Home » Senior Transition

Senior Transition

The Editor | Mar 23, 2015

Spread the love

Transitioning as a senior trend is gaining momentum, according to renowned surgeon Dr. Sherman Leis

(Philadelphia, PA) After performing gender reassignment surgery on the world’s oldest transgender patient, Renee Ramsey, completing it at age 80, Dr. Sherman Leis, acclaimed transgender surgeon and founder of The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery, noted that transitioning by transgender senior citizens is currently a significant share of his transgender surgery schedule and getting larger every year. According to Dr. Leis, “There is a growing number of sixty, seventy, and even eighty year olds who are finally taking action to make their dreams come true by having top and bottom, male-to-female (MtF) and female-to-male (FtM) transgender surgery to put their body in harmony with their sexual identity.”

[youtube]ge9Y6HHU65U[/youtube]

But why are people waiting until their senior years to transition?

Dr. Leis noted that a recent study conducted by SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) lists some of the key reasons people put off transitioning until their later years, including:

fear of spouse’s or children’s reaction
fear of discrimination at work
fear of receiving a dishonorable discharge from the Armed Forces
need to save money for the procedures
fear of societal or cultural prejudices
not yet feeling secure about being transgender
lack of societal acceptance of transgender people.

Dr. Leis notes that more and more seniors are actually scheduling the complete transition including facial, chest, and genital surgeries.

“Coming out as transgender is still not as easy as it should be, but it can be especially difficult for those trying to create a new identity after decades of living life as someone else,” explains Dr. Leis. “Most people in this age bracket grew up during an era of harsh gender stereotypes and have repressed their feelings for many years. An overwhelming proportion of these late transitioners had previously been married, a dynamic that often causes postponement of the transition,” he said.

Dr. Leis observes that even after all they have been through, most of his senior transgender patients are among the happiest because satisfying their dream has been such a long time coming for them. “They truly have that ‘better late than never’ mentality, keeping them feeling younger and happier. For example, after transitioning, Ms. Ramsey started a new life in a new city, has found a boyfriend and is very happy,” Dr. Leis says.

The Philadelphia Center For Transgender Surgery is located in suburban Philadelphia at 19 Montgomery Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Phone: 610-667-1888.