Chastity/Chaz Bono Before And After Surgery

Born Chastity Sun Bono, now known simply as Chaz, is the only child of singer/actress Cher and the late singer/actor/politician Sonny Bono.

Chaz Bono is a LGBT rights advocate, and has also dabbled in a bit of acting and writing, however he/she is best known for undergoing a female to male sex-change operation.

Long before making the decision to become a man, Chastity underwent breast reduction surgery in 1988. Perhaps an early indication of her impending sex change?

I'd like to have another one actually. I had one when I was thin. When I gained weight, I gained back some breast size. I'm going to see what happens, how much weight I lose. Hopefully, I'll lose a lot of it up there. - Chastity Bono

And in regards to the highly complex nature of gender reassignment operations, Plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Walden elaborates on the issue.

Chastity has made the decision to embrace her identity as a male. The process may be done over an extended period of time in which many different procedures might be performed. Depending on the size of her breasts she may opt to have bilateral mastectomy to remove all of her breast tissues to obtain a more contoured flat chest. For gender reassignment she may or may not undergo a hysterectomy to remove her uterus, and then a penile implant may be done through phalloplasty as the final step of the overall process.

Furthermore, Chaz Bono's publicist Howard Bragman issued the following statement...

Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity.

He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones.

It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his "coming out" did nearly 20 years ago.

And finally, we'll leave you with this endearing statement made by Chaz's mother, Cher.

Chaz is embarking on a difficult journey, but one that I will support. I respect the courage it takes to go through this transition in the glare of public scrutiny, and although I may not understand, I will strive to be understanding. The one thing that will never change is my abiding love for my child.

After seeing the before and after photos and reading about the details, please leave your thoughts and comments on this very controversial topic of surgical sex change procedures.