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Larshans et al. Plast Aesthet Res. 2025;12:7 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2024.154
Aesthetic Research

Original Article Open Access

Assessing life satisfaction, self-harm, and suicidal
thoughts in transgender women following genital

gender-affirming surgery

Christoffer Larshans , Kimja Rahimzadeh, Erica Marin Olsson, Konstantinos Georgas , Gennaro
Selvaggi

Department of Plastic Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, Sahlgrenska University Hospital,
University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg SE-413 45, Sweden.
Correspondence to: Dr. Christoffer Larshans, Department of Plastic Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska
Academy, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Gröna Stråket 8, Gothenburg SE-413 45, Sweden. E-mail:
christoffer.larshans@vgregion.se

How to cite this article: Larshans C, Rahimzadeh K, Olsson EM, Georgas K, Selvaggi G. Assessing life satisfaction, self-harm, and
suicidal thoughts in transgender women following genital gender-affirming surgery. Plast Aesthet Res. 2025;12:7. https://dx.doi.
org/10.20517/2347-9264.2024.154
Received: 22 Nov 2024 First Decision: 8 Feb 2025 Revised: 27 Feb 2025 Accepted: 11 Mar 2025 Published: 17 Mar 2025

Academic Editors: Miroslav L. Djordjevic, Mark K. Wax Copy Editor: Ting-Ting Hu Production Editor: Ting-Ting Hu

Abstract
Aim: Gender dysphoria causes significant psychological distress in individuals, leading many to seek medical
interventions, including hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery (GAS). This study sought to enhance the
understanding of life satisfaction and self-harm and suicidal thoughts among transgender women after genital
GAS.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 102 transgender women who underwent GAS during 2011-2021 at Sahlgrenska
University Hospital, with a follow-up period of at least 1 year after genital GAS, was studied. Data were collected as
part of a larger initiative that focused on transgender women. The participants were surveyed using the Life
Satisfaction Questionnaire, Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale, and a general demographic health
survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Of the 98 eligible participants, 50 completed the questionnaire. Although 28% of the respondents
experienced thoughts of self-harm or suicidal ideation postoperatively, they reported overall satisfaction with life
and mental health, suggesting that surgical treatment may have had a positive impact on life satisfaction and
gender congruence.

© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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