- Abdomen – The part of a person’s body that’s lower than their ribs but higher than their pubic hair. Some people call it their tummy or belly.
- Abdominal hysterectomy – A type of operation to remove a person’s uterus, ovaries and cervix. The surgeon uses one long incision (cut) to open the person’s abdomen.
- Access needs – If someone has access needs it means that they need people or organisations to make changes to what they might usually do to make sure their needs are met. Some people might need step-free access inside a building. Other people might need a quiet space away from noise.
- Anaesthetic – Medication used to numb pain during an operation. Local anaesthetic is a type of anaesthetic that doesn’t make you fall asleep. A general anaesthetic makes you fall asleep. This type of anaesthetic is used during most types of transition related surgery.
- Anaesthetist – A doctor that specialises in helping people with their pain and helping them stay safe during an operation.
- Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) – AAC is a type of communication that doesn’t rely on a person talking or using sign language. An AAC device is something a person can use to communicate if they don’t speak or use sign language.
- Bay – A bay within a hospital ward can be a smaller group of beds separated by walls. It can also be an individual space separated by a curtain.
- Blood clot – When lots of blood clumps together and gets sticky. Blood clots are a normal part of healing – if the clot of blood stays where it’s meant to be. Big blood clots travelling around the body can cause problems, so doctors and nurses like to try and stop them from happening.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) – A person’s BMI is found by dividing their weight in kg by their number of their height in metres multiplied by itself. It is often used as an indication of how much body fat someone has.
- Bowels – Some people refer to these as their guts. The scientific name is the small intestine and large intestine. If someone refers to a “bowel movement” they’re talking about having a poo.
- British Sign Language (BSL) – A language used by British D/deaf people. People who use BSL communicate by making signs with their hands. BSL is its own language and has a different word order to English.
- Breast augmentation – An operation that people have to make their breasts bigger.
- Call bell – A button you can press in hospital to let a member of staff know that you need some help.
- Cannula – This is a tiny plastic tube that is placed into one of the veins on your hand or forearm. It is held in place by tape and is usually put in a person’s hand.
- Catheter – A tube that goes into someone’s bladder and is used to drain wee from it. A suprapubic catheter goes in through a person’s abdomen – somewhere between the belly button and the start of the pubic hair. A urethral catheter goes up the urethra (the tube in the body that wee normally comes out of) and into the bladder.
- Clinician – A medical professional such as a doctor, surgeon (a type of doctor), nurse etc.
- Complications – A surgical complication is an unexpected outcome or result of surgery. Complications can happen during surgery, whilst in hospital or whilst recovering at home.
- Communication – The way that people give and receive information. Some examples of communication include: speaking and listening, writing, voice notes, and BSL.
- Communication passport – A communication passport is a form you fill in that tells people how you communicate and what parts of communication you find hard.
- Consent form – A form that a person signs to confirm that they understand the risks and effects of a certain medical treatment and that they still want to have it.
- Considerations – Things that a person might want to think about when making a decision.
- Consultant – An experienced doctor (including a surgeon).
- Consultation – An appointment with a doctor or surgeon to discuss the treatment you would like to have.
- CT scan – A special type of x-ray that uses computers to take pictures of the inside of a person’s body.
- Dilation – Something that people do after vaginoplasty surgery. It involves trans women and non-binary people putting a dilator in their vagina to make sure their vagina stays the right size for them.
- Dilator – Something that trans women and non-binary people use after vaginoplasty. Dilators look like a dildo and normally come in different sizes.
- Discharge (from hospital) – If someone is discharged from hospital, it means they’re being told they can go home.
- Discharge (from a person’s body) – This is something that comes out of a person’s body. It can be bodily fluids, dead bacteria, or dead cells. Some type of discharge are normal and some can be a sign of infection.
- District nurse – A nurse that works in a specific area who makes home visits.
- Doppler scan – An ultrasound scan which is used to check that there is blood going to and from a person’s new penis when they’re recovering from phalloplasty.
- Douche – Something that a person uses to squirt water or other liquid into their vagina or anus. When we talk about douching in this resource, we are talking about the process people use to clean their new vagina when they’re recovering from vaginoplasty.
- Drip – This is a bag or bottle of liquid which slowly drips fluids and/or medication through a tube and into a person’s body. The tube is connected to a cannula.
- ECG – A type of medical test to check if someone’s heart is working well. 12 stickers are stuck onto a person’s body. The stickers have wires on that are attached to a machine. The machine shows the doctor or nurse what a person’s heart is doing.
- Ejaculate – Ejaculate is a liquid that can come out of a person’s body when they have an orgasm. The ejaculate of people with a penis and testicles usually contains sperm and might be a bit sticky in texture. Some (but not all) trans men and non-binary people who were assigned female at birth might ejaculate when they have an orgasm. This ejaculate is very watery and a lot less is known about it.
- Eligible – If someone is eligible for something it means that they are allowed to have it. So, if someone is eligible for surgery it means they can expect to be allowed to have it.
- Enema – Medication that is put up someone’s bum to make them do a big poo so that there’s none left inside them.
- Facial Feminisation Surgery – Types of surgery that are used to make a person’s face look more stereotypically feminine.
- Flip flow valve – This is something that can be attached to a catheter instead of a catheter bag. It’s a bit like a tap. When a person opens the valve, it lets urine out through the catheter.
