From the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN.
Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI.
Ann Plast Surg. 2022 Jun 1;88(5 Suppl 5):S478-S480. doi: 10.1097/SAP.0000000000003122. Epub 2022 Feb 18.
To promote patient safety and build trust, plastic surgeons must use patient-centered language when discussing gender-affirming surgery. However, the existing terminology has not been evaluated from a patient perspective. This study sought to understand how gender-affirming surgery patients from 3 US geographic regions perceive common terminology.
An anonymous, 24-item electronic survey was distributed to gender-affirming surgery patients seen in Tennessee, Colorado, and California. After institutional review board exemption, the survey instrument was pretested and piloted with gender-affirming surgery patients. Internal consistency was assessed by computation of Cronbach α (0.87).
A total of 306 participants completed the survey: 68 from a Tennessee academic center (response rate, 56%), 131 from a California private practice (response rate, 8%), and 107 from a Colorado academic center (response rate, 53%). A greater proportion of respondents felt the terms "top surgery" and "bottom surgery" were appropriate (83% and 82%, respectively) relative to "chest surgery" and "genital surgery" (41% and 30%, respectively). More respondents favored the phrase "gender-affirming surgery" than "gender-confirming surgery" (86% vs 67%). Nearly half (43%) perceived the phrase "sex reassignment surgery" as inappropriate. Most respondents (80%) preferred their surgeon ask for their pronouns.
Optimizing communication is an actionable way for plastic surgeons to improve the healthcare experiences of gender-affirming surgery patients. "Top surgery" and "bottom surgery" are favored terms, and "gender-affirming surgery" is the preferred name for this discipline. Language preferences should be openly discussed with each patient to ensure professional communication.
为了促进患者安全并建立信任，整形外科医生在讨论性别肯定手术时必须使用以患者为中心的语言。然而，现有的术语尚未从患者的角度进行评估。本研究旨在了解来自美国 3 个地理区域的性别肯定手术患者如何看待常见的术语。
向在田纳西州、科罗拉多州和加利福尼亚州就诊的性别肯定手术患者分发了一份匿名的 24 项电子调查。在获得机构审查委员会豁免后，对调查工具进行了预测试，并在性别肯定手术患者中进行了试点。通过计算 Cronbach α（0.87）来评估内部一致性。
共有 306 名参与者完成了调查：田纳西州学术中心 68 名（回应率为 56%），加利福尼亚州私人诊所 131 名（回应率为 8%），科罗拉多州学术中心 107 名（回应率为 53%）。与“胸部手术”和“生殖器手术”（分别为 41%和 30%）相比，更多的受访者认为“胸部手术”和“生殖器手术”更合适（分别为 83%和 82%）。与“性别确认手术”相比，更多的受访者更喜欢“性别肯定手术”（86%对 67%）。近一半（43%）的受访者认为“性别重置手术”一词不合适。大多数受访者（80%）希望他们的医生询问他们的代词。
优化沟通是整形外科医生改善性别肯定手术患者医疗体验的一种可行方法。“胸部手术”和“生殖器手术”是首选术语，“性别肯定手术”是该学科的首选名称。应与每位患者公开讨论语言偏好，以确保专业沟通。
