Fertility preservation choices and decisional regret after gender-affirming surgery in transgender men or gender nonbinary persons.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of decisional regret regarding preoperative fertility preservation choices after gender-affirming surgery or removal of reproductive organs. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: University-based pratice. Patients: A total of 57 survey respondents identifying as transgender men or gender nonbinary with a history of gender-affirming surgery or removal of reproductive organs between 2014 and 2023 with the University of North Carolina Minimally Invasive Gynecology division. Intervention: Survey or questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures: The prevalence and severity of decisional regret regarding preoperative fertility preservation choices were measured with the use of the validated decisional regret scale (DRS) (scored 0-100). Secondary outcomes included patient-reported barriers to pursuing reproductive endocrinology and infertility consultation and fertility preservation treatment. Results: The survey response rate was 50.9% (57/112). "Mild" to "severe" decisional regret was reported by 38.6% (n = 22) of survey respondents, with DRS scores among all respondents ranging from 0-85. Higher median DRS scores were associated with patient-reported inadequacy of preoperative fertility counseling regarding implications of surgery on future fertility or family-building (0 vs. 50) and fertility preservation options (0 vs. 12.5). No desire for future fertility at the time of fertility counseling was the most frequent reason (68.4%) for declining a referral to reproductive endocrinology and infertility for additional fertility preservation discussion. Conclusions: Decisional regret regarding preoperative fertility preservation choices is experienced among transgender men or gender nonbinary persons after gender-affirming surgery or the removal of reproductive organs. Preoperative, patient-centered fertility counseling and fertility preservation treatments should be provided to reduce the risk of future regret.

Postoperative spinal cord infarction on a gravid woman with suspected IV drug use: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Back pain is common in the gravid population and spinal cord infarction (SCI) or chronic osteomyelitis are exceptionally rare underlying causes of back pain in this population. No case report to date has described this unexpected adverse event in a gravid woman with suspected history of IV drug use (IVDU). This diagnosis could potentially become more common with increasing rates of IVDU, and increased education could result in sooner recognition. CASE: A 38 year old G9P0171 at 24 weeks gestation with a complex past medical history, and a suspected history of IVDU, presented repeatedly with back pain. Following cesarean delivery at 36w2d, she developed signs and symptoms of an anterior spinal artery syndrome (ASAS) and had evidence of chronic osteomyelitis at T9-T10 on imaging. This required emergent decompressive laminectomy and ultimately resulted in paraplegia. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the difficulties in recognizing all SCI risk factors pre-operatively and the importance of investigating back pain in pregnant patients with a suspected history of IVDU. We believe this patient's chronic infection put her at an increased risk for SCI that was possibly compounded by the anatomical changes from its chronicity, possibly occurring in combination with several other precipitating causes of hypoperfusion. We hope this case report highlights the modern necessity to include a history, or suspected history, of IVDU as a red flag to initiate imaging in pregnant patients with acute, persistent, or unresolved back pain.

Assessment of a Student-Run Free Gender-Affirming Care Clinic's Transition to Telehealth.

Background: Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming (TGNC) people continue to experience severe health discrimination and limited access to care. Methods: Using survey data collected during August-September, 2020, we report on our findings regarding volunteer provider and patient satisfaction with a student-run free gender-affirming care telehealth clinic at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Results: We find that patients report overall excellent experiences with telehealth care, primarily due to decreased transportation burden, more efficient use of time, and more frequent communication with student volunteer providers. Conclusion: Our findings show that telehealth is a viable option for student-run clinics in the TGNC community.