Melbourne,
Australia — A man who had surgery to become a
woman but later reverted to living as a male displayed
above-average masculinity before his operation, a court
was told yesterday.
Alan Michael Finch, who
is suing over the operation, says this male
characteristic was not revealed to him until eight years
after his sex change.
Mr Finch said he cried
after reading the neuropsychological report that
described him as "more masculine than an average man of
his age".
The report, prepared the
year before the operation to assess his suitability, also
said he was "escaping life in fantasy and daydreams" and
did not display female gender identity.
Mr Finch had his penis
and testicles removed in 1988 when he was 21.
The County Court heard
that by 1996, he was struggling as "Helen" and consulted
his psychiatrist, the late Dr Herbert Bower. Mr Finch
said Dr Bower told him that he and another psychiatrist -
Trudy Kennedy - were concerned that he was a lesbian and
did not support him wanting to live as a man.
The following year, Mr
Finch started revision surgery on his breasts and resumed
life as a man. Now 37, he is applying for an extension of
time to bring a lawsuit against the medical team who
treated him at Monash Medical Centre's gender identity
clinic. Mr Finch alleges his treating doctors were
negligent in misdiagnosing him as a primary transsexual -
a person born biologically male, but who exhibits a
female character identity from an early age.
Lawyers for the
defendants - Southern Health, the surgeon, Dr Bower, Dr
Kennedy and a gynaecologist - said the delay in the case
would prejudice their clients. They also submitted that
the death of Dr Bower meant they were unable to call him
to provide corroborative evidence.
"The delay is inordinate,
particularly having regard to the fact that right from
day one... after the plaintiff came to from surgery, he
knew that he was unhappy," said David Beach, SC, for two
of the defendants.
Mr Beach also alleged
that Mr Finch knew about the contents of the report
before his operation and had deliberately manipulated his
answers in a second assessment so he would be declared
suitable for surgery.
Mr Finch denied these
claims and said he first read the report in September
1996. He said he "pinched it" from Dr Bower's desk, after
the psychiatrist put the report away and said "that's all
gone now".
Tim Tobin, SC, for Mr
Finch, said his client was a young and confused man when
he underwent the "incredibly radical"
operation.
Judge Michael McInerney
will deliver his ruling on a date to be fixed.