- GDNRSS – The Gender Dysphoria National Referral Support Service. This is a service that deals with referrals for transition related surgery. They can also offer support around choosing a surgeon and preparing for surgery.
- GP practice – Another word for a GP surgery. The place where your GP and their colleagues work.
- Health Board – The organisation responsible for making decisions about providing healthcare in a particular local area.
- HSCNI – Health and Social Care Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland’s version of the NHS.
- Hysterectomy – An operation to remove someone’s uterus, ovaries and cervix.
- Incision – This is a cut made by a surgeon during an operation. When people talk about incision sites, they’re talking about the places the surgeon has made cuts.
- Inflammation – This is part of the body’s self-defence mechanism and is a natural part of healing. It can make the body parts sore and swolllen. For example, if someone has inflammation in their hand, it means that their hand will be sore and swollen.
- Integrated Care Board (ICB) – The organisation responsible for making decisions about providing healthcare in a particular local area.
- Interpreter – A person who helps people communicate with each other when they don’t speak (or sign) the same language. For example, D/deaf person could use BSL to ask a doctor a question, and the interpreter would tell the doctor what they had asked. The interpreter would then use BSL to let the D/deaf person know what the doctor’s answer was.
- Laparoscopic hysterectomy – A type of operation to remove a person’s uterus, ovaries and cervix. The surgeon does not use one big incision (cut) and instead uses three small ones.
- Mastectomy – An operation to remove someone’s breasts.
- Medical history – A person’s medical history is a list of all the major illnesses and operations they’ve had. It also includes any medication they’re on or have been on and any medical tests they’ve had.
- Medical glue – This is a strong type of glue that is sometimes used instead of giving someone stitches during an operation.
- Melanin – The substance that gives people their skin colour, eye colour and hair colour. People with darker skin have more melanin in their skin than people with lighter skin.
- Metoidioplasty – An operation to change a person’s clitoris into a small penis.
- MRSA – Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that can cause serious infections.
- NGICNS (National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland) – The part of NHS Scotland that’s in charge of transition related care.
- Outcomes – The results of something. For example, surgical outcomes might be how a person’s scars look, the way the particular body part looks after surgery, and whether the person has feeling in the part of body they’d had surgery on.
- Orchidectomy – Surgery to remove someone’s testicles.
- Oxygen mask – A plastic mask that goes over a person’s nose and mouth. A tube going into the mask gives the person extra oxygen to help them breathe.
- Patient passport – A patient passport is a form you fill in so that medical professionals can see information about you. Patient passports often have space to share your communication needs, your name and pronouns, your access needs, and other things a medical professional might need to know about.
- PCA (patient controlled analgesia) button – This is a button that a person can press to control how much pain medication they get. The button is attached to a machine which pumps the medication through a tube and into a person’s body.
- Phalloplasty – An operation to make a penis.
- Peer support – When people give help to others in a similar situation to their own. For example, a trans man who’s had phalloplasty might give peer support to other people who’re planning on having phalloplasty.
- Post-op – Another way of saying “after an operation”. For example, a post-op appointment is an appointment someone will have after they’ve had surgery.
- Pre-op – Another way of saying “before an operation”. For example, a pre-op appointment is an appointment someone will have before they have surgery.
- Private healthcare – When we talk about private healthcare, we’re talking about healthcare that isn’t free and that you have to pay for. Some people might have NHS surgery at a private hospital. This is a type of hospital that normally asks people to pay for their care. If you have NHS surgery in a private hospital, you won’t have to pay for it but the NHS will.
- Referral – This is when a letter or form is sent to a healthcare provider to ask them to provide support or treatment. For example, a GP will make a referral to a gender clinic to ask them to add a trans person to their own airing list.
- Sick leave – This is the time someone takes off work if they’re ill or are recovering from surgery.
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – This is the type of sick pay that most working people in the UK are entitled to. It is an amount of money that someone’s employer can claim back from the government. Many employers will pay more than the statutory sick pay amount, but sometimes only for a limited amount of time.
- Stool – Another word for a poo. If someone asks you if you’ve passed a stool, they want to know if you’ve had a poo.
- Strenuous – This is something that is difficult. If someone is doing strenuous exercise, it means they are working their body very hard – for example by running far or by lifting heavy weights.
- Surgical drain – This is a tube that goes out of your body into a container. Surgical drains are sometimes used after surgery to drain unwanted fluid from the part of the body that had been operated on.
- Surgical sites – The parts of the body where someone has had surgery.
- Surgical stockings – These are very tight knee socks that are used to prevent blood clots.
- Surgical team – The doctors and nurses that will be involved in your operation and in your recovery from surgery.
- Theatre – In a hospital setting, this is a room where somebody has an operation.
- Urethra – The tube-like body part that carries wee from someone’s bladder and out of their body.
- Urethral lengthening – Surgery to make someone’s urethra longer. This is normally a part of phalloplasty or metoidioplasty and is done to make sure people are able to wee through their penis.
- Urinary tract infection – When someone has an infection in their urethra, bladder or kidneys.
- Vaginoplasty – An operation to create a vagina.
- Vulvoplasty – An operation to create a vulva.
- Vocal surgery – An operation to make someone’s voice sound different.
- Ward – Most hospitals have lots of wards. A ward is a space in a hospital with a group, or several groups, or hospital beds. Most wards are separated from each other by walls and a door. Lots of wards have something they specialise in – for example, a cancer ward.
- X Ray – A type of medical test that takes a picture of the inside of someone’s body.
Errors or omissions
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