Resumo

AGRAMONTE MACHADO, Adriana. Surgical treatment of the ambiguous genitalia: foundations and psychological and sexual implications. Rev Cubana Endocrinol [online]. 2006, vol.17, n.3. ISSN 1561-2953.

The clinical management of the intersex states, the long-term consequences of the surgical procedures, and the policy and evidence supporting them, have been recently subjected to an intense review and careful examination from various perspectives. Today, there is a loss of the professional consensus in the feminizing surgery of the ambiguous genitalia, and several topics (medical, ethical, legal) have emerged that challenge the present practice of treatment and management of intersexuality. Therefore, we proposed to describe the main findings in this field and to expose the results of our experience, derived from the psychological attention to persons that have undergone genital surgery. We concluded that it is important and necessary to review the ideas backing the current treatments, as well as to develop a working context propitiating the interdisciplinary integration and cooperation.

Palavras-chave : ambiguous genitalia; genital surgery; sexuality; psychological management.