transgender people who were assigned male sex at birth (or, in some cases of intersexuality, later) and feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. ... Depilation is a generic term for hair removal which affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin. ... Electrology is either of two electrical epilation methods for the permanent removal of human hair. ... Epilation performed by laser was performed experimentally for about 20 years before it became commercially available in the mid 1990s. ...

Sexual reassignment surgery is used for both the (re-)construction of male or female genitals specifically, this is also called genital reassignment surgery, or, often, for any surgical procedures which will reshape a male body into a body with a female appearance or vice versa Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a persons physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. ...

• For transmen, who transition from female to male:
  • Sexual reassignment surgery female-to-male
  • Mastectomy is the removal of female breasts and, in case of gender reassignment, the shaping of a male contoured chest.
  • Hysterectomy is the removal of female internal sex organs.
  • Metoidioplasty is the construction of a small penis out of the clitoris which has been enlarged by HRT
  • Phalloplasty is specifically the construction of a neo-penis in transmen
• For transwomen, who transition from male to female:
  • Sexual reassignment surgery male-to-female
  • Vaginoplasty The shaping of a neo-vagina
  • Penile inversion - the most common form of genital reassignment surgery.
  • Colovaginoplasty - a particular form of genital reassignment surgery.
  • Breast augmentation is the enlargement of breasts, which can be necessary if HRT did not yield satisfactory results.
  • Facial feminization surgery

Transmen or trans men are transsexual or transgendered people who were assigned female gender at birth (or, in some rare cases of intersexuality, later) and who feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. ... Sexual reassignment surgery from female to male includes surgical procedures which will reshape a female body into a body with a male appearance. ... In medicine, mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. ... A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually done by a gynecologist. ... Metoidioplasty is a variant of phalloplasty for transmen. ... A womans clitoris extends from the visible portion to a point below the pubic bone. ... ). Phalloplasty refers to the (re-)construction of a penis or, sometimes, to artificial modification of the penis by surgery, often for cosmetic purposes. ... Transmen or trans men are transsexual or transgendered people who were assigned female gender at birth (or, in some rare cases of intersexuality, later) and who feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. ... Transwomen or trans-women are transsexual or transgender people who were assigned male sex at birth (or, in some cases of intersexuality, later) and feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. ... Sex reassignment surgery from male to female includes surgeries which will shape a male body into a body with the appearance of and, as far as possible, the functioning of a female body. ... A vaginoplasty is an operation to construct or reconstruct a vagina. ... Penile inversion is a surgical technique for genital reassignment used to construct a neo-vagina from a penis for transwomen, sometimes also for intersex people. ... A colovaginoplasty (also known as colon section) is an operation where a vagina is created by cutting away a section of the sigmoid colon and using it to form a vaginal lining. ... Breast implant diagram A breast implant is a prosthesis used in cosmetic surgery to enhance the size and shape of ones breasts or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy). ... Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS) refers to elective surgical procedures to alter a masculine face to become a feminine face. ...

Requirements

The requirements for hormone replacement therapy vary greatly, often at least a certain time of psychological counseling is required, and so is a time of living in the desired gender role, if possible, to ensure that they can psychologically function in that life-role.

Generally speaking, physicians who perform sex-reassignment surgery require the patient to live as the opposite gender in all possible ways for at least a year ("cross-live") prior to the start of surgery in order to assure that they can psychologically function in that life-role. This period is sometimes called the Real Life Test (RLT); it is part of a battery of requirements. Other frequent requirements are regular psychological counseling and letters of recommendation for this surgery.

Most professionals in the USA who provide services to transsexual women and men follow the controversial Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders put forth by the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. Outside the USA, many other SOCs, protocols and guidelines exist, although the Harry Benjamin SOCs are certainly the best known. There exists a significant and growing political movement to redefine the SOC, asserting that they do not acknowledge the rights of self-determination and control over one's body, and that they expect (and even in many ways requires) a monolithic transsexual experience when in reality there are as many different ways of being transsexual as there are transsexual people. In opposition to this movement is a group of transsexual persons and caregivers who assert that the SOC are in place to protect others from "making a mistake" and causing irreversible changes to their bodies that will later be regretted -- though few post-operative transsexuals believe that sexual reassignment surgery was a mistake for them. In many countries or areas, an individuals pursuit of sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) is often governed, or at least guided, by documents called standards of care (SOC), or standards of care for gender identity disorders. ... Gender identity disorder as identified by psychologists and medical doctors is a condition where a person who has been assigned one gender (usually at birth on the basis of their sex, but compare intersexual) but identifies as belonging to another gender, or does not conform with the gender role their... Harry Benjamin (1885-1986) was a German-born sexologist[1]. He is best known for his pioneering work with transsexualism. ... The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. ...

See also: List of transgender-related topics Transgender is a very complex topic, where definitions are often still up in the air. ...