The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) on Tuesday issued a statement recommending that surgeons avoid performing “breast/chest, genital, and facial gender surgery” on individuals under age 19.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) praised the statement, noting ASPS cited its report on pediatric gender dysphoria as evidence that sex-rejecting procedures lack sufficient support. The HHS release stated that ASPS found “there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio for the pathway of gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents.”
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hailed ASPS for “standing up to the overmedicalization lobby and defending sound science,” adding that the organization was helping protect future generations from irreversible harm.
While ASPS’s position statement addressed hormonal treatments, it specifically recommended delaying surgical interventions until age 19. The group cited a 2025 Department of Health and Human Services report which described pediatric gender-affirming care as involving “a rapid expansion and implementation of a clinical protocol that lacked sufficient scientific and ethical justification.”
The announcement follows a landmark medical malpractice ruling in New York, where a jury awarded $2 million to a 22-year-old woman who identified as male during adolescence after doctors were sued for administering gender-affirming treatments.
ASPS became the first major U.S. medical association to oppose gender transition surgeries for minors. Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary Jim O’Neill called it “another victory for biological truth in the Trump administration,” while Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, compared sex-rejecting procedures for minors to historical practices like lobotomies.
HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart emphasized that ASPS had joined HHS in ending “the tragic and irreversible practice of sex-rejecting procedures for minors.” Founded in 1931, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons represents more than 11,000 physicians specializing in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
The group’s statement highlights that most children with gender dysphoria experience resolution without medical intervention, while adolescents typically remit with treatment. It also notes that adolescent autonomy does not require medical professionals to provide sex-rejecting procedures unsupported by evidence.