Gender-affirming surgeries for trans-people have tripled in 3 years

Share This Post

Gender-affirming surgeries have increased significantly in recent years, according to a new study.

Gender-affirming care is a way for transgender individuals to align their physical selves with their perceived sense of gender. Such care can include surgical procedures designed to give a more masculine or feminine appearance — such as facial reconstruction, hormone therapy, “top surgery,” when breasts are removed or implanted, and “bottom surgery,” which alters genitalia.

The study found that gender-affirming surgeries nearly tripled from 2016 to 2019, with the vast majority of patients between 19 and 30 years old. Minors, between 12-18, accounted for 7.7% of all cases.

Published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, the cohort study analyzed 48,019 people who had gender-affirming surgery between 2016 and 2020. Researchers found the number of procedures nearly tripled, from 4,552 in 2016 to 13,011 in 2019. That number declined slightly in 2020, the year the pandemic began, to 12,818.

Overall, the most common procedures were breast and chest surgeries (top surgery), accounting for 27,187 patients. The second most common was genital reconstruction (bottom surgery), for 16,872 patients. Meanwhile, 6,669 patients reported having had facial and other cosmetic procedures, including hair removal, liposuction and collagen injections.

Minors, of 12-18 years old, accounted for 3,678 (7.7%) of total patients. Overall, 3,215 of them had top surgery, 405 had bottom surgery and 350 of them reported undergoing other cosmetic procedures. Those between 19 and 30 years old accounted for the majority: 25,099 of all patients, with 16,067 opting for top surgery, 7,461 bottom surgery and 2,946 for other cosmetic procedures.

Meanwhile, 31-40 year-olds accounted for 10,476 of the total number of patients, with 4,918 of them having top surgery, 4,423 having bottom surgery and 1,729 having other cosmetic procedures, as noted in the report. The numbers decreased with age, with 2,958 of the total being 51 to 60 and 1,478 over 61.

Researchers also found an increase in health insurance companies’ covering gender-affirming procedures, with 60.5% of patients being covered by private insurance — compared to 25.3% covered by Medicaid, 5.4% covered by Medicare and 5.9% who paid out of pocket.

Race also played a significant role. Researchers discovered the vast majority (65.1%) of total patients were white, compared to the 9.9% of patients who were Hispanic, 9% who were Black and 13% who identified as “other.”

Wright says genital reconstructive surgeries were more frequent in older patients because “genital reconstructive procedures are more complex and invasive than breast and chest procedures,” since they are more often irreversible, with the removal of reproductive organs. “Therefore, there may be both patient and physician preference to delay these surgeries.”

Dr. Fan Liang, medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health, agrees, noting that the trend may be largely credited to the “logistical challenges” posed by top and bottom surgeries.

“For top surgery, the after care is relatively minimal,” she explains to Yahoo Life. “The surgery itself is an outpatient surgery and the complication risks are low.” Bottom surgery, she says, requires a considerable amount of after care, which may be hard for younger patients to navigate.

Related Posts

Cardi B shows off her real hair without extensions

Cardi B is giving Rapunzel a run for her...

Jennifer Lopez’s fans beg her to ‘stop misleading’ them

Jennifer Lopez has received criticism for quite a few...

Bella Hadid ready to make a comeback to modeling

Bella Hadid is ready to make a comeback. After...

‘The Great’ canceled at Hulu after three seasons

Hulu has canceled its period dramedy The Great after...

Howie Mandel defends his shot at Sofía Vergara’s single status

Howie Mandel is doubling down on a recent quip...

Kalki Koechlin talks about having a baby out of wedlock

Kalki Koechlin is currently gearing up for the release...

‘One Piece’ creator changed his stance on a live-action adaptation

Eiichiro Oda, One Piece creator and executive producer on...

Read Worthy