Mojdeh Jafarizadeh

Before getting pregnant, women living with HIV need to pay more attention to their nutrition, general health, and lifestyle than ever before. Taking regular antiviral medications, maintaining a strong immune system, eating a diet rich in vitamins, protein, and antioxidants, and avoiding stress play a vital role in preparing the body for pregnancy. This article provides nutritional strategies, lifestyle recommendations, and medical care for a safe pregnancy in people living with HIV, based on scientific sources.

Gender reassignment or gender transition is a multidimensional process that can include social, psychological, medical, and in some cases surgical steps. The main goal of this process is to harmonize a person's gender identity with their physical appearance and function. Depending on the needs and circumstances of each individual, transition can include hormone therapy, upper and lower body surgeries, psychological support, and changing identity documents.

The age of gender transition is not a fixed, universal number and depends on a set of psychological, physical and social factors. Some people become confident in their gender identity during adolescence, while others decide to begin transitioning in adulthood. Assessment by mental health professionals, the individual's awareness of the medical and legal implications, and readiness to undergo treatment play a key role in determining the right time. This article, with a scientific and practical look at the subject, helps people have a better understanding of the right time to begin this journey.

Hormone therapy is a fundamental part of the gender transition process, and depending on the chosen path (MTF or FTM), the combination of medications and its results will vary. This treatment affects secondary sexual characteristics, body composition, mood, and general health, and requires regular medical evaluation, appropriate dosage review, and periodic laboratory monitoring. In this article, the general process of hormone therapy, expected changes, and possible side effects are reviewed scientifically and practically.

Lower body surgery is a major step in transition for people who want to align their bodies with their gender identity. The process involves medical and psychological evaluations, preoperative preparations, several potential surgical steps, and a relatively long recovery period. The goal of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the surgical process, aftercare, and tips to help candidates have a clearer and more realistic view of their decision-making and planning.

Lower body surgery is the most important part of the gender reassignment process and, depending on the individual’s goals, procedures such as metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, scrotoplasty, and vaginoplasty are used. Each of these procedures has its own steps and may require multiple surgical steps to achieve the desired sexual function and appearance. In this article, the types of lower body surgery, success rates, costs, risks, and necessary post-operative care are reviewed in a scientific and understandable way to clarify the decision-making path for trans people.

Dilation is one of the most important post-surgery care procedures and plays a key role in maintaining the shape, depth, and function of the neovagina. This process usually begins in the early days after surgery and continues according to a specific schedule. In this article, the scientific principles of dilation, standard timing, procedure, types of dilators, hygiene tips, and common mistakes are fully explained so that patients can manage their recovery process more confidently.

Female-to-male (FTM) gender reassignment surgery is a multi-step process that involves hormone therapy, breast and genital surgery, and body feature modification. Each step requires medical evaluation, physical preparation, and psychological support, and may have short-term or long-term complications. This article provides a clear and scientific overview of the transition process, surgical techniques, success rates for each technique, and post-transition care.

Vaginoplasty is one of the most important gender reassignment surgeries for transgender women (MTF) and is performed with the aim of creating a functional, natural and harmonious vagina with the individual’s body. This surgery is performed with various methods such as Penile Inversion, Bowel Method and modern techniques, the choice of which method depends on the patient’s body condition and expectations. Postoperative care, wound care, infection prevention, and vaginal dilation play a very important role in the final success of the surgery. In this article, all the steps, risks, benefits and expected results are explained in detail and practically.

Phalloplasty is one of the most complex and advanced gender confirmation surgeries for FTM individuals and is performed with the goal of creating a penis with a normal appearance and function. The procedure involves several steps: removing a skin flap, constructing a penile shaft, creating a urethra, connecting nerves and blood vessels, and, if desired, implanting an erection prosthesis. The choice of the appropriate procedure depends on medical factors, the individual’s goals, and the body’s tissue conditions. This article reviews the types of techniques, the step-by-step process, the rate of recovery of sensation, the ability to stand and urinate, and the care required during the recovery period.