Plastic surgeon criticizes silence as medical groups recommend delaying gender surgeries for minors

Plastic surgeon Sheila Nazarian criticized fellow doctors for remaining silent as minors were steered toward irreversible gender surgeries, and welcomed recent moves by major medical groups to delay those procedures, she said Tuesday on Fox & Friends.

Nazarian told the program that the silence among clinicians was “a stain on my profession” and that available data suggest risks to young people could outweigh potential benefits, according to her remarks on the show.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons updated its guidance this month, recommending that “surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old,” and saying it found “insufficient evidence” that the procedures have a positive risk-benefit ratio, the organization said.

Nazarian said the United States is following a trend in parts of Europe, where she said some countries have adopted more restrictive policies. She cited the United Kingdom, Sweden and France as places that have tightened guidelines on gender procedures for young people, according to her comments.

Her remarks followed a Jan. 30 jury verdict in a medical malpractice case brought by a transgender teen, Fox Varian, in which a psychologist and a surgeon were found liable, court records show. The teen’s parents told jurors they had been warned by providers that their child faced a high risk of suicide without surgery, the parents said. Nazarian called the pressure on families “emotional blackmail,” saying it put parents in a position of agreeing to irreversible procedures under duress.

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