Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Patients’ perspectives on informational needs surrounding gender-affirming vaginoplasty

International Journal of Impotence Research (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

A Correction to this article was published on 01 April 2025

This article has been updated

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the informational preferences of patients undergoing gender-affirming vaginoplasty during their surgical journey. An anonymous survey was sent to 30 such patients who had the procedure between September 2018 and September 2020. The survey included Likert-scale questions about the importance of various topics and inquired about their preferred sources and formats for receiving this information. The responses of 17 individuals (56.7% response rate) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis. Key findings indicated that all topics in the survey were rated as moderately important or higher. Specifically, for 29 out of 30 pre-operative topics (96.7%), participants preferred written information, and for 27 topics (90.0%), they favored receiving information directly from their surgeon. Thematic analysis revealed five main themes: recovery process, satisfaction, trust in healthcare providers, information delivery, and neovaginal dilation and depth. In conclusion, individuals undergoing gender-affirming vaginoplasty have significant informational needs. They prefer to receive information from their surgical team, supplemented by written resources and verbal discussions. Notably, the importance of understanding neovaginal dilation and being aware of possible complications emerged as a key concern. The study also highlighted the importance of cultural competence and trust-building with healthcare providers, underscoring the need for more inclusive care practices.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

De-identified data are available upon request to the corresponding author.

Change history

References

  1. Berli JU, Knudson G, Fraser L, Tangpricha V, Ettner R, Ettner FM, et al. What surgeons need to know about gender confirmation surgery when providing care for transgender individuals: a review. JAMA Surg. 2017;152:394–400. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2016.5549.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Canner JK, Harfouch O, Kodadek LM, Pelaez D, Coon D, Offodile AC II, et al. Temporal trends in gender-affirming surgery among transgender patients in the United States. JAMA Surg. 2018;153:609–16. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2017.6231.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Plastic Surgery Statistics Report, 2017. https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/News/Statistics/2017/plastic-surgery-statistics-full-report-2017.pdf. Accessed June 9, 2023.

  4. Coleman E, Radix AE, Bouman WP, Brown GR, De Vries AL, Deutsch MB, et al. Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. Int J Transgend Health. 2022;23:S1–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Poceta J, Cousins S, Wenzel C, Lakhardt K, Hojilla C, Marlowe L, et al. Effectiveness of a gender affirming surgery class for transgender and non-binary patients and their caregivers in an integrated healthcare setting. Int J Transgend. 2019;20:81–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2018.1528920.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Sterling J, Garcia MM. Fertility preservation options for transgender individuals. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9:S215–26. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2019.09.28.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Riggs DW, Bartholomaeus C. Fertility preservation decision making amongst Australian transgender and non-binary adults. Reprod Health. 2018;15:181. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0627-z.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Pyne J, Bauer G, Bradley K. Transphobia and other stressors impacting trans parents. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2015;11:107–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2014.941127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Auer MK, Fuss J, Nieder TO, Briken P, Biedermann SV, Stalla GK, et al. Desire to have children among transgender people in Germany: a cross-sectional multi-center study. J Sex Med. 2018;15:757–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.03.083.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Grant JM, Mottet LA, Tanis JJ, Min D. Transgender discrimination survey. National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: Washington, DC, USA. 2011. https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/NTDS_Report.pdf. Accessed June 9, 2023.

  11. Shipherd JC, Green KE, Abramovitz S. Transgender clients: identifying and minimizing barriers to mental health treatment. J Gay Lesbian Ment Health. 2010;14:94–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359701003622875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Webb C, Sharma V, Temple-Oberle C. Delivering breast reconstruction information to patients: women report on preferred information delivery styles and options. Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018;26:26–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/2292550317750139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Yeşilyurt DS, Fındık ÜY. Informational needs of postmastectomy patients. J Breast Health. 2016;12:155–7. https://doi.org/10.5152/tjbh.2016.3062.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Ahmed I, Harvey A, Amsellem M. Informational needs among women considering breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. Cancer Res. 2012;72:P6–9.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Feiner DE, Rayan GM. Preoperative surgical discussion and information retention by patients. J Hand Surg Asian Pac. 2016;21:326–32. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2424835516500296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Vahabi M, Ferris L. Improving written patient education materials: a review of the evidence. Health Educ J. 1995;54:99–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/001789699505400110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and communities that assisted in the design and dissemination of the questionnaire.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Alexandra Millman

    Present address: Department of Urology, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

  2. Ervin Kocjancic

    Present address: Department of Urology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Alexandra Millman, Armin Gabela, Luca Morgantini, Omer Acar & Ervin Kocjancic

Authors
  1. Alexandra Millman
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Armin Gabela
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luca Morgantini
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Omer Acar
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ervin Kocjancic
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed equally to the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Morgantini.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The original online version of this article was revised due to a retrospective Open Access cancellation.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Millman, A., Gabela, A., Morgantini, L. et al. Patients’ perspectives on informational needs surrounding gender-affirming vaginoplasty. Int J Impot Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00783-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00783-5

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links