A businessman fearing he had cancer
after discovering blood in his urine has
been left stunned after doctors
discovered he has a fully functioning
womb - and the blood was from his
period.
The 37-year-old man, who MailOnline is
not identifying, said he has experienced
strange symptoms for years, such as a
dull ache after sex, but his concerns
were always brushed aside by medics.
Specialists have since discovered that, as
well has having typical exterior male
genitalia, he also has
an interior uterus, cervix, fallopian
tubes and ovaries. They say he has been
having periods since his teens, has
experienced PMT, and may even be able
to get pregnant.
The man, from Lancashire, is now
preparing for surgery to remove the
womb having lived his whole life as a
'red blooded' male, according to The
Sun.
Doctors say this is the best way to treat
the condition, but have warned him that
he could start the menopause once the
operation is complete.
Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome
(PMDS) is a rare genetic disorder which
occurs when the body fails to produce or
respond to certain hormones while
developing during pregnancy. Every
foetus contains the beginnings of a
womb, known as the Mullerian duct, but
if the baby is male then it will produce
hormones meaning this reduces and then
disappears all together.
However in those with PMDS the body
either does not produce these hormones,
or does not react to them properly,
meaning the duct develops into a
functioning womb.
The businessman, who is in a
relationship with a woman who knows
about his condition, says the first sign
something was wrong came at six
months old, when he had an operation on an undescended testicle.
He told Alison Smith-Squire:
'As a child I didn't have any other
problems and went through puberty
normally, developing a deep voice and
body hair. But as I reached my teen and
20s I began experiencing a dull ache,
during and after sex.'
When he was 18 blood first appeared in
his urine, leading doctors to suspect he
had bladder cancer, but a biopsy came
back negative. Eventually he was sent
for an MRI, and the images revealed he
has a uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries,
and even a cervix.
A consultant has now told him that the
ache after sex was caused by PMT, and
the blood in his urine came from his
periods. As well as surgery to remove
the female organs, he will also take part
in genetic screening to find out how his
gender balances out.
He added: 'It's possible tests will show
I'm both male and female, but I feel
completely right living life as a guy.
Even if tests showed I was mostly a
woman, I would still continue living as a
man.'
