OvoTesticular Disorder of Sex Development in Southern Africa

The patient with OT-DSD may present to the medical practitioner for a variety of reasons, but most likely for the investigation of the gender ambiguity which is the main feature of the DSD state. The classification of DSD has been based on the three main types. This thesis is about children born with a gender anomaly and specifically about those with OT-DSD. It is based on research done over a period of 23-years (1984-2006) on patients managed by the Department of Paediatric Surgery, University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban, South Africa. The patients who were referred to our clinics came from KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Lesotho and Swaziland, thereby constituting a Southern African group. This document is a collection of updated retrospective articles, the originals being presentations to scientific bodies and papers published in peer review journals over the period of study. The original papers presented an increasing number of patients over the years. By updating the information, the thesis presents a single cohort and allowed a re-evaluation of the aims of study. The thesis describes the studies done on patients with OT-DSD, which is generally regarded as uncommon condition among the disorders of sex development elsewhere in the world. Locally this condition is seen commonly, the reasons for the locally high incidence remain unknown.

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