What a Medical Transition is

Many people are ignorant as to what a Medical Transition is, this section will explain what it is as well as explain the different types of medical transitions.

A Medical Transition is something that many Transgender individuals seek out throughout their lives. Their attempts are often unsuccessful due to many different things but the main reason is because of the healthcare discrimination Transgender individuals face. There are many US states that do not have laws protecting the Transgender community and this is what makes way for healthcare discrimination.

Credit to Movement Advancement Project

Different Tools Involved in a Medical Transition

Many different tools go into a medical transition, some are more easily accessible compared to others but they are all important for the Transgender community to have access to.

The common first step in a medical transition is HRT, this is when a Transgender individual will get put on hormone blockers and/or hormone treatment. These work to change the body to be more like the gender they identify with. The two main hormones that are taken are testosterone and estrogen; testosterone works to masculinize the body and estrogen works to feminize the body. While hormones are the easiest to access they are still not highly accessible to everyone. It is often a tiring experience to get prescribed hormone treatment. HRT can be a one-step transition for some, but for others is just one step of their medical transition.

The next steps can be done in many different orders and are much more difficult to get access to due to them being surgeries. This next part may be triggering to read because I will include medical terminology and describe exactly what these procedures are, if you will find this uncomfortable, please do not read on.

The first procedure I will cover is masculinizing chest surgery, highly referred to as top surgery. This is when the patient's breast tissue is removed to give them a masculine chest. Different procedures can be done for this surgery and are as follows: double incision, buttonhole, T-Anchor Keyhole, and Peri Areolar.

The next procedure I will cover is feminizing chest surgery, also referred to as top surgery. This is when the patient's chest size is increased to give them a more feminine chest. This can be done in different ways including, breast implants, moving fat from one part of the body to another, or both of these together.

The next procedure I will cover is transfeminine bottom surgery. There are 3 procedures for this and they are as followed: vaginoplasty, vulvoplasty, and orchiectomy. I will not go into detail about this so as to not be disrespectful. If you wish to learn the details of this surgery here is a website you can start your research:

https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health/gender-affirmation-surgery/vaginoplasty.php

The next procedure I will cover is transmasculine bottom surgery. 2 procedures can be used for this and they are as followed: phalloplasty and metoidioplasty. Again I will not go into detail about this so as to not be disrespectful. f you wish to learn the details of these surgeries here are a couple of websites you can start your research:

https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health/gender-affirmation-surgery/phalloplasty.php

https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health/gender-affirmation-surgery/metoidioplasty.php