Trans Regret Surgery
Behind It
When we talk about regret surrounding gender transition, what does that mean? The term “regret” carries a lot of meaning in this context, more so when it’s connected to trans regret surgery or transgender regret surgery.
For transgender people, transgender regret might mean wishing you hadn’t changed your body through hormone therapy or surgery. But it also means feeling like you made an ineffective attempt to solve something deeper, like gender dysphoria.
A person might be grappling with regret even before they’ve started transitioning. Likewise, transgenders regret surgery because of how their bodies have changed.
Either way, they may feel unsure if transitioning is right for them, leading them to undergo transgender regret surgery.
Get to know more about this phenomenon as you read the rest of this article.
Dr. Gary J. Rosenbaum is a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in breast-related surgeries.
If you’re looking for a doctor who understands your needs and can help you with how to detransition MTF through breast restoration, schedule a consultation here.
How Many Transgender Regret Surgery?
According to a 2021 study about gender-affirming surgery by Bustos, et al, 1 only a minority of transgender people regret undergoing gender-affirming surgery.
Of the 7,928 transgender people who received gender-affirming surgery, one-third had transmasculine surgery, while the other two-thirds received transfeminine ones.
Less than 1% of transmasculine people regretted their choice, while the transfeminine surgery regret rate was 1%.
What percentage of transgender regret surgery. Surgery regret rates.
Bottom surgery regret included.
Source: Regret after Gender-affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence
What is Trans Regret Surgery?
Trans regret surgery refers to the process of reversing gender reassignment surgery so one transitions back to their birth sex.
Why do transgender people do trans regret surgery? There are lots of reasons, but some claim they struggled to live as their intended gender. Others were unhappy with the outcome of their surgery—either they did not properly anticipate their appearance or experiences or they struggled to cope mentally.
For those who continued with their detransitioning process, the most common reasons include:
- Lack of understanding of gender dysphoria
- Distress related to their experience of gender incongruence
- Stigmatization and discrimination against trans-identified people in society
- Family and societal pressure
- Fear of not being able to get a job or keep a job
- Losing relationships due to transitioning
- Gaps in medical and mental care
It isn’t easy to know for sure how many transgender regret surgery or what percentage of transgender regret surgery.
Transgender people might feel ashamed about what they’re feeling, so as a result, they are less likely to speak up about their experiences.
Among the very few documented experiences was the story of Walt Heyer 2, a trans woman for eight years before he decided to detransition.
I regret transitioning and so will you.
Walt Heyer
Planting Seeds of Doubt
Though he only decided to transition at the age of 42, he believes that the seeds of his transgender journey were planted way back when he was still a four-year-old boy being cross-dressed by his grandmother.
But it was when his teenage uncle learned about it that his world turned into a nightmare. At the age of ten, his uncle taunted and even abused him sexually. That made him detest being male, and he used cross-dressing as an escape.
In his young mind, he thought that if only he was a girl, then the adults in his life would accept him and make him feel safe.
Little did he know, these feelings he harbored as a kid would develop into gender dysphoria—a strong desire to be of another gender—in his 40s, and trans regret surgery later on.
The Advice That Changed His Life
But there was a disconnect. In spite of his desire to be a girl, he was never attracted to the same sex. In fact, he had always been interested in women. He even got married to a woman and had children despite his wife knowing about his cross-dressing habits.
For Walt, it felt like having two personas in one body. His cross-dressing habit also fueled his desire to be a woman.
At age 40, Walt sought out the advice of Dr. Paul Walker, a leading gender specialist at the time. He was diagnosed with gender identity disorder (now gender dysphoria) and recommended cross-sex hormones and sex change genital surgery.
According to Dr. Walker, his gender distress had nothing to do with his childhood, and the only answer to his gender dysphoria was sex transition.
So Walt started taking female hormones. In April 1983, he underwent genital reconfiguration. He also decided to get breast implants and other feminizing treatments.
After changing his birth certificate to Laura Jensen, female, his life as a woman began.
The Road to Trans Regret Surgery
At first, Walt enjoyed his new life as Laura. But as time went by, reality started to catch up. His wife and kids were shattered. He also lost his career. And he started to question his decision to transition as trans regret slowly seeped in.
“The reprieve I experienced through surgery was only temporary. Hidden underneath the makeup and female clothing was the little boy hurt by childhood trauma,” Walt said of his experience.
“I was once again experiencing gender dysphoria, but this time I felt like a male inside a body refashioned to look like a woman. I was living my dream, but still I was deeply suicidal.”
With gender dysphoria once again haunting him, Walt started his transgender regret surgery. At 50, he had his breast implants removed. He also reverted his legal documents to Walt, male, when he was 55. He even remarried again.
“Had I not been misled by media stories of sex change ‘success’ and by medical practitioners who said transitioning was the answer to my problems, I wouldn’t have suffered as I have,” Walt realized.
For him, underlying issues should be addressed first before taking the first step towards transition. Only then can trans regret surgery can be avoided.
There are lots of trans regret Reddit stories available.
Read some of detransitioning stories on this site.
Choose a surgeon you trust and feel comfortable with, not one who pressures you into doing a specific procedure.
They must be supportive of your identity and are not making assumptions about your gender identity based on your appearance.
They should also keep an open mind when discussing transition-related issues with you.
If you’re looking for a doctor who understands your needs and can help you with transgender regret surgery through breast restoration, schedule a consultation with Dr. Gary Rosenbaum.
- Regret after Gender-affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence Journals LWW.com
- Hormones, surgery, regret: I was a transgender woman for 8 years — time I can’t get back
USA Today