M

uhammad Prawirodijoyo, who was considered to be a woman for 19 years due to a rare genital abnormality, is slated for surgery on Thursday.

The procedure, to be carried out by a medical team comprising 24 specialists, will be conducted at Dr. Kariadi Semarang General Hospital.

The hospital’s spokesman, Darwito, said that Prawirodijoyo — known as Joy — suffered from hypospadias, where the urinary meatus, where urine exits the body, was not located at the tip of the penis.

“As such, when urinating, urine seeps out of his genitals,” Darwito said in Semarang, Central Java, on Wednesday.

An examination conducted by the surgical team indicated that Joy indeed had a penis, Darwito said.

“The ultrasonography examination also shows that he has testicles but they did not grow normally.”

The surgery, according to Darwito, would be carried out in two stages.

On Thursday, surgeons would perform urethroplasty to create a new ureter for Joy on the lower part of his penis, followed by a cordectomy to remove the testicles.

“The team will need four hours for the urethroplasty and cordectomy,” he said.

The second surgery will be scheduled six months after the first, when surgeons would hopefully connect Joy’s new ureter to the tip of his penis.

Joy is the fourth of five siblings. A resident of Sembungharjo, Semarang, Joy made headlines when he petitioned officials to change his gender from female to male last year.

The Semarang District Court granted his proposal on Dec. 27, when Joy was 19 years old.

— JP/ Ainur Rohmah