Vanderbilt University Medical Center will cease gender-affirming surgeries for adults after years of offering the health care option.
After days of rumors that VUMC would end gender-affirming surgeries, patients received messages via VUMC’s health care portal on Friday confirming changes within the system. Previously scheduled surgeries will take place, but VUMC is not scheduling new surgeries or consultations. Information shared with the Scene also announces the departure of at least one key plastic surgeon who offered these surgeries.
Patient families confirm appointment, prescription cancellations due to Tennessee law
The VUMC health care system, which has been legally separate from Vanderbilt University since 2016, suspended gender-affirming surgeries for people under 18 in 2022 following a state ban on the treatment. That ban was upheld after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. VUMC also turned over a list of transgender patients’ health records to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in 2023. Last year, VUMC gutted its specialized LGBTQ health clinic, a severe blow to transgender health. Conservative media and politicians, including Tennessee's U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, previously attacked VUMC for offering transgender health care.
Vanderbilt confirmed the end of gender-affirming surgeries to the Scene with a written statement. These surgeries include orchiectomies, a testicular removal surgery, and subcutaneous mastectomies, the removal of breast tissue also known as “top surgery.”
“Due to operational limitations and lack of surgical coverage, Vanderbilt Health will cease providing gender-affirming plastic surgeries for adults,” said a VUMC spokesperson in an email Friday afternoon. “Vanderbilt Health continues to provide nonsurgical gender-affirming care for adults 19 years and older. Vanderbilt Health does not provide any gender-affirming care for patients younger than 19. We are in the process of contacting our patients regarding these changes.”
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As it stands, gender-affirming surgery is legal for adults in Tennessee. However, a bill that would prohibit TennCare from covering gender-affirming care moved forward in the House this week. In 2023, a similar bill that would have prohibited TennCare from contracting with providers that cover gender-affirming treatment failed.
One patient contacted today about the change, whose previously scheduled surgery will still take place, expressed worry about follow-up care or complications that might result from an upcoming gender-affirming surgery.
“This sent me personally into a massive tailspin,” they tell the Scene, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “What if there are complications? What if I need follow-up surgery? This is unbelievably horrific and affects essentially everyone in our immediate and broader community. This is not only a trans issue, this is an issue for everyone who calls Tennessee home. Are my options now to travel elsewhere for my needed health care?”
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the dominant health care provider in Middle Tennessee, and its flagship hospital in Midtown is the state’s only ACS-verified Level 1 Trauma Center.
Hannah Herner contributed reporting.
