American Society Of Plastic Surgeons Recommends Delay Of Gender Surgeries Until 19

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons issued a position statement on Feb. 3, 2026 recommending surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital and facial surgeries until a patient is at least 19, ASPS said.

ASPS said it found "insufficient evidence" that benefits outweigh harms, citing the Cass Review and the 2025 Department of Health and Human Services report while noting the statement is not a clinical guideline, the group said.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the ASPS guidance and Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill called it "a victory for biological truth," while the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health reiterated cautious, case-by-case approaches, their statements show.

Research published in JAMA found fewer than 1,000 U.S. minors undergo gender-related surgeries annually, most of them chest procedures, and ASPS represents more than 11,000 physician members, records and studies show.

The ASPS statement comes as HHS proposed rules in Dec. 2025 would bar Medicaid funding for such procedures at hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals have paused some care for minors, and the AMA said it now generally defers surgeries to adulthood, officials said.