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I helped perform gender surgery for minors — it was wrong and must end

This week, NYU Langone Health announced it would no longer perform gender reassignment surgery or provide puberty blockers to minors. Dr. Ira Savetsky is a plastic surgeon who participated in some of those procedures as a resident, but regrets it, and tells The Post that Langone, under pressure from the Trump Administration, is making the right call:

As a board-certified plastic surgeon, I often reflect on the formative years that shaped me — especially my time training at NYU Langone Health, one of the most competitive and respected plastic surgery programs in the country.

On a recent interview on Fox News, I apologized for not speaking out during my years as a trainee, when I assisted in transgender surgeries involving youth patients.

Since then, I’ve been thinking deeply about the culture of medical training, institutional momentum, and the silence that can follow young physicians early in their careers.

Let me be clear: I am proud of my training. The program is widely regarded as the No. 1 plastic surgery program — and it forged my technical discipline, work ethic, and commitment to excellence.

Many of my mentors and colleagues from that time remain friends and respected peers, and I carry those relationships with gratitude.

At the same time, maturity brings perspective. Looking back, I recognize how quickly the expansion of transgender medical and surgical interventions — particularly those involving minors — unfolded during my training years.

Despite institutions and universities emphasizing sensitivity training, I do not recall a formal moment when residents, nurses, or staff were asked whether they were comfortable participating in these surgeries.

There was no structured conversation about conscientious objection, ethical discomfort, or religious concerns.

The prevailing culture prioritized efficiency, compliance, and performance. In many ways, that culture helped make me the surgeon I am today — disciplined, resilient, and technically strong.

Yet it also created conditions in which silence felt safer than inquiry.

The rapid integration of transgender surgeries for youth patients into academic practice occurred within that broader context.

For a trainee focused on mastering anatomy, technique, and patient care, stepping back to publicly question emerging standards felt inconceivable.

In 2016, New York State passed a law mandating insurance coverage for transgender services, which led to a rapid increase in cases. The financial incentives for large academic medical centers changed almost overnight.

When reimbursement is guaranteed, institutions respond.

We are a discipline grounded in evidence-based medicine. Unfortunately, the evidence regarding long-term mental health outcomes and suicide reduction from these surgeries is insufficient.

These are irreversible procedures performed on young, developing individuals — our children and our future generation.

I am grateful to Donald Trump for what I view as moral clarity on this issue. I am also proud of the position recently expressed by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons opposing these surgeries in individuals under 19.

My own practice is 100% elective cosmetic surgery. Even if one of my patients experienced regret or worsening mental health, I would radically reexamine what I was doing and how I was doing it. And we now know that many children later express regret and seek reversal procedures.

How can we accept even a single child regretting a life-altering surgery?

My apology is an acknowledgment of my silence. In retrospect, I wish I would have had the courage and confidence to speak up and advocate for our children, the most vulnerable population. As physicians, we take an oath to first and foremost do no harm.

We fell short of that standard.

But we should not continue falling short. It is time for institutions to take responsibility, acknowledge imperfections, and never fail again at the most basic principle of being a physician.

nyu langone medical center

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