Man Comes Out of Doctor's Office a Woman, Turner Syndrome to Blame

A trip to the doctor's office may cause stress from unwanted news concerning your health, certainly, but it usually doesn't result in any gender changes. However, for a 66-year-old Chinese man, a hospital visit confirmed he was a woman.

According to the South China Morning Post, the woman visited the hospital complaining of a swollen stomach when doctors discovered she had a cyst on her ovaries.

The unnamed patient reportedly has a rare combination of conditions that make her look rather masculine, known as Turner syndrome or congenital adrenal hyperplasia, according to the Hong Kong Medical Journal.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Turner Syndrome is a condition that only affects girls and women, resulting in a missing or incomplete sex chromosome. It can cause a variety of medical and developmental problems that may include short stature, failure to begin puberty, infertility, heart defects and even certain learning disabilities.

The health issue is usually diagnosed in early childhood, but symptoms or the progression of the disease can sometimes be delayed.

The clinic notes that girls and women with the problem require ongoing medical care from a variety of specialists, including regular checkups to various procedures and treatments.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that women with the syndrome are missing part or all of their two X chromosomes.

Because of this, adult women with the problem don't develop as much after puberty, with about one out of every 2,000 women born with the condition. 

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia affects a person's ability to produce hormones, including those that make us appear male or female, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Various reports note that even following the visit, the Chinese resident preferred to be referred to as a man.