Transsexuals who have not undergone surgery: a follow-up study

Transsexuals who had not undergone surgery, although it had been offered to them providing they fulfilled the usual requirements, were classified into various subgroups, measured according to their attitude towards sex reassignment surgery: they were transsexuals with an unaltered wish for surgery, transsexuals who were ambivalent towards surgery (hesitating patients), and transsexuals who had relinquished their wish for surgery and lived in the initial gender role. Whereas transsexuals with an unaltered wish for surgery did not differ substantially from transsexuals who had had surgery, the hesitating patients were noticeably older, more often married, more often had children of their own, their partnerships were of long duration, and exclusively with partners of the opposite biological sex. These characteristics were seen when the diagnosis was first made. They can therefore be considered prognostic criteria for this subgroup. Transsexuals who relinquished their wish for surgery did not differ substantially from transsexuals with an unaltered wish for surgery. The reasons for relinquishing the wish for surgery were individual or could not be clearly established. At the time of follow-up, all transsexuals who had not undergone surgery indicated that they were experiencing the same degree of difficulty with respect to social adjustment as at the time of diagnosis. Slight improvements were seen in patients with an unaltered wish for surgery. Significant changes were seen only in transsexuals who had surgery. Transsexuals who have not had surgery and have no present wish for it are in the minority. Hesitating patients have a particular need for psychotherapy.