- Joined
- Jun 14, 2018
I did I a search of Antti Mikkola as I recognised it as a native Finnish name. Found an article where he speaks about treating trans people:
The doctor in question. He is (unsurprisingly) also gay cause I found some home decor article about his and his partner’s home.
Anyway, I found no further flayed Christmas ham amholes of his making but I found some interesting Finnish article about detransitioning and the permanent changes that can not be corrected after the transition, also apparently cowritten by him. I can translate and post it if anyone is interested.
"I am a plastic surgeon, graduated as a licentiate in 2009 and as a specialist in plastic surgery in 2016. 80% of my working time is spent examining and treating patients suffering from gender dysphoria. I work in Karolinska's plastic surgery clinic, where I perform both thoracic and genital reconstructive surgery.
Gender reassignment is a multidisciplinary process, not just a plastic surgery procedure. In charge are the psychiatrists of the polyclinic for gender identity research, who coordinate the treatment. We are just one executing branch in the whole, but still perhaps the most "marked" for this process in many ways. Surgery is often the most awaited treatment by patients.
Sometimes you hear stories from patients that they go to the doctor's office because of the flu and the doctor shuts down about the trans thing. And suddenly the patient realizes that he is a therapist or a psychologist for the doctor. In this society, gender minorities get enough stares, wondering and questioning without the doctors adding to it at all. That overall feeling of alienation, fear of being rejected and everyday self-justification, we cis people don't even really understand. But pity doesn't help here.
Sometimes my colleagues are surprised, even questioning, towards my work. However, they often imagine themselves working in a specialty that would not treat patients belonging to the gender minority. I think I'm so ready for words that I hit such commenters with a "bone in the throat" pretty quickly. The medical profession also has colleagues whose strong spiritual or religious background is reflected in their world of values. No matter what the value background is, it must not affect the encounter with patients negatively. I have strong faith in the young generation of doctors.
Any treatment that is offered in public health care can be questioned and a price tag can be found for it. However, this patient group is basically young people who return to working life and are full members of society after recovery. But if they are not taken care of, then unfortunately a large part of them will be marginalized and depressed. In addition, they have a significant risk of suicide. I am proud of my work. I feel that I can add a lot of quality of life to these people. I just wish they had more humane waiting times for treatments.
I encounter these patients in exactly the same way as any other patient at the reception. I don't have any silk gloves for this activity. And there is no need to put this patient group on a pedestal. Anyone can succeed in meeting them. Of course, it requires openness and open-mindedness.
In my own opinion, I am very LGBTIQ-friendly, but still I find myself carrying learned gender roles inside me. Each of us has some sort of subconscious need to classify fellow human beings as feminine or masculine. However, the scale of masculinity and femininity is wide, and in society it is expanding all the time. Many of the patients are in the process of gender reassignment. Human dignity does not increase or decrease depending on which stage of the process they are in or whether they have already stated that they are satisfied at some point. In addition, there are also detransitive ones.
I don't always succeed either. Even though I work with these patients every day, there are always mistakes. I think that my skills are strong and I know how to deal with these patients well, but the patient may experience my dealing style as the complete opposite. But by meeting the patient as a person, you can easily forgive small mistakes.
I've gone to take care of gender minorities in Sweden, where I don't even speak about these things in my own mother tongue, and I'm doing well. An unhurried and accepting atmosphere helps. Even if there are no words for everything, you can convey understanding and empathy at the reception. These patients are perhaps especially sensitive to the idea that they will be rejected in health care or that the doctor will belittle their problems and ailments. You can say out loud that I'm on your side."
Gender reassignment is a multidisciplinary process, not just a plastic surgery procedure. In charge are the psychiatrists of the polyclinic for gender identity research, who coordinate the treatment. We are just one executing branch in the whole, but still perhaps the most "marked" for this process in many ways. Surgery is often the most awaited treatment by patients.
Sometimes you hear stories from patients that they go to the doctor's office because of the flu and the doctor shuts down about the trans thing. And suddenly the patient realizes that he is a therapist or a psychologist for the doctor. In this society, gender minorities get enough stares, wondering and questioning without the doctors adding to it at all. That overall feeling of alienation, fear of being rejected and everyday self-justification, we cis people don't even really understand. But pity doesn't help here.
Sometimes my colleagues are surprised, even questioning, towards my work. However, they often imagine themselves working in a specialty that would not treat patients belonging to the gender minority. I think I'm so ready for words that I hit such commenters with a "bone in the throat" pretty quickly. The medical profession also has colleagues whose strong spiritual or religious background is reflected in their world of values. No matter what the value background is, it must not affect the encounter with patients negatively. I have strong faith in the young generation of doctors.
Any treatment that is offered in public health care can be questioned and a price tag can be found for it. However, this patient group is basically young people who return to working life and are full members of society after recovery. But if they are not taken care of, then unfortunately a large part of them will be marginalized and depressed. In addition, they have a significant risk of suicide. I am proud of my work. I feel that I can add a lot of quality of life to these people. I just wish they had more humane waiting times for treatments.
I encounter these patients in exactly the same way as any other patient at the reception. I don't have any silk gloves for this activity. And there is no need to put this patient group on a pedestal. Anyone can succeed in meeting them. Of course, it requires openness and open-mindedness.
In my own opinion, I am very LGBTIQ-friendly, but still I find myself carrying learned gender roles inside me. Each of us has some sort of subconscious need to classify fellow human beings as feminine or masculine. However, the scale of masculinity and femininity is wide, and in society it is expanding all the time. Many of the patients are in the process of gender reassignment. Human dignity does not increase or decrease depending on which stage of the process they are in or whether they have already stated that they are satisfied at some point. In addition, there are also detransitive ones.
I don't always succeed either. Even though I work with these patients every day, there are always mistakes. I think that my skills are strong and I know how to deal with these patients well, but the patient may experience my dealing style as the complete opposite. But by meeting the patient as a person, you can easily forgive small mistakes.
I've gone to take care of gender minorities in Sweden, where I don't even speak about these things in my own mother tongue, and I'm doing well. An unhurried and accepting atmosphere helps. Even if there are no words for everything, you can convey understanding and empathy at the reception. These patients are perhaps especially sensitive to the idea that they will be rejected in health care or that the doctor will belittle their problems and ailments. You can say out loud that I'm on your side."
The doctor in question. He is (unsurprisingly) also gay cause I found some home decor article about his and his partner’s home.
Anyway, I found no further flayed Christmas ham amholes of his making but I found some interesting Finnish article about detransitioning and the permanent changes that can not be corrected after the transition, also apparently cowritten by him. I can translate and post it if anyone is interested.
