PRESS FOR CHANGE
Campaigning for respect and equality for ALL trans people
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Satisfaction with genital surgery:
survey of post-operative trans people
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**** Please circulate this to ALL trans people ****
**** who have have had genital surgery *****
Has genital surgery improved the quality of your life, and helped to
resolve the gender conflicts you experienced?
An increasing number of health-care providers are reviewing the
question of whether they should continue to provide funding for
genital surgery for trans people, and frequently complain that the
surveys conducted to date have not demonstrated any conclusive
evidence of the success of such surgery.
We are aware that a fully scientific survey of surgery outcomes would
be quite a complicated process, and we are working to initiate such a
project. However, in the meantime it would be very helpful to Health
Authorities and insurers deciding how to allocate their budgets (and to
trans people seeking treatment) to be able to cite a recent survey
which provides a preliminary answer to the fundamental question:
whether surgical treatment which trans people have received has
improved the quality of their lives and helped to resolve their gender
conflicts.
That is, after all, the purpose of such surgery: to help trans people
to lead happier and more fulfilled lives.
If YOU are a transsexual or transgendered person who has had
genital surgery, PLEASE take a few minutes to complete and return this
form; if you know other trans people, please pass a copy of this
survey form on to them. We want this survey to include as many people
as possible, from wherever in the world ... and the more responses we
have, the more useful the data will be.
(If you have not had genital surgery, please DON'T complete this
survey form. The information we aim to collect in this particular
exercise can only be supplied by those who have had genital surgery.)
The information we receive will be kept in strictest confidence, and
will be used ONLY to compile a set of statistics: no details of any
individual will be published or circulated to anyone other than the
two vice-presidents of Press For Change who are organising this
survey.
By providing this information, you will help ALL trans people to show
what the REAL picture is of the success of genital surgery ... and
help us all to move beyond the myths and uncertainties which
complicate the work of those managing the funding of healthcare as
well the lives of those seeking it.
The closing date for receipt of completed forms is 15th May, 1999.
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SURVEY FORM -- please complete and return to Press For Change, either
by post to: Survey, Press For Change, BM Network, London WC1N 3XX or
by email to
An on-line version of this form is also available at
1. Please state your name and contact details: either a postal
address, a telephone number or an email address. (This will be
treated in confidence, and viewed ONLY by the two vice-presidents of
PFC who receive the completed forms. The purpose is merely to allow us
to check that we're not counting duplicate returns, and answers to
this question will NOT be made available as part of the statistical
data).
2. Please state the city or county where you live, or the country if
outside the United Kingdom. (The purpose of this question is to allow
us to analyse returns to see if there are any regional variations in
the data).
3. What age are you?
(please select one)
under 20 21-25 25-30 31-35 36-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 over 70
4. Did you transition from male-to female or from female-to-male?
5. What surgical procedure(s) did you undergo?
(Please tick as appropriate):
orchidectomy / vaginoplasty / penectomy / phalloplasty or metadioaplasty
/ other (please specify)
6. In which year did your genital surgery take place?
7. In which country did your surgery take place?
8. Have you been offered counselling after your surgery ?
(please provide brief details)
9. Have you ever received counselling after surgery ?
(please provide brief details)
10. Have you ever knowingly contributed to a survey on surgery
outcomes?
(please provide brief details)
11. Is the psychologist or psychiatrist primarily involved in your care
(or the institution they work in) engaged in research into the
satisfaction rate of genital surgery for trans people ?
(please provide brief details)
12. Are you happier with your life following the treatment you have
received ?
please tick one:
much happier/ somewhat happier / about the same / less happy /
much less happy
13. If you are not happier, please summarise in no more than 25 words
why this is so. (e.g. Unsatisfactory surgical result, discrimination
by others, failure of expectations, etc.)
14. If you had your time again, would you opt for genital surgery again
(rather than seeking another way of dealing with your gender issues) ?
Please tick one:
definitely no / probably no / not sure / probably yes / definitely yes
15. Would you be willing to participate in a more detailed survey
in the future if the purpose were to establish the effectiveness of
the treatment?
tick: yes / no
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Thank you *very* much for taking the time to complete this survey. The
information which you have provided will be invaluable in helping
other trans people to inform healthcare providers about the *true*
success rate of genital surgery for trans people.
And please don't forget to tell others about this survey!
If you would like further copies of this form to pass on to others,
please ask!
Either:
* write to Surgery Survey, Press For Change, BM Network,
London WC1N 3XX
or
* send an email to - a copy of this form
will be returned to you.
An on-line version of this form is also available at
, where you will also find
copies to of a plain-text version which you can download and print
out.
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