Queries increased for gender affirmation surgeries: AIIMS

NEW DELHI: The AIIMS Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns block has received many queries related to gender affirmation surgeries after full-fledged medical services available for the non-COVID patients at the hospitals after COVID lockdown, said Dr (Prof) Maneesh Singhal, Head-Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery, AIIMS, Delhi on Friday.

"There is a big watershed in society due to COVID. So during the COVID-induced lockdown queries were very, very less and very restrictive as in between COVID there was no communication because we were told to do only the emergency procedures. But when the things were back to normal after the surge in COVID cases in the country I will say a lot of queries are now being increased and I can say may be many times five to six times to these are now more and people are coming to us. We are getting a lot of queries from our departments also to deal with such situations," Dr Singhal.

Dr Singhal said that the AIIMS special burns and plastic block which is near AIIMS is also going to start a special training program for the staff, so that trans persons can get their treatment done with dignity.

"So we are planning within two-three months to hold the training for our own people to how to deal with this sector of society. So that they are treated with dignity. I think that dignity has to be given to people before starting their treatment. So I think we are very sure that at AIIMS and other hospitals, we can make such type of curriculums and such type of training programmes where they can come with a lot of freedom and openly and avail the services which government is giving," he said On Ayushman TG plus card for transgenders, he said, "The Ayushman Bharat services are already available for the transgender people, but the diseases which are specific to them, for example, sex change surgery and all sex reassignment, which we tell in scientific terms was not covered under this scheme. So as a result, those people are not able to utilise these important packages for this particular purpose."

Dr Singhal warned people about quacks who conduct such surgeries and how the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be helpful for trans persons.

"People who can't afford are actually going to quacks once they are going to catch the half-hearted job is done and then it is not correctable. Once it is wrongly done, we cannot even correct it. So I think going to the quacks will decrease a lot because this is somebody who cannot afford surgery," he added.

"He or she will ultimately have to do something which their peer group says so, they have a very strong peer group which will misguide them or which will guide them to the wrong people.

Once they're guided to the wrong people, ultimately the life shatters because then they find that there is no solution to their personal problem and unfortunately they cannot discuss with everyone, Dr Singhal cautioned.

"So all these things will now decrease because there is a definite modality now and I'm sure with this scheme is also a lot of private hospitals will also undertake this," he added.