Dear Miss Laura,

I am a Male to female Transsexual. I have known all of my life that I was born into the wrong body. I have delayed my transition for years because I thought I had plenty of time. Now that the kids are grown I am ready to become a woman.

The problem is that I am 55 and now I have heart and lung problems. My doctor says that I would not be able to endure General Anesthesia which cancels my dream of SRS (sex reassignment surgery). I had an angioplasty to remove a blockage and my heart is fine now but my lungs are not.

My Gender Psychologist says I should look into alternatives but noone can tell me what those might be. I know I can't stay like this. What can I do.

Love Luanna

Dear Luanna,

First let me say I'm so sorry about your health.

Second, I am not a doctor.

You might try contacting Dr Preecha in Thailand. He reportedly handles some of the more difficult SRS cases that other doctors won't. He could tell you if a local anesthetic is possible since I really don't know.

Yes there are alternatives. Probably much of the cause of your distress is Testosterone related. So an Orchiectomy might help you somewhat. This operation removes the testes and the source of the male hormone. This can be done under local anesthetic. As a result your doctor would be able to use a much lower dose of estrogen and more inclined to do so. Ask him if this is possible.

You would still be able to go through the cross-living phase of transition and live as a woman. While I understand its not the perfect solution it does work for those who for some reason can't have SRS.

Your inability to have SRS in no way makes you any less transsexual or your Gender Dysphoria any less real.

The best of luck to you,

Miss Laura