Thigpen, Hanks publish study in Frontiers in Reproductive Health
UW Department of Ob-Gyn resident Kitty Thigpen, MD, PGY-1, and Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, recently co-authored an article published in Frontiers in Reproductive Health. Co-authors include Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowksi, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD, MS; Madison Seifer; and Alexandra Sabgir.
In “Characterizing ovarian histopathology in transgender and gender-diverse patients on testosterone: Informing shared decision-making in gender-affirming care,” the authors aimed to describe the characteristics of the ovarian histopathology exemplified in transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) and contribute to the growing gender-affirming care database that guides shared decision making between providers and patients that best align with a patient's mental and physical health goals.
This observational study reviewed all hysterectomies performed in TGD individuals for primary or secondary indication of gender dysphoria. Ovarian pathology reports and medical records for all subjects who underwent unilateral and bilateral oophorectomy at the time of their hysterectomy were reviewed, and patient demographics, indication for procedure, and preoperative testosterone use were abstracted. The authors concluded that:
“Ovarian pathology observed in this cohort of TGD individuals undergoing gender-affirming hysterectomy is consistent with previously reported findings, with benign ovarian changes being most common among TGD patients. However, rare outcomes and pathologies with long latency periods require substantially larger cohorts and longer follow-up to detect. As such, the absence of uncommon or malignant findings in this study should not be interpreted as evidence of low population risk. Rather, these results contribute incremental data to the limited body of evidence describing ovarian pathology in TGD individuals using testosterone.”
Read the whole article here.
**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya