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A new study published in the latest issue of BJU International confirms the earlier findings that feminizing genitoplasty (clitoral reduction/recession and vaginoplasty) diminishes patients' sexual sensation. While it is based on a small sample (hence this is called a "pilot study") of women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), the researchers found that all participants scored low on the sensation in the clitoris; further, those women who were sexually active reported sexual difficulties, particularly infrequency of intercourse and anorgasmia.
This is yet another study coming out of the multidisciplinary intersex clinic in London, which has in the past several years produced wealth of information regarding long-term consequences of intersex genital surgeries in childhood in collaboration with CAH and AIS patient support groups. The description of one of the methodologies used in this study--"thermal, vibratory and light-touch sensory thresholds were assessed in the clitoris and vagina using a genitosensory analyser and Von Frey filaments"--sounds pretty scary and detached, but methodologies such as this is only possible when patients have high level of trust and confidence toward the physicians doing the research.
According to Dr. Crouch, the lead author of the paper, this was originally part of a much larger follow-up study, but she and her colleagues chose to publish the findings at the pilot stage because of the stark result and its implication into the contemporary management of intersex conditions.
Source:
Crouch NS, Minto CL, Laio L-M, Woodhouse CRJ, Creighton SM (2004). "Genital sensation after feminizing genitoplasty for congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a pilot study." BJU International, 93:135-138.
Posted by Emi on Jan 3, 2004