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In the review article recently published in New England Journal of Medicine, pediatricians Phyllis W. Speiser and Perrin C. White briefly acknowledges the impact of intersex patient advocacy organizing. They state: "Retrospective reviews suggest that both the cosmetic and functional outcomes of genital surgery procedures as formerly practiced were often unsatisfactory. Surgery during adolescence is often fraught with psychological and technical difficulties... Patient-advocacy groups have appealed to physicians to inform families about all the potential surgical pitfalls so that they can carefully consider whether and when surgery should be done. In addition, there is now heightened awareness of the need for psychological support for families with an affected child. Respect for patients' privacy has led to fewer genital examinations during childhood and adolescence."
The paper also states that "improvements in the surgical correction of genital anomalies over the past two decades have led to earlier use of single-stage surgery," while noting that "the long-term outcomes of the newer surgical procedures have yet to be evaluated." Interestingly, there is no mention of any reason that "ambiguous genitalia" needs to be treated in this paper, leading one to wonder: if the old surgery was so horrible and the new surgery hasn't been established yet, why are we rushing into it in the first place? Just because we have the surgical techniques to do so?
Source:
Speiser PW, White PC. (2003). "Medical progress: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia." New England Journal of Medicine. Aug 21;349(8):776-88.
Posted by Emi on Aug 24, 2003