Transgender patient claims gender-affirming surgery was abruptly canceled without reason
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News) - A young man in Georgia says he is heartbroken after a scheduled gender affirmation surgery was abruptly canceled.
Now, he says he is left with more questions than answers about what comes next.
Indigo was set to have a mastectomy before getting the call from the doctor, saying his surgery had been canceled.
“We got a call from Seaport Plastic Surgery saying that Memorial Health had pulled gender-affirming surgeries from their roster,” he said. “They’re not going to be continuing doing any gender-affirming surgeries with Seaport.”
Indigo was crushed by the doctor’s update.
“It’s absolutely devastating to keep trying and trying to then not even be able to have a chance to do it anymore,” he said.
For him, the surgery was not just about appearances.
Indigo said he hoped the surgery would help with his mental health as well.
“Getting on testosterone was the first time I’ve ever felt a need to live,” he said.
According to Indigo, he will try and work on other options when it comes to having the surgery but it is too expensive for him to go out of the state.
“This is it. I can’t, I can’t go anywhere else. It’s too expensive to go anywhere else,” he said.
A spokesperson for Memorial Health said in a statement that it is following state and federal laws and regulations.
“For gender-affirming surgeries, there are laws and regulations around age. We follow those. Licensed physicians use their training and experience to exercise independent medical judgment to assess patients' needs and determine the course of treatment within those laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said.
The Savannah Pride Center responded to the situation, calling for the medical center to reaffirm its care to all community .
“Licensed surgeons have been safely performing top surgeries for adult transgender patients in the health system for years. That changed last Thursday when the hospital abruptly canceled all gender-affirming top surgeries,” Michael Bell, an executive director at the center, shared. “We call on Memorial Health to reaffirm its commitment to equitable, patient-centered care for all of our community, including transgender individuals.”
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