More Trans Teens Are Choosing ‘Top Surgery’ (original) (raw)

Health|More Trans Teens Are Choosing ‘Top Surgery’

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/health/top-surgery-transgender-teenagers.html

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

Small studies suggest that breast removal surgery improves transgender teenagers’ well-being, but data is sparse. Some state leaders oppose such procedures for minors.

Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher’s unusual embrace of social media platforms like TikTok has made her one of the most visible surgeons in her field.Credit...Eva Marie Uzcategui for The New York Times

Published Sept. 26, 2022Updated June 21, 2023

Listen to This Article

Michael, 17, arrived in the sleek white waiting room of his plastic surgeon’s office in Miami for a moment he had long anticipated: removing the bandages to see his newly flat chest.

After years of squeezing into compression undershirts to conceal his breasts, the teenager was overcome with relief that morning last December. Wearing an unbuttoned shirt, he posed for photos with his mother and the surgeon, Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher, happy to share his bare chest with the doctor’s large following on social media.

“It just felt right — like I’d never had breasts in the first place,” Michael said. “It was a ‘Yes, finally’ kind of moment.”

Michael is part of a very small but growing group of transgender adolescents who have had top surgery, or breast removal, to better align their bodies with their experience of gender. Most of these teenagers have also taken testosterone and changed their name, pronouns or clothing style.

Few groups of young people have received as much attention. Republican elected officials across the United States are seeking to ban all so-called gender-affirming care for minors, turning an intensely personal medical decision into a political maelstrom with significant consequences for transgender adolescents and their families.

Gender-related surgeries, in particular, have been thrust into the spotlight. Arizona and Alabama passed laws this year making it illegal for doctors to perform gender-related surgeries on transgender patients under 18. Conservative commentators with large followings on social media have recently targeted children’s hospitals that offer gender surgeries, leading to online harassment and bomb threats.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT