The author discusses sex reassignment in men. He points out that since 1953, when the procedures were first publicized, attitudes toward granting "sex change" have become increasingly liberal, resulting in a dearth of knowledge about the number of men who have received hormonal or surgical treatment; the frequency of surgical and postoperative complications and of morbidity and mortality; the nature and frequency of psychiatric complications; and the percentage of those treated who have benefited. Believing that sex reassignment should be restricted to the most feminine men, the author urges more scrupulous follow-up studies and more careful consideration of requests for change.
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