Parliament's health select committee has heard it would be difficult to recruit a new team to perform gender reassignment surgeries in New Zealand.

New Zealand's only surgeon performing male to female gender reassignment operations has retired, leaving no one in the country with the skills, training and expertise to perform them.

All patients seeking gender reassignment look likely to be sent overseas for surgery.

Gender reassignment surgery is paid for through the Ministry of Health's special high-cost treatment pool, with three male to female procedures and one female to male surgery funded every two years.

Overseas surgeons already carry out the female to male operations and Ministry of Health senior adviser Ailsa Jacobson told parliament's health select committee that's now being looked into for all procedures.

"It's no more expensive to send a patient overseas for this surgery than it has been to provide it in New Zealand to date," she said.

It's expected the four people who would have had their surgery in New Zealand - but haven't because of the surgeon's retirement - will be operated on this year.

There are another 64 people on the waiting list for male to female operations and 12 waiting for female to male surgery, with two operations expected to be carried out in the next year.

The health select committee is considering a petition calling for urgent action to address the inadequate supply of publicly funded gender reassignment health services.