Medical or surgical procedures
Not all people who undertake gender reassignment choose to undergo medical or surgical treatment. For those individuals who decide to do this, the process may involve a number of medical or surgical interventions that may last several years. This may be done either privately or through the National Health Service.
The following summarises the main stages:
- The individual must live and work as a member of the opposite gender for at least a year. This period is called a real-life test and enables an individual to experience life as a member of the opposite gender.
- After the real-life test, the individual may then undergo treatments, therapies or medical procedures. These could include hormone injections, hair removal, mastectomy, breast augmentation, genital realignment and cosmetic surgery.