In a story posted in our News area (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,208378.0.html), a medical researcher laments the poor state of research into transgender health and medicine.
What questions would you like medical science to answer about transition related care?
Here's my list:
* What combination of female hormones produces the most effective feminization?
* Are there any long term harmful effects of HRT? Of SRS?
* Which surgical technique actually produces the best results?
* In what way does neovaginal tissue come to resemble natural vaginal tissue? In what way is it different?
* What are the effects of low testosterone in post-op women? What level of testosterone therapy can serve to offset them?
* What long term levels of dilation are needed post-SRS?
* What therapies are effective for post-SRS anorgasmia?
I wouldn't volunteer for this and I can't imagine anyone who would, but what does the body of a person who has been 5 to 10 years on a transition dose of estradiol and an anti-androgen look like if other measures such as cosmetic surgeries and electrolysis are not performed? I take it back, I might do it if I was guaranteed employment for the life of the study in a very, very accepting community.
I'm extremely curious in a car-crash kind of way.
I'd like to know the ideal HRT protocols, supported by evidence.
I guess it would be too much to ask for a review of surgeons results.
I'm mtf so this doesn't affect me directly, but I believe more can be done to help our brothers in the way of GCS and the options available for giving them the phallus they so desire, deserve and need to be themselves.
So much has been done, including attempted uterus transplant on the mtf side. I would like to see more done on the other side of the equation.
I'd like quality, reliable information about SRS, particularly:
- Quantitative degree of risk of complications
- Satisfaction levels amongst patients
- Regret levels amongst patients
- Proportion of trans individuals undergoing SRS
- Proportion of patients requiring revision surgery
I'd like to know optimal HRT levels for intake and maintenance, given that I can google around and find completely contradictory opinions, doctors have completely contradictory opinions, etc.
I'm also curious about options re: hysterectomy. I see no mention of ablation (where they scrape off the endometrium). Cis women commonly have this done. Wouldn't that eliminate risk of endometriosis? I have no affection for the old shoe leather but I do favor minimally invasive options.
What's the link between GLBT and autism? I'd love to know.
Does dysphoria lessen or resolve after bottom surgery? Tumblr says of course it must or people wouldn't do it. Much scientific. So insightful. Wow.
Also, I think some research badly needs to be done (maybe by NGLTF or groups like that) into how trans people access medical care and what impedes their access to medical care. I'm not just talking about transition care but all medical care. This is a huge issue for our community. We need some facts on the table to lobby care groups, insurance co's, state gov'ts, etc.
I want to see more research on how age and hormones go with each other.
- What kind of sample size and longevity of study would be needed to definitely say whether or not testosterone usage in transgender men increases the risk of reproductive cancers?
- What alterations can be made to erectile devices to improve lifespan and reduce complications? Would it be possible to utilize existing erectile tissue in the genitalia to support a smaller scale implant that would be less likely to create urethral complications?
- Should the testosterone levels of transgender men be lowered as they age, as is commonly the case in cisgender men? Is there harm in maintaining T levels similar to someone in their 20s when you are in your 50s, 60s?
- For phalloplasty donor sites such as the forearm or thigh, what are the risks of tattooing? If a patient wishes to tattoo over donor site scarring, what is the optimal time to do so?
- What is the percentage increase of transgender men undergoing SRS from 2000 to present, annually?
Quote from: suzifrommd on April 26, 2016, 07:01:14 AM
In a story posted in our News area (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,208378.0.html), a medical researcher laments the poor state of research into transgender health and medicine.
What questions would you like medical science to answer about transition related care?
Here's my list:
* What combination of female hormones produces the most effective feminization?
* Are there any long term harmful effects of HRT? Of SRS?
* Which surgical technique actually produces the best results?
* In what way does neovaginal tissue come to resemble natural vaginal tissue? In what way is it different?
* What are the effects of low testosterone in post-op women? What level of testosterone therapy can serve to offset them?
* What long term levels of dilation are needed post-SRS?
* What therapies are effective for post-SRS anorgasmia?
I would like to know if growth hormone produced by the body makes for the most ideal transition, and if that is behind how fit people, like myself, seem to invariably transition pretty well.