dr. herry hensle. what would you say if you were face-to-face with him today?ink i would ask him questions. because he's a human being. and i think human beings make mistakes. >> reporter: turns out he's still practicing and a professor emeritus at columbia university. he says new parents with an intersexed baby are often desperate to have their child fixed, surgically turned into a boy or girl as fast as possible. >> have you had parents thank you for intervening early? >> all the time. >> what do they say? >> well, "thank you for big me my little girl." >> reporter: the photos are too graphic to show on television but dr. hensle wanted me to see how ambiguous these cases can be. >> what do you tell mommy that is? >> uh -- yeah what is that? >> reporter: sifa argues in his case, there was no medical urgency. but many doctors argue doing it younger can avoid painful scarring down the road. both physically and emotionally. >> i think it's more parents' anxiety about information being disseminated about their "abnormal" child. >> reporter: the very definition of