What are the criteria for the procedure?
- Persistent, well-documented gender dysphoria;
- Capacity to make a fully informed decision and to consent to treatment;
- Be the age of majority in a given country;
- Psychiatric Evaluation
- Twelve continuous months of hormone therapy as appropriate to the patient’s gender goals (unless the patient has a medical contraindication or is otherwise unable or unwilling to take hormones);
- Twelve continuous months of living in a gender role that is congruent with their gender identity.
What is the procedure like?
- During most vaginoplasties, your surgeon will use a skin graft to create a new vaginal canal (the inside wall of the vagina). To do this, your surgeon will take skin from your scrotum and thin it so it works well as a skin graft.
- If there’s not enough skin from your scrotum to make your new vagina, then your surgeon can take extra skin from the sides of your abdomen where there won’t be a very noticeable scar.
- To make your new vaginal canal, your surgeon will create a space between your rectum and bladder. Once your skin graft is inserted, your surgeon will place gauze or spongy material inside the new vaginal canal for 5 days. The gauze puts pressure on the skin graft so it grows like it should into the surrounding vaginal tissue
How Much Does it Cost?
The average cost in the United States varies between $20,550 to $28,800. In Colombia, the procedure is 30-50% less.
