A New, Scarless Adam ’s Apple Surgery Could Be a Breakthrough for Transgender Patients

An Israeli medical center says it has pioneered a new procedure to remove or reduce the size of the Adam’s apple without leaving a scar, a significant development for transgender patients considering such surgery. Dr. Avi Khafif Hefetz, a specialist in head and neck surgery and oncology at the A.R.M. Center of Tel Aviv’s Assuta Medical Center, led procedures to reduce the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx, commonly known as the Adam’s apple, of two transgender women in May. Two more had the procedure done early June. All were successful. The conventional method of accessing the thyroid area is known as the trans-cervical approach, and requires a surgical incision in the neck of around 3-4 centimeters, says Hefetz. The method is commonly used during thyroidectomies, surgery to remove the thyroid gland to treat thyroid cancer. It is also the same method typically used for patients undergoing a thyroid cartilage shave, or laryngotracheoplasty, most often with transgender patients who want to remove or flatten the cartilage that comprises the Adam’s apple. “In 80% of patients, the scar is hardly noticeable. But with the rest, it may be hypertrophied, it may keloid”—scars that become enlarged or raised—”it may be more pronounced and it may cause problems with quality of life,” Hefetz says. Hefetz has led surgeries on 50 patients with various thyroid-related issues over the past year to remove part or all of the th...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized health LGBT Medical Procedures Source Type: news