The Legal Status of Transsexuals in Turkey

ABSTRACT

The development of the legal regulations concerning transsexuals in Turkey can be analysed in three phases. The first phase was prior to 1988 when there were no legal parameters at all. The second phase started in 1988 when certain changes made in the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) for the first time gave people who had already undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) the possibility to enter this change into the birth register. The third phase commenced in 2002 when the new Turkish Civil Code came into force.¹ Art.40 of the Code now regulates the pre-conditions for a surgery and the procedure for getting a court authorisation in order to be operated as well as the procedure for entering the sex change into the birth register after the operation. Following remarks aim at briefly explaining these historical developments in Turkish law and presenting the current legal situation in Turkey with respect to transsexuals. The deficiencies in the existing regulation and possible ways of surmounting these will also be examined.     

Evolution of Gonadal Axis After Sex Reassignment Surgery in Transsexual Patients in the Spanish Public Health System

ABSTRACT

Although the effects of hormone therapy on cardiovascular risk factors and bone metabolism have been studied, data are lacking on the gonadotropin profile after gonadectomy in the sex reassignment process (SRP). Accordingly, whether measurement of the gonadotropin profile is useful in order to adjust the postsurgical dose of gonadal hormones is unknown. We studied the evolution of LH, FSH, prolactin, testosterone, and estradiol in 50 transsexual persons, 41 male-to-female transsexuals (MtF) and 9 female-to-male transsexuals (FtM), following a proto-colized regimen of hormone therapy for 12–24 months before and after genitoplasty. The increase in gonadotropins after surgery was greater in the FtM than in the MtF (66% vs. 50%), with the increase continuing more than one year after surgery. No variable was significantly associated with this different level of gonadotropins.     

Transsexuals and Pseudotranssexuals

SUMMARY

This article was first published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 7, no. 4, 1978, pp. 263–272. Prince admits to being attracted by the idea of sex reassignment for herself at the time of the publicity given to the case of Christine Jorgensen. However, the development of her philosophy that the central issues were to do with gender (the psycho-social) and not sex (anatomy and physiology) leads her to the view that it is perfectly possible for a male to be a woman without having sex surgery. She speaks out forcefully against sex reassignment, arguing that it is not appropriate for nine out of ten of those requesting it and writes of “so-called” or pseudo transsexuals. Susceptible transvestites are seduced by the publicity given to the topic into thinking it is the solution to their problems.     

Vaginoplasty in Male to Female Transsexuals Using Penile Skin and Urethral Flap

ABSTRACT.

Objectives: Vaginoplasty presents the main problem in male to female surgery. There are many operative techniques that can be used, but none is ideal. We present our one stage vaginoplasty in male to female sex reassignment surgery.

Patients and Methods: The principle of our technique is based on penile disassembly and usage of all penile entities for vaginoplasty except corpora cavernosa. We developed our disassembly technique on a very large number of severe hypospadias reconstruction and adrenogenital “conversions.” Penile skin flaps and urethral work are used in each of these. Our new vagina consists of two parts: a long vascularized urethral flap and a pedicled island tube skin flap created from the penile skin. The urethral flap is embedded into the skin tube. The tube, consisting of skin and urethral flap, is inverted, thus forming the new vagina. The new vagina is inserted into the previously prepared perineal cavity between the urethra, bladder, and rectum. The new vagina is fixed to the sacrospinous ligament. The labia minora and majora are formed from the remaining penile and scrotal skin.

Results: The follow-up ranged from 3 months to 6 years (mean 4.6 years). Good cosmetic and functional results were obtained in 77 out of 89 patients (87%).

Conclusions: The technique provides results that have the most normal anatomical and physiological characteristics, in comparison to other methods, since all penile entities are used (except corpora cavernosa) to form almost normal external female genitalia. Vaginoplasty using pedicled penile skin with a urethral flap could be a very good alternative to other methods of vaginoplasty.