Trans patients are now undergoing a “grotesque” new surgery to give them a combined penis and vagina.
So-called “phalginas”, a term formed from the words phallus and vagina, are offered in multiple clinics in the US for “non-binary” patients.
The Brits also claim to have been in talks with UK surgeons about undergoing the procedure, although none are known to have actually undergone it.
Traditionally, trans men and women who want affirmation surgery are given the option to alter or remove their original genitals and make new ones.
But phalgina eliminates this “binary” option and instead offers patients the opportunity to have both.
Critics have called these types of operations “grotesque surgical experiments” or something similar to what would be performed in “Frankenstein’s laboratory.”
Critics have called these operations “grotesque surgical experiments” or something similar to what would be performed in “Frankenstein’s laboratory.”
However, advocates say these procedures, which typically sell for more than £10,000, help people with “unique” non-binary gender identities finally get the body they want, improving their mental health.
Giving a man a vagina while preserving his penis is medically known as PPV or “penis-sparing vaginoplasty.”
A traditional vaginoplasty for men uses tissue from the penis or scrotum to create the neovagina.
But some patients who want to preserve penile material opt for an alternative technique that usually involves carving a vagina from tissue from the scrotum or perineum, the space between the anus and genitals.
In some cases, peritoneal tissue, which is inside the abdomen, is removed to make the inside of the new vagina.
Its proponents claim that this fabric offers several benefits, including making your genitals pinker and self-lubricating due to the type of fabric used.
However, the new vagina is not as sensitive to touch because it does not contain the same natural nerve connections.
The scrotum is usually removed in PPV, with the vaginal opening designed where it used to be.
In theory, the preserved penis retains both its function and sensation.
However, the constitution of patients’ ejaculate changes slightly with the removal of the testicles and the consequent absence of semen, becoming clear instead of white.
The opposite procedure, in which a woman is fitted with an artificial penis while preserving her vagina, is called vaginal preservation phalloplasty or VPP.
As in a PPV, the patient retains their original genitals but has an additional set that matches their gender identity.
Typical phalloplasties use tissue taken from other parts of the body, usually the arm or thigh, to create the new organ.
This process remains the same in PPV but without the removal of the vagina, uterus and ovaries.
VPPs come with some options, such as potentially altering the body’s urethra so that the trans man can urinate from his new penis and the creation of an artificial scrotum.
Penis size can also be customized to the patient’s preferences, to a certain extent.
However, the length and thickness may be limited by the amount of tissue that can be safely removed from the patient’s body.
The penis can also be made erogenous by connecting it to the nerves found in the clitoris. However, ejaculation is not possible.
However, only some trans men opt for this, and others are only interested in the aesthetic nature of their new penis, not its functionality.
Implants (to inflate the organ or otherwise mimic an erection) are available for those who want to use their penis for penetrative sex.
If a woman who desires PPV keeps her reproductive anatomy intact, she can theoretically also have children naturally.
Both PPV and PPV surgery have a general healing time of three months until patients can resume sexual activity.
However, it may take up to two years for it to fully heal and develop the nervous sensation.
Most surgeons offering these surgeries do not list their prices, but previous reports put them between £8,000 and £56,000, depending on the complexity.
It is not known how many people have undergone these types of procedures.
Surgeries that add one set of genitals while keeping the others intact are, by their very nature, experimental. The long-term health impacts remain a mystery.
The quality of evidence and standards of practice used in the care of trans patients have come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of the landmark Cass Review in England.
Led by respected pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, the scathing 388-page report commissioned by the NHS into child gender services concluded that children were being put on a path toward irreversible change despite “remarkably weak evidence.”
Following their report, officials plan to launch a wide-ranging review of trans adult care services, which will serve as a ‘Cass, part two’ covering the entire field.
UK advocacy group LGB Alliance told MailOnline they were concerned the “gender industry” was paving the way for “increasingly grotesque surgical experiments”.
The group is particularly concerned that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens are being led to believe that feelings of same-sex attraction are caused by a gender identity crisis.
They cite evidence from 2016 included in the Cass Review of the NHS Gender Identity Development Service which found that 89 per cent of female and 81 per cent of male patients were gay or bisexual.
LGB Alliance chief executive Kate Barker said: ‘The gender industry has persuaded society that people can be “born in the wrong body” and that they must be “cured” with medication or surgery.
“It is a business model, built on lies and misery, that has paved the way for increasingly grotesque surgical experiments on truly vulnerable people.”
Jay Richards, a member of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, previously told DailyMail.com of non-binary surgery options: “It’s tempting to compare the clinics that perform these macabre procedures to Frankenstein’s laboratory. But that would be an understatement. charitable with Dr. Frankenstein.
Most surgeons offering these surgeries do not list their prices, but previous reports put them between £8,000 and £56,000, depending on the complexity (file photo).
‘It all started with surgeries to make men look like women and vice versa.
“But it doesn’t end there, because the ideological definition of ‘gender identity’ is completely disconnected from our sexual bodies.”
Stella O’Malley, director of Genspect, a campaign group, added: ‘Surgical interventions for non-binary identities are not necessary and arguably cause more harm than good.
‘Surgeons should not be seen as shopkeepers who can dispense whatever the client wants.
“They are doctors and should be bound by the principle of do no harm.”
For years there has been talk in academic circles of a trans movement to abandon the idea of binary genitalia.
In a 2021 talk, Laura Jacobs, a trans psychotherapist based in New York, advocated for moving away from binary gender limitations when it comes to surgery.
‘Will technology give us artistic and creative options?’ she said.
‘Do we have to stick to penis and vagina rules? Can we have genitals that look like flowers or abstract sculptures? Can we have several? Can they be interchangeable?’