The number of gender-affirming surgeries performed in the U.S. increased by nearly threefold between 2016 and 2019 before falling slightly in 2020, according to a study published Aug. 23 in JAMA Network Open.
To estimate the prevalence of gender-affirming surgery in the U.S., researchers examined 2016-20 data on inpatient and outpatient procedures from the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample and the National Inpatient Sample databases.
Three findings:
1. The number of gender-affirming surgeries increased from 4,552 in 2016 to 12,011 in 2019. This figure dipped to 12,818 in 2020.
2. In total, 48,019 patients underwent gender-affirming surgery during the study period, 52 percent of whom were ages 19 to 30.
3. The most common procedures were breast and chest procedures (56.6 percent), followed by genital reconstruction (35.1 percent) and facial and cosmetic procedures (13.9 percent).
"These data have important implications in providing an understanding of the use of services that can help inform care for transgender populations," researchers said. "The rapid rise in the performance of [gender-affirming surgeries] suggests that there will be a greater need for clinicians knowledgeable in the care of transgender individuals and with the requisite expertise to perform [gender-affirming surgeries] procedures."