Brownstein & Crane Surgical Services
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Curtis Crane, M.D.
208 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 207
San Francisco, Ca 94107
Office: 415.625.3230
Fax: 415.625.3233
Site: www.brownsteincrane.com
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To whom it may concern:
Sex reassignment surgery is
considered medically necessary as outlined in this excerpt from the standards
of care of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health.
X. Surgery
Sex Reassignment is Effective and Medically Indicated in severe
gender identity disorder (GID). In persons diagnosed with transsexualism or
profound GID, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and
real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. Such a
therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners,
is medically indicated and medically necessary. Sex reassignment is not
“experimental”, “investigational, “elective”, “cosmetic”, or optional in any
meaningful sense. It constitutes very effective and appropriate treatment
for transsexualism or profound GID.
Currently, there is a lack of access
to medically necessary sex reassignment surgery in Australia as no surgeon
trained in this subspecialty is available. There are a few hundred trans
patients in Australia who are in need of sex reassignment surgery to relieve
the stress of living with gender dysphoria. With no government or medical
insurance support a trans individual is faced with a sum of approximately
$50,000 – 150,000 US dollars as well as associated travel costs to establish a
sense of everyday mental well being.
American patients now have
considerable support growing from insurance companies, as do the UK citizens.
The New Zealand Government has recently begun subsidizing and funding their
citizens to come to the US for medically necessary surgeries, however, the
Australian patients still have no means other than to pay the fees in full and
associated travel costs personally. This is significantly limiting the ability
for Australian transgender patients to reach the necessary medical care they
require from the small amount of specialized surgeons who can support them.
In order to help such patients, I have
completed residencies in both urology and plastic surgery and fellowships in
reconstructive urology and transgender surgery. I have a private practice
in San Francisco called Brownstein and Crane Surgical Services and we currently
offer the world's highest standard in phalloplasty and vaginoplasty, genital
reconstruction needed for trans men and women.
It is my professional opinion that
this be reviewed in the Australian Medical System with hopes of establishing a
system so that patients can be supported financially to receive care from
myself and other medical colleagues.
Sincerely,
Curtis Crane, MD
CC: Andrew Guy
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pleasure, thanks very much for the kind words and time taken to read the posts, appreciated!
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