The Gender Reassignment Surgery Clinic at the National University Hospital was a clinic that provided surgical services for transgender people who wished to align their physical appearance with their gender identity.
The clinic, together with its sister Gender Indentity Clinic, was established in 1990 and was headed by Dr Shan S Ratnam, a pioneer in the field of sex reassignment surgery in Asia.
The clinic offered both male-to-female and female-to-male surgeries, as well as hormonal therapy and psychological counselling. The clinic followed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care, which required patients to undergo a thorough assessment and diagnosis of gender dysphoria, as well as a period of real-life experience living in their desired gender role, before undergoing surgery.
The clinic also worked closely with other departments in the hospital, such as endocrinology, urology, gynaecology, plastic surgery, and psychiatry, to provide comprehensive and holistic care for transgender patients. The clinic was one of the few in the region that offered gender-affirming surgery, and has attracted patients from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India.
The clinic, and the original Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kandang Kerbau Hospital from which it stemmed, performed more than 500 surgeries from the early 1970s to the early 2000s, and contributed to the advancement of surgical techniques and research in the field of transgender health. The clinic was located at the Kent Ridge Wing of the National University Hospital, Level 3, Clinic G2.
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This article was written by Roy Tan.