Surgical options in disorders of sex development (dsd) with ambiguous genitalia

Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Apr;24(2):311-24. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2009.10.004.

Abstract

Disorders of sexual development (DSD) include three main groups of patients: (1) The virilised 46,XX DSD essentially represented by congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) ; (2) The undervirilised 46,XY DSD essentially represented by hypospadias; and (3) the chromosomic jigsaws essentially represented by mixed gonadal dysgenesis. It is in this last group that gender assignment remains a difficult decision involving various indicators, which can be split into four categories: (1) the inside sex (i.e., genes, hormones and target tissues); (2) the outside sex (i.e., anatomy of genitalia including size of the genital tubercle, mullerian cavity and potential adult height of the patient); (3) the functional sex (i.e., potential sexuality and fertility); and (4) and the social sex (i.e., the cultural medium in which the child is brought up). The challenge is to outline the future individual identity of the child in the postnatal period using these indicators. Current evolutions of surgical techniques of 'feminisation' and 'masculinisation' are described as well as their outcomes.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital / surgery
  • Adult
  • Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome / drug therapy
  • Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome / surgery
  • Child
  • Cryptorchidism / surgery
  • Disorders of Sex Development / surgery*
  • Female
  • Genitalia / abnormalities*
  • Genitalia / surgery
  • Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XX / surgery
  • Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XY / surgery
  • Gonadal Dysgenesis, Mixed / surgery
  • Humans
  • Hypospadias / surgery
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Penis / surgery
  • Sexual Development
  • Urethra / surgery