The case for bilateral mastectomy and male chest contouring for the female-to-male transsexual.

INTRODUCTION

In the UK, funding for a bilateral mastectomy (BLM) and associated chest recontouring for female-to-male transsexuals (trans men) has been rejected by some funding authorities on a number of unsustainable grounds.

METHODS

As funding is increasingly an important area for both surgeons and referrers, we undertook a review of the small amount of literature pertaining to this issue and considered it in light of our clinical experience of this group.

FINDINGS: The literature showed that BLM is necessary for trans men to live safely and effectively in their reassigned gender role, and further that it acts as a prophylaxis against distress, ameliorates extant distress as well as providing improved quality of life and global functioning for this patient group.