The first time Sydney woman Jay Langadinos saw psychiatrist Dr Patrick Toohey she was 19, living at home and identifying as male. It was May 2010. Langadinos wanted to start on masculinising hormones and her endocrinologist had referred her to Toohey to assess if she was suitable for the treatment.
According to a statement of claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court in May, the referral letter from Professor Ann Conway said it “seemed likely” Langadinos had “true gender dysphoria”, but she was “very young” and “clearly” needed “thorough psychiatric work-up before embarking on hormone treatment”.
Toohey agreed Langadinos suffered from gender dysphoria – a misalignment between a person’s sex and gender identity – and found she was suitable for hormone therapy, in this case testosterone, which encourages the development of male secondary sexual characteristics.
Langadinos saw Toohey a second time in February 2012. Now she was eager to have her breasts surgically removed. Toohey allegedly found “no contraindication” for her to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. She had the operation in April.
Read more: ‘Absolutely devastating’: woman sues psychiatrist over gender transition
