Nullification Surgery
For most of my life, I had thought that a gender-affirming surgery that would grant me my ideal body shape—which would be no genitals at all—didn't exist. But in mid-2022, I learned that it's possible.
The procedures that I refer to as my null surgery or nullification surgery—also known as a nulloplasty or nullectomy—involve removing all of the external reproductive organs, as well as most or all of the internal ones. Ideally, the outer region is left with a single vertical seam, with any remaining genital tissue being minimized or removed entirely. (Out of necessity, of course, bathroom functions are preserved.)
When I first learned that nullification existed, I found very little information relatively available. The extent of my resources was a Queerdoc page and one clinic's website that, amazingly, had pre-op and post-op pictures available. At the time, Queerdoc listed six clinics in the United States, of which I sent inquiries to five (omitting one in Ohio due to the distance from me and, from what I had heard, the politically conservative climate). There may have been more niche resources out there, but I didn't have access to a community that could lead me to them.
A mere four years later as I write this, there are twelve surgeons listed on the same Queerdoc page, and far more listed on TransHealthcare. There are a couple of active Reddit pages, and I've managed to find a small community in a chatroom that in turn showed me several pages created by individuals.
Still, as I've described my surgery to my friends, almost none of them—even the ones who have pursued their own gender-affirming surgeries—had ever heard of nullification. I'm sure there are many others out there, just like I was in 2022, wishing so badly to look like that, but resigned to the idea that it doesn't exist.
But it does. So, even as the information available on nullification slowly expands, I'm documenting as much of my experience as I can. Still so much out there is written by and for AMAB patients; the resources for AFAB patients like me are few and far between.
Navigating gender confirmation surgery is an arduous enough process as it is. I hope can offer insight on some of the peculiarities of pursuing nullification, especially from a less-documented perspective.
Entries
Please note that all of the below will contain descriptions of genitalia and other nearby body parts involved in these surgeries.