Kenton, I'll move you to "Transsexual Talk" and see if you get some more hits. Also, let me know whether you do want a new subject line. You should be able to change the titles of your own threads, but we recently shortened the window for that.
The way I understand it, U.S. firms are not supposed to fire people because they have surgery and are out of commission for a number of weeks. However, I don't know exactly what the law says, and I don't know whether internships are different. If it's paid and is treated like a regular short-term job, that might make a difference. You might want to do some digging on employment law. It's good to start now while you still have time.
If it turns out that they can and do legally let you go because of the surgery, you can always explain that to anyone who interviews you and is wondering. But you might not want to initiate and call attention to it, and they might not ask.
Another thing--if you have an employee handbook, use it. My old handbook had a section for just this sort of thing. And the HR person should be able to help you and is not supposed to divulge your information to other people. However, I'm not sure what is considered private information beyond the obvious personal info; if you make a general inquiry to an HR person about the policy for taking time off for surgery, is he or she supposed to keep your inquiry confidential?
I suppose that your last resort might be to quit after six months, but that move might raise eyebrows later, too. It's probably better to risk being fired.
But seriously, too many variables. You need more information. Do more research. You might talk to the Transgender Law Center (I'm not sure whether they help people outside of CA) or another advocacy group, such as the National Center for Transgender Equality.
