The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) which includes 11,000 members and nearly every plastic surgeon in Alaska, has formally come out in opposition to transgender surgical procedures on minors.

ASPS, which is the largest society of plastic surgeons in the world, sent a Feb. 3 Position Statement to its membership noting that the latest studies shows “very low” evidence that transgender surgeries improve mental health outcomes for minors, and that there are “emerging concerns about potential long-term harms and the irreversible nature of surgical interventions.”

“ASPS recommends that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old,” the statement reads.

Given that more than 90% of board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States are ASPS members, the group’s recent statement is likely to send shockwaves through the professional community.

The ASPS position comes on the heels of a recent statement by the Alaska State Medical Board, which opposed transgender surgeries and hormonal treatments for gender-confused youth.

A search of ASPS membership lists a number of plastic surgeons in Alaska as part of the society. This would include surgeons affiliated with Plastic Surgeons of Alaska, Fairbanks North Star Plastic Surgery and Aurora Plastic Surgery, among others.

According to the statement by ASPS, the common justification for transgender surgeries on minors, such as “patient values and preferences” and “emerging adolescent autonomy” are not sufficient reasons to risk performing transgender surgeries on minors.

The ASPS position comes on the heels of a similar statement issued by the Alaska State Medical Board last year, which opposed transgender surgeries and hormonal treatments for gender-confused youth “due to insufficient evidence of long-term benefits and risks of irreversible harm.”

“We view these interventions as lacking legitimacy as standard medical practice for those under the age of 18 years old,” the Alaska State Medical Board stated last March. “We support legislative limits on such treatments and promote psychological support and counseling as safer alternatives. This reflects our duty to protect patients and uphold evidence-based care.”

The ASPS statement could cause many Alaska medical facilities to reconsider their practices.

In recent years, multiple health care facilities in Alaska, including Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, South Peninsula Hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska Regional Hospital, Barlett Regional Hospital, PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center and Central Peninsula Hospital have performed sex change interventions on minors. Other clinics, such as Identity Inc. in Anchorage have long-offered puberty blockers and cross sex hormones to Alaska youth.

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