Mumbai: Police constable Lalita Salve from Beed got herself admitted in the State-run St. George Hospital on Tuesday. Ms Salve, who got a go-ahead from Beed’s Superintendent of Police to undergo the sex reassignment surgery, was relieved that she would finally get to live her real identity: that of a male.
According to plastic surgeon Dr. Rajat Kapoor, Ms. Salve’s surgery will be carried out in stages and the complete procedure will require nearly six months. “Her external genitalia don’t look like that of a male. Also, she has to urinate in a sitting position due to underdeveloped genitalia. There is a presence of a rudimentary penis”, said Dr. Kapoor. The first stage, he said, will involve creating a tube so she can urinate in a standing position. “The second-stage surgery that may be carried out after about three months will involve completion of the tube. The third surgery will involve creating a scrotal sac that is also underdeveloped in her case,” said Dr. Kapoor. He said the external genitalia will be created using local tissue and some skin from the patient’s thigh.
Doctors at the State-run JJ Hospital where she underwent a medical examination, said she had the presence of XY chromosomes, which is distinctly found in males. A sonography also revealed the presence of testes, the most essential organ in the male reproductive system and the absence of a uterus, a female reproductive organ. The doctors also ascertained the lack of breast development, absence of a vagina and presence of underdeveloped male genitalia. “It seems like she has been brought up as a woman only because her genitalia were underdeveloped and looked more like female genitalia,” said a doctor.
When Ms. Salve was a minor, one of her testes was removed as the local doctor thought it was a benign growth. “It is terrible that the doctor did not carry out thorough checks,” the JJ doctor said.
Ms. Salve can opt to get a testes implant at a later stage. However, Dr. Kapoor said that the implants would cost anywhere between ₹60,000 and ₹1 one lakh and she could opt for it for a better cosmetic appearance. “What we are looking at right now would be to give her external male genitalia that will give her the confidence to live like a man,” he said. Over the years, Ms. Salve had been identifying herself as Lalit, and her family had accepted her that way.
On Wednesday, Ms Salve will undergo fresh medical tests and her surgery will be scheduled only after permission from the government.
