The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) tracks surgeries performed on transgender veterans to address problems arising from initial gender reassignment surgery, despite the potential for devastating or dangerous complications. Not yet.
The Veterans Affairs Health System allows and pays for revision surgery for complications that may arise from the initial surgery to create an anatomy similar to that of the opposite sex, according to an agency fact sheet. It is described in. show. People who undergo extensive sex reassignment surgery can suffer from painful complications that interfere with daily bodily functions, but the Department of Veterans Affairs is concerned with how well veterans are treated to address those issues. He said he did not know if he would require medical treatment.
“The VA does not collect data specific to gender reassignment surgery, such as indications for surgery,” the VA said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The Veterans Administration does not have or cannot readily provide data on hormonal and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria, particularly procedures needed to repair physical damage caused by previous surgeries on healthy genital areas. is completely unreliable,” Elaine Donnelly, director of the Center for Military Readiness, told DCNF.
Current regulations prohibit the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs agency responsible for veterans' health care, from conducting initial gender change procedures. These include vaginoplasty, which constructs a false vagina in men, and phalloplasty or meniscalplasty, two different surgeries that surgically construct a false penis in women.
“Should we be collecting data? Yes,” Dr. Carrie Mendoza, director of Genspect USA, an organization that advocates for evidence-based care for “gender nonconforming people,” told DCNF. (Related: Biden Veterans Confirm Authenticity of Memo Banning Iconic World War II Photos from Facilities)
Complications can include chronic non-healing wounds, incontinence, infections and chronic pain, she said. Gender reassignment surgery can also result in problematic scar tissue and fistulas, “these are connections between two openings that shouldn't be there,” Mendoza added.
“These will trigger the need for revisions,” she told DCNF.
When asked how often such complications occur, she said, “No one knows.”
“The lack of specificity around coding makes case counts inaccurate. We don't know the answer because it's not tracked systematically,” she said.
It's unclear how many transgender veterans who have undergone early transition surgery are being cared for by the Veterans Administration.
A 2014 study conducted by the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law. Estimation Up to 134,300 veterans identify as transgender.
In 2017, the VA estimated that approximately 5,000 transgender veterans received medical care from the VA. according to In the 2017 statement.another study Covering Over a seven-year period from 2006 to 2013, 2,600 veterans who identified as transgender were found to have received some form of medical care from the Veterans Administration.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is highlighting its efforts to include transgender veterans. To tell We are making it a policy priority.
VA continues to expand and adjust its services to address the unique concerns and needs of LGBTQ+ veterans, ensuring that support, from health care to housing, is provided without shame, fear, or stigma. I am. See below for more information on available resources. https://t.co/2cXc69lAQH. #PrideMonth pic.twitter.com/agaCADcT3v
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) June 16, 2022
According to the fact sheet, VA medical plans already cover a variety of transgender treatments, including gender reassignment hormones and prosthetics such as breast binders, and provide letters of support for gender reassignment surgeries to surgeons and private insurance companies. It's planned. Denis McDonough has announced plans to allow large-scale gender reassignment surgeries in 2021. according to But he delayed signing a final rule that would formally authorize VHA facilities to perform the procedure.
This regulation has been delayed by the PACT Act, a sweeping law that could expand veterans benefits to millions of Americans. according to Go to Military.com. McDonough said the department needs to analyze the impact of the PACT law as it relates to transgender veterans, including how many new transgender veterans enroll and what services they seek. .
“The Veterans Administration does not perform such surgeries and does not pay for them. But if something happens, we will be there to help the veteran.[sic] Problems may occur after transition surgery. “If complications occur after surgery, VA will provide medically necessary care to veterans,” said Michael Michael, director of VHA's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Plus (LGBT+) Health Program. Dr. Kaus said in a 2017 statement.
2020 Government Accountability Report found The VA said it does not collect data on veterans' gender identity. In January 2022, VHA updated its medical registration forms to include a field for so-called self-identifying identity data that will be displayed in the agency's electronic records system.
It wasn't until September 2022 that VHA completed its analysis of initial gender identity data and compared it, where possible, to sex at birth. Said Finally, I conclude with a recommendation for VHA.
GAO said the changes were made “to assess the health status of transgender and gender diverse veterans.”
DCNF previously reported that doctors at at least one Veterans Affairs facility have discussed how to manage potential complications arising from major sex-reassignment surgeries, which are among the largest in phalloplasty cases. It can occur in 50% of cases and is less common with other genital surgeries.
Emails obtained by DCNF discussing funding proposals to contract surgeons, purchase equipment and hire nurses and staff for so-called Comprehensive Gender Confirmation Surgery Centers (CGASCs) include staff from the VA and Seattle Children's Hospital. This indicates that medical practitioners view complications positively. light.
“This seems like an opportunity to seek additional resources (beyond what's in the original proposal) to strengthen the program we're proposing,” said Dr. Alexander Skokan, assistant professor of urology at the university, wrote: His April 9, 2023 email obtained by DCNF.
“They're probably not sure that our proposal is strong enough. [of] So this is probably an important part of strengthening our application,” he added, referring to VHA.
At the time, Skokkan said, veterans with medical complications likely received community care referrals from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the University of Washington School of Medicine. Although the facility was prepared to manage minor complications and some chronic problems such as post-vaginoplasty urethral strictures, it was unable to address more complex problems.
Mendoza told DCNF that documenting complications is important to understand how transition surgery reduces complications and the need for revision.
“We don't want substandard health care specifically for veterans, we want it for everyone,” Mendoza said.
Donnelly told the DCNF that dealing with complications from gender reassignment surgery can deplete veterans' health care budgets.
“Procedures undertaken to 'affirm' a person's synthetic sexual identity are extremely expensive, sometimes debilitating, and in some cases lifelong. “The spending demanded by transgender activists could significantly deplete resources that would otherwise be used to meet the medical needs of the vast majority of veterans,” Donnelly said.
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