The nation\u2019s largest professional organization for plastic surgeons recommended that gender-affirming surgeries be delayed until patients turn 19, changing the group\u2019s stance on the politically charged issue and diverging from several other major medical organizations\u2019 guidance.<\/p>\n
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons said Tuesday that it found \u201cinsufficient evidence\u201d that the benefits of chest, genital and facial surgeries on minors experiencing gender dysphoria outweigh the risks. It leaned on two recent and heavily debated publications on the topic, the Cass Review by a senior doctor in England and a 2025 report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis position statement doesn\u2019t seek to deny or minimize the reality of any patient\u2019s distress, and it does not question the authenticity of any patient\u2019s experience,\u201d the position statement reads. \u201cInstead, ASPS affirms that truly humane, ethical, and just care, particularly for children and adolescents, must balance compassion with scientific rigor, developmental considerations and concern for long-term welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement is not a clinical guideline, the document notes. The society also did not do an independent evidence assessment or take other steps that would be involved in setting new care guidelines.<\/p>\n
Other medical groups stand by their guidance<\/p>\n
The shift comes as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration pressures health care providers to limit or stop gender-affirming care for transgender people, particularly children.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday marks another victory for biological truth in the Trump administration,\u201d Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary Jim O\u2019Neill said in a statement. \u201cThe American Society of Plastic Surgeons has set the scientific and medical standard for all provider groups to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other major medical associations stood their ground, noting current guidelines already call for caution around surgery for minors.<\/p>\n
Gender-affirming surgery is rare among U.S. children, research shows. And fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications.<\/p>\n
The American Academy of Pediatrics \u201cdoes not include a blanket recommendation for surgery for minors\u201d with gender dysphoria, said its president, Dr. Andrew Racine. \u201cThe AAP continues to hold to the principle that patients, their families, and their physicians \u2014 not politicians \u2014 should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which develops standards of care for transgender patients globally, reiterated its support for access to surgical care for minors under \u201ccautious guidelines and criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s guidelines oppose a \u201cdefinitive age or \u2018one-size-fits-all\u2019 approach for every patient.\u201d Decisions should be case-by-case, based on the evaluations of multiple types of health experts and experts in adolescent development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWPATH stands firm in its commitment to advancing evidence-informed clinical guidelines to help improve the lives and well-being of transgender people around the world,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Late Wednesday, the American Medical Association said it supports evidence-based treatment, including gender-affirming care. The association agreed with the surgeons\u2019 society in part, but stopped short of saying surgeries should be deferred to adulthood in all cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient for us to make a definitive statement,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cIn the absence of clear evidence, the AMA agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hospitals halt gender-affirming care for kids<\/p>\n
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. entails developing a plan with medical experts and family members that includes supportive talk therapy and can \u2014 but does not always \u2014 involve puberty blockers or hormone treatment. Many U.S. adolescents with gender dysphoria may decide not to proceed with medications or surgeries.<\/p>\n
Still, the Trump administration moved in December to cut off gender-affirming care for minors, prompting a third of states to sue. It was the latest in a series of clashes between an administration that says transgender health care can be harmful to children and advocates who say it\u2019s medically necessary.<\/p>\n
Under pressure from the administration, hospitals across the country have suspended gender-affirming care for minors, most recently Children\u2019s Minnesota, which plans to pause prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and hormones for patients under age 18 citing federal \u201cthreats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the decision we wanted to make,\u201d the health system said in a statement. \u201cThis is the decision we had to make to protect our hospital and our providers. We stand firmly behind the fact that gender-affirming care is evidence-based, safe and lifesaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plastic surgeons group also acknowledged that \u201cvariability in regulatory and legal environments\u201d played a role in the decision to issue a statement, saying the lack of evidence on the benefits of gender-affirming care means \u201csurgical decision-making carries heightened ethical, clinical and legal risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Scot Glasberg, who helped develop the statement, said deliberations over the language started in 2024 and were not politically influenced, despite the issue being highly charged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an iterative process that took time, with no outside pressure,\u201d said Glasberg, a past president of the surgeons group. \u201cWe understand there will be different opinions about it and we respect those opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nation\u2019s largest professional organization for plastic surgeons recommended that gender-affirming surgeries be delayed until patients turn 19,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-452620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}