In the know: Sex reassignment surgery

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS), or sex change, is a medical procedure that changes one’s gender, and may include excising one’s male genitals.

In the Philippines, there are facilities offering SRS that, with subsequent hormonal therapy, can cost from a few hundred thousand pesos to more than P1 million.

Male to female procedures are more common and involves the removal of the penis and the construction of a vagina.

In Thailand, where procedures are relatively cheaper, male to female SRS can cost at least $5,000. Female to male SRS are more expensive and less successful because of the difficulty in creating a functioning penis from female clitoral tissue.

Compiled by Ana Roa, Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives, surgeryencyclopedia.com and medigo.com