Gender-Affirming Surgery of the Lower Body for Young Adults and Other News on Gender-Affirming Care
September 7, 2022
Lower-Body Gender-Affirming Surgery
Seattle Children’s is now offering gender-affirming surgeries for the lower body to patients age 18 and older who have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, in addition to the gender-affirming surgical services we previously offered such as chest reconstruction and facial gender-affirming surgery. This expansion will further Seattle Children’s commitment to supporting transgender and nonbinary patients.
To refer a patient for gender-affirming surgery, please submit your referral to Plastic Surgery or the Surgical Gender Affirmation Program (either is fine). Your referral should include at least 1 of the required medical or mental health letters of support (templates below).
Who can submit a surgery referral: The referral should come from the patient’s gender-related medical care provider if they are on hormones or menstrual suppression or, if they are not, from their primary care provider or a medical doctor who is knowledgeable about their gender care needs.
Age of patient: We work closely with patients and families to make decisions about surgery age and timing. For gender-affirming genital procedures, patients must be 18 years old or older by the time of surgery. For other gender-affirming surgeries, timing depends on many factors including the patient’s stage of puberty and how surgery fits with the rest of their gender-related healthcare. The typical age is mid-teens or older.
Once we receive your surgery referral: Our schedulers will call your patient to discuss making an appointment. The current wait time is currently 2 months for an initial surgery consultation and 7.5 months for patients who are approved for gender-affirming surgery (up to 20 months for genital surgery).
Learn about our Surgical Gender Affirmation Program and review our referral requirements.
Gender Clinic: Resources for PCPs
If you have questions about caring for your gender-diverse patients, please refer to the many educational and other resources for healthcare professionals from our Gender Clinic team. You are also welcome to use our free Gender Clinic e-consult service that will respond within 3 days to your nonsurgical, nonurgent, patient-specific questions.
Gender Clinic Now Requires a Referral
The Gender Clinic is no longer accepting patient self-referrals effective August 15, 2022. All new patients need a referral from their primary care provider.