Anyone thinking about gender reassignment has a long and often arduous journey ahead of them. The last, irrevocable measure is the surgical solution for gender reassignment. To have it carried out, are
- At least one year of psychotherapy
- A hormone therapy for sex change (geschlechtsumwandlung which is the term in German)and
- Two independent reports are required
Transgender people still find it discriminatory that their problem is classified as an “illness”.
But there is an advantage: if all of the conditions listed are met, the health insurance companies finance a large part of the costs of the treatment.
Costs can be saved at hospitals abroad if, for example, additional cosmetic interventions are planned. Real surgical tourism is booming in Thailand, Turkey, Morocco and some Latin American countries. Thai clinics, in particular, advertise with excellent surgical equipment, work innovatively and with great skill.
Similar decision criteria apply to the complicated surgical procedures that lead to a definitive gender reassignment as with cosmetic surgery: What happens when complications occur? Who does the aftercare? Especially when it comes to gender reassignment
- Hormone therapy adapted to the needs of the patient is continued after the operation and for life
- Can be operated on and corrected for some postoperative problems
The language barrier makes it difficult to find a reputable clinic with optimal medical services. Recommendations and the estimated price only give an indication of which hands the patient is going into.
If the actual operation was performed abroad, the domestic health insurance company may not fund corrections or health care benefits. Then another expensive operation and possibly another long trip is often necessary. The questions of aftercare should be clarified in advance.
The hope that it will not be necessary to provide the required expert opinions on gender reassignment abroad is unfounded. In both Thailand and Turkey, for example, psychological reports must be available for the decisive interventions. In Turkey, however, the required expert opinion can be obtained by court order.