First sex change operation done in city

VADODARA: Akkriti Patel, who was the first person in the city to go public with her decision of undergoing a sex reassignment surgery (SRS), became a girl in the true sense.
Akkriti, who was earlier Ajay Patel, underwent the surgery that is touted to be the first of its kind in the city at a private hospital.
The 26-year-old had always considered herself to be a woman trapped in a man's body and was eyeing a sex change since 2009.With little means, she wanted to do so at the state-run SSG Hospital (SSGH) initially, but with dillydallying at the SSGH she decided to undergo sex change at a private hospital.
A team of doctors including plastic surgeon Dr Umesh Shah, urosurgeon Dr Sanjiv Shah, psychiatrist Dr Gautam Amin and medico-legal expert Dr Vijay Shah worked on Akkriti's case. Dr Umesh said that while a SRS was performed in the SSGH it was done with skin grafting and some parts of the female genitals were not created. "This is the first time that such a detailed surgery has been performed.
Dr Umesh said that as he was an honorary faculty at the SSGH, he had even offered to do the surgery there but Akkriti had preferred doing it at a private hospital. "The surgery was done with good results and uneventful post-operative course," he said.
Akkriti said that she had already changed her details including her name and gender in documents like her election card and Aadhar card. "I am looking forward to live the life like a woman," she said. Akkriti added that her struggle to ensure that others like her got the SRS facility at government hospitals would continue. "I needed to be clear with my identity to focus on them," she said.