SRS surgery (or whatever we are going to call it) is actually far more comparable to someone claiming they have a mole on their arm, where no mole can be observed, and then demanding that a doctor remove part of the skin of the arm. Or claiming that they have a deformity on their leg, possibly one which is causing them pain, when all examinations, scans, x rays, show that there is nothing wrong with the leg. And then demanding that the leg is amputated.
2000 Guardian: 'Healthy limbs cut off at patients' request
NHS trust puts stop to surgeon's amputations done as last resort on disturbed patients with 'life threatening' hate of their own bodies'
(extract)
"A surgeon who amputated the healthy limbs from two psychologically disturbed men at their request said yesterday that he saw nothing wrong with his actions and that he was disappointed he would not be able to carry out such operations again.
Robert Smith cut off the lower legs of two patients, one from England and one from Germany, during private operations at Falkirk and district royal infirmary. The men had been turned away by surgeons across Europe before Mr Smith agreed to operate.
Mr Smith said, however, that he did not want to specialise in the procedure. "The last thing I want to be is a world centre for cutting off arms and legs."
The two men were suffering from an extremely rare form of body dysmorphic disorder known as apotemnophilia. Those suffering from the disease have an obsessive belief that their body is "incomplete" with four limbs and will only be complete after amputation. In most cases of apotemnophilia the desire to be an amputee is linked to a form of sexual arousal, but Mr Smith said there was no suggestion that any of his patients were motivated by sexual urges.
Following an internal investigation, Forth Valley NHS trust has now effectively banned Mr Smith from carrying out further procedures on people suffering from the disorder. Private hospitals have also refused to allow Mr Smith to carry out the procedure.
Mr Smith said he had six more patients waiting to be considered for amputation, two of whom had been fully assessed by psychiatrists as suitable candidates. The disorder takes over patients' lives and Mr Smith said that one of his patients had already tried to persuade friends to shoot off one of her limbs.
"My fear is that someone will injure or kill themselves," he said. "I have very serious concerns that they will go to an unlicensed practitioner or take the law into their own hands and lie down on a railway line, or take a shotgun.
Mr Smith's patients, whom he said were severely disabled by their disorder, had rigorous psychological and psychiatric evaluations before their operations. His decision to carry out the amputations was legal.
Kenyon Mason, a professor dealing with medical ethics, said the law would view the case in much the same way as it would gender reassignment. "As long as you say that people can have a sex change for what is a severe psychological disease, then it is difficult to say you cannot have an amputation for this form of severe psychological disease," said Professor Mason." (continues)
www.theguardian.com/society/2000/feb/01/futureofthenhs.health
Its worth reading the whole article