The co-director of the Otorhinolaryngology Service of the Hospital Quirónsalud Marbellathe Doctor Juan Carlos Casado Morentereceived this Thursday the ‘T for Trans’ award granted by the Marbella City Council.
This distinction is an endorsement of the professional career of the specialist who stands out for being one of the fathers of the only technique of feminization of the voice in Spain; “A pioneering surgery that has responded in recent years to the needs of hundreds of transsexual or transgender patients,” Quirónsalud Marbella reported in a statement.
“I am very grateful to the Marbella Town Hall for this award, which I consider to be a recognition of all the years dedicated to improve the lives of transgender people. At the same time, it is a great opportunity to give visibility to this group that is so unknown and unfortunately, sometimes, so reviled”, the doctor assured.
Casado has indicated that this award is also “for the entire team of professionals who accompany me: speech therapist, administrative staff, anesthetist and colleagues from the Otorhinolaryngology Service of the Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella“. “Whenever I have had the opportunity I emphasize it: this is the intervention that has given me the most satisfaction as a surgeon”, he declared.
Trans T Awards
The Trans T awards are given every year on the occasion of the International Trans Awareness Day which is commemorated every March 31.
There are only six doctors in the world who perform the glottoplasty technique (feminization of the voice), they have specified from the hospital; “a select group of prestigious professionals including Dr. Juan Carlos Casado Morente, who is the only specialist who develops it in Spain”.
Glottoplasty consists of “shorten and remove mass from the vocal cords to reduce the vibration when the air comes out and, consequently, lower the tone of the voice”. The operation lasts 90 minutes and leaves no external scars. In addition, the postoperative period is very bearable, although it is very important do not talk for two weeks afterwards so that the stitches do not fall out.
After surgery, the role of the speech therapists It is essential, since they will be the ones who help to speak again after the operation. The results are noticeable three months after the intervention”, explains the specialist. Mainly, the people who resort to it are transgender women who want to complete their identity process with a voice change according to their image and personality.
The Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital expert has witnessed the “positive” influence that this intervention has on his patients and his identity reaffirmation as they see the results. “Listening to their voice according to their body helps them to reaffirm their self-esteem, to have security. There is a turning point when they call on the phone and on the other side the person who attends to them identifies them as a woman. It is an incredible affirmation bath for them,” he concludes.
At the award ceremony were the Councilor for Equality and Diversity, María José Cintado; the mayor of Social Policies of San Pedro Alcántara, Begoña Rueda; the managing director of the Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella, María Dolores Alguacil Herrero; and representatives of Chrysallis, the Association of Families of Children and Trans Youth.
Cintado stated that “today as an institution we renew our commitment to guarantee transgender rights and we reaffirm our purpose of continuing to work to give them visibility and that they have the recognition they deserve from society”, while stressing that “people like the Casado contribute with their daily activity to the improvement of their quality of life”.
Likewise, a manifesto has been read in which it is stated that “body characteristics do not define who we are, we know it perfectly, we do not need anyone to certify, verify, prosecute and, much less, question it”, urging to be heard by educational centers, health personnel, administrations and politicians “to have the same rights as people who fit into the canons of society and not be second-class citizens, because we are not”.