Tsoi Wing Foo

Professor Tsoi Wing Foo is an academic psychiatrist who left the Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital for private practice in the 1990s. He has extensive experience with transgender patients in Singapore and has written several scientific papers on the subject.

=Career=

Prof. Tsoi was one of the top students in his cohort at the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He decided to embark on the specialty of psychological medicine at a time when it was not a popular field, especially in terms of remuneration, because of his love for the subject.

=Academic publications=

Developmental profile of 200 male and 100 female transsexuals in Singapore
Arch Sex Behav 1990 Dec;19(6):595-605 (ISSN: 0004-0002) Tsoi WF

Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore.

Two hundred male and 100 female transsexuals compared with 100 male and 80 female heterosexuals were studied in Singapore. Transsexuals started their psychosexual development earlier than controls. Transsexual feelings started in childhood. Male transsexuals went through a homosexual phase followed by a transvestite phase, before they became transsexual. Female transsexuals did not go through distinct phases. Cross-dressing was one of the early signs of transsexualism and started earlier in females. None of the transsexuals were married, in contrast to reports showing that up to 50% of Caucasian transsexuals had been married. Cultural differences may explain the contrasts between Singapore transsexuals and patients from Western countries.

Indexing Check Tags: Female; Human; Male

Language: English

MEDLINE Indexing Date: 199105

Publication Type: Owner: NLM

Publication Type: Journal Article

PreMedline Identifier: 0002082863

Journal Code: IM

Male and female transsexuals: a comparison
Singapore Med J 1992 Apr;33(2):182-5 (ISSN: 0037-5675)

Tsoi WF

Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.

The aim of this study is to describe and compare the characteristics of 320 male and 130 female transsexuals in Singapore. The subjects were given a semistructured psychiatric interview. The results showed that the males were slightly younger, had less education and held lower level jobs. Their occupational preferences were reversed. The male transsexuals started petting, sexual intercourse and having partners about one to two years earlier, but they cross-dressed four to seven years later. Both males and females were homosexually orientated. Other studies showed that late maternal age was associated with homosexuality, but not with transsexualism. These studies also confirmed that transsexualism had its onset in early childhood, and that cross-dressing was an early feature. The Singapore 'transsexuals went through a "homosexual" and a "transvestite" phase before they became a transsexual. Western transsexuals exhibited both homosexual and heterosexual behaviour, and some were married to the opposite sex partners. Male prostitution was reported in many studies.

Sex reassignment surgery in the male transsexual
Br J Hosp Med 1987 Sep;38(3):204-8, 212-3 (ISSN: 0007-1064)

Ratnam SS; Ilancheran A

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National University Hospital, Singapore.

Failure of psychotherapy alone in the treatment of male transsexuals led to the development of modern sex reassignment surgery. Here we describe our technique, its indications, complications and outcome.

Indexing Check Tags: Human; Male

Language: English

MEDLINE Indexing Date: 198712

Publication Type: Owner: NLM

Publication Type: Journal Article

PreMedline Identifier: 0003676546

Journal Code: IM

Follow-up study of transsexuals after sex-reassignment surgery
Singapore Med J 1993 Dec;34(6):515-7 (ISSN: 0037-5675)

Tsoi WF

Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.

INTRODUCTION: This is a follow-up study of 45 male and 36 female sex reassigned transsexuals. METHOD: The subjects were interviewed before and 1 to 8 years following sex reassignment surgery. RESULTS: When first seen the males (mean age 23.8 years) were slightly younger than females (mean age 24.9 years). The males had less education and held lower level jobs. They started their sexual life about 1-2 years earlier, but they cross-dressed 4-7 years later than the females. The follow-up results showed that 35% were married and all of them had no problems adjusting to their new life. The overall results were 56% very good and 44% good. There is no pre-operative variables that can predict good adjustments for female transsexuals. For male transsexuals, earlier age of transsexual manifestation was related to good post-operative adjustments. DISCUSSION: The females were less satisfied with the surgery, but they adjusted well as the males. The results were comparable with those from previous studies.

Indexing Check Tags: Female; Human; Male

Language: English

MEDLINE Indexing Date: 199405

Publication Type: Owner: NLM

Publication Type: Journal Article

PreMedline Identifier: 0008153713

Journal Code: IM

Parental influence in transsexualism
Singapore Med J 1990 Oct;31(5):443-6 (ISSN: 0037-5675)

Tsoi WF

Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore.

This is a study of parental influence in a group of Chinese male and female transsexuals compared with a group of male and female heterosexual controls. There was no difference in the parental ages of the transsexuals and controls at time of their birth. The fathers of the male transsexuals and the mothers of female transsexuals were less involved in their upbringing. Using a bonding instrument, the fathers of male transsexuals were found to be less caring, and mothers of female transsexuals were less overprotective than the fathers and mothers of the controls. Studies on parental involvement in male transsexuals showed a weak father figure and an overinvolvement with the mother, and in female transsexuals, an unsatisfactory mother-daughter relationship. Abnormal parental-child relationship, postulated as an important aetiological factor in transsexualism, needs to be further confirmed.

Indexing Check Tags: Female; Human; Male

Language: English

MEDLINE Indexing Date: 199101

Publication Type: Owner: NLM

Publication Type: Journal Article

PreMedline Identifier: 0002259939

Journal Code: IM

The prevalence of transsexualism in Singapore
Acta Psychiatr Scand 1988 Oct;78(4):501-4 (ISSN: 0001-690X)

Tsoi WF

Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore.

The prevalence of transsexualism in Singapore was estimated by counting all the patients who sought sex-reassignment surgery and were subsequently diagnosed as transsexuals by psychiatrists. Up to 1986, there were a total of 458 Singapore-born transsexuals, of which 343 were males and 115 were females. This was a prevalence of 35.2 per 100,000 population age 15 and above (or 1/2900) for male transsexualism, and 12.0 per 100,000 (or 1/8300) for female transsexualism. The sex ratio was about 3 males to 1 female. The main reason for the high prevalence was the availability of sex-reassignment surgery.

Indexing Check Tags: Female; Human; Male

Language: English

MEDLINE Indexing Date: 198903

Publication Type: Owner: NLM

Publication Type: Journal Article

PreMedline Identifier: 0003265846

Journal Code: IM

=See also=


 * Transgender people in Singapore
 * Shan S Ratnam
 * Arunachalam Ilancheran

=References=


 * Andrea James, "Transition in Singapore", Trans Road Map, December 2004.

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.