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June 2005 issue of BJU International published a new study from our favourite intersex research team from the University College London (Melissa Davies, Sarah Creighton and Christopher Woodhouse in this case), which evaluates results of relatively recent vaginal (re)construction surgeries performed between 1997 and 2004. According to the paper, the 15 women in the study, who received 31 surgeries combined, exhibited many major complications, despite all the "progress" in the surgical techniques that doctors often brag about.
Davies et al. state "Complications are common and can be major; most patients require many repeat operations to achieve a patent vagina" and call for clear and honest pre-operative discussion and psychological support to give the patient realistic expectations about the benefits and risks of the surgery.
ALSO: another paper in the same issue of BJU International by Davies, Creighton, Woodhouse and Naomi Crouch (another regular from our favourite research team), reports that over two-third of women who had been diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and had received feminizing surgeries reported experiencing urinary tract symptoms, which is more than four times as prevalent as in the non-CAH population. It is still unclear if the problems are the effects of having CAH or caused by surgeries, however. The study was also presented at the annual meeting of the American Urology Association, which was held last month.
Source:
Davies MC, Creighton SM, Woodhouse CRJ (2005). "The pitfalls of vaginal construction." BJU International. 95(9):1293-1298.
Davies MC, Crouch NS, Woodhouse CRJ, Creighton SM (2005). "Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and lower urinary tract symptoms." BJU International. 95(9):1263-1266.
Posted by Emi on Jun 2, 2005