The number of teenagers identifying as transgender has exploded. Advocates say it protects young people from marginalization. Some experts, however, many of whom consider themselves survivors, warn against treating adolescent confusion with drugs and surgeries that have irreversible physical and psychological effects. In the third part of this series, the Washington Examiner examines the cottage industry that has risen up in its wake.
As the number of transgender teenagers has exploded across the country, with it comes a wealth of readily available medical procedures unthinkable a decade ago.
Hormone treatments are accessible online and through Planned Parenthood, and major surgical intervention is promoted to children on apps such as TikTok.
“Just realized I only yeet for teets next week,” declared Miami plastic surgeon Sidhbh Gallagher, describing her frequently used phrase for breast removal. She posts a steady stream of catchy videos that downplay the risks of surgery to her 191,000 followers on TikTok.
In one post, Gallagher, who lists herself as a gender-affirmation surgeon, said getting a mastectomy is “easier than wisdom teeth removal” for most people. Gallagher did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
MOTHER OF TRANS DAUGHTER – LOS ANGELES COUNTY KILLED MY DAUGHTER
But despite playing down the magnitude of such a decision, transgender medical treatment can be a dangerous path that shortens the lifespan of patients by 50%, a recently published endocrinology study found. Amsterdam University Medical Center surveyed 4,600 transgender men and women between 1972 and 2018.
Along with the high mortality rate comes cancer, stroke, tumors and a whole host of medical problems, said Dr. Quentin Van Meter, president of the American College of Pediatricians. The medical association has been an outspoken critic of transgender treatment in children.
“I’ve been the lone voice in the wilderness crying out about this,” said Van Meter, referring to the availability of treatment in almost every state. “The system is the problem. It is a cult machine sucking these children in and putting them on a conveyor belt. Puberty blockers, cross hormones, and then surgery is the way to go. They are getting their breasts cut off right and left.”
Van Meter has studied transgender medicine for 42 years. He watched as it began in the Netherlands during the 1970s and became concerned when doctors first started blocking puberty. This led to cross-sex hormones given to children in 2000. Nine years later, a group of 10 European doctors formed a committee and comprised guidelines for transitioning children.
“They didn’t ask anyone with a contrary opinion. They just made up these guidelines with a grading system based on no science,” Van Meter said. He added that children who try to transition are “practicing a delusional concept. They can never ever become the opposite sex.”
‘WE ARE JUST GUINEA PIGS’: WOMEN DESCRIBE TRAUMA OF TRANSITIONING AS TEENAGERS
Last year, Sweden outlawed the use of cross-sex hormones in children after utilizing them for 22 years. Its health agency stated that they are “potentially fraught with extensive and irreversible adverse consequences such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased cancer risk, and thrombosis.” Denmark and France have since followed suit.
“Now, the clinics in the U.S. are scrambling because there is no medical science” that says treatments are safe, Van Meter said. “They are now teaching this in medical school, including how to create body parts.”
Transgender health care is a big business, so it’s not clear if the runaway train can be slowed any time soon. Van Meter said he has seen a 500% increase in treatments on minors over the past decade.
Online sites such as Plume offer a one-stop shopping experience complete with virtual doctors who can sign off on prescriptions and refer patients for surgery for a monthly $99 subscription. Sites such as Reddit are filled with posts of teenagers asking for doctor referrals and giving surgery advice.
One 13-year-old girl who received a mastectomy recommended Gallagher, who was the only surgeon “who would operate on me at that age.”
Dr. Galagher website.JPGGallagher’s website describes in detail a variety of transgender surgeries recommended for children. She states, “It may well be much more detrimental to the patient to wait until the age of 18 for surgery.”
One TikTok video says regret is “very rare” as the “medical community gets a better understanding of trans care.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Yet young women who had mastectomies as teenagers told the Washington Examiner they are devastated over the surgeries and will have regret for the rest of their lives as they travel a painful road of de-transitioning.
“I have chronic pain all over my chest, and I’m stuck on painkillers,” said Candace Sharpe, 23. “The doctor sold it like it was worth the risk because you need it.”
