Transgender gender confirmation surgery in Korea improves quality of life and self-esteem by more than 90%

Transgender gender confirmation surgery in Korea improves quality of life and self-esteem by more than 90%



Most transgender and gender-diverse people (TGD) who underwent gender confirmation surgery (Gender Affirming Surgery) in Korea experienced clear improvements in their quality of life, self-esteem, and mental health after surgery. In particular, satisfaction with reproductive gland removal and breast and breast surgery was high, proving the importance of medical intervention in resolving gender discrepancies.

The KITE research team, which was joined by Professor Kim Kyul-hee of Gangdong Sacred Heart Hospital LGBTQ+ Center and Professor Lee Sun-young of Seoul National University Hospital's Public Medical Center as co-lead researchers, announced the results of a multi-center analysis of 382 TGD who underwent at least one gender confirmation surgery at eight domestic medical institutions that provide GAC (Gender Affirming Care) from January to October 2024.

Korean Initiative for Transgender Health (KITE) is a large-scale cohort study that tracks the health and gender-confirmed medical experience of transgender and gender-diverse people in Korea, which is significant in that it is the first medical institution-based study of the Korean TGD population.




According to the study, respondents responded positively to changes after gender confirmation surgery such as ▲ improvement of gender expression (94.2%), ▲ improvement of quality of life (91.0%), ▲ improvement of self-esteem (90.2%), ▲ improvement of mental health (88.9%), ▲ strengthening of gender agreement (88.4%). Gender confirmation surgery has proven the effect of substantially improving an individual's mental health and quality of life.

In addition, the main types of surgery for trans men were mastectomy (99.5%) and hysterectomy (73.7%), followed by testicular resection (80.7%) and vulva formation (63.6%). Satisfaction by surgery was ▲Growth gland removal (85.1%) ▲ Chest and breast surgery (77.8%), ▲Growth reconstructive surgery (62.4%) ▲negative feminization surgery (56.6%).

The median age for first surgery in the study subjects was 26 years old, and 98.9% were maintaining gender-confirmed hormone therapy for an average of 5 years.




Professor Kim Gyeol-hee emphasized that "This study presented the positive effects of gender-confirmed medical care actually experienced by the TGD population in Korea for the first time as objective data. As high satisfaction and quality of life improvement have been confirmed, it is urgent to improve access to medical care and provide policy support to ensure the health rights of the TGD population."

Meanwhile, the findings were recently published in the international journal Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS).



Transgender gender confirmation surgery in Korea improves quality of life and self-esteem by more than 90%
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.