I came across a new study this week that has really troubled me. It reveals a shocking increase in the number of “sex change” surgeries happening in the United States. What’s even more alarming is that these procedures have nearly tripled between 2016 and 2019, and a significant number of young people are undergoing procedures related to chest alteration.

The study was conducted by three medical doctors associated with Columbia University and the University of Southern California. They released a cohort study examining the surgeries done in the name of “gender affirmation” over a three-year period. This study was published recently in the JAMA Network Open journal.

What stood out from the study is that “breast and chest surgery” were reported as the most common procedures overall. There were fewer “genital reconstructive procedures,” which were more common among older individuals. It’s concerning to learn that despite claims from some LGBT activists, the study found that 7.7% of the individuals included, which amounts to 3,678 people, were between the ages of 12 and 18. This contradicts the belief that irreversible procedures aren’t being performed on minors.

The study, titled “National Estimates of Gender-Affirming Surgery in the U.S.,” looked at data from 2016 to 2019, involving 48,019 Americans who underwent various procedures. They gathered information from the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample and the National Inpatient Sample.

The results showed that 52.3% of the patients were aged 19 to 30, 21.8% were aged 31 to 40, and disturbingly, 7.7% were aged 12 to 18. The overall health system encounters related to gender identity disorder rose from 13,855 in 2016 to 38,470 in 2020. The study observed a consistent rise in billing codes related to surgical interventions, peaking at 37.1% in 2019 and slightly declining in 2020, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the patients who underwent ambulatory surgical procedures, a substantial 80.3% included gender-affirming surgical procedures. When it came to hospital admissions, 11.8% of admissions for gender identity disorder were for gender-affirming surgery.

The study highlighted that 56.6% of the surgical interventions for gender-confused individuals were breast and chest procedures, with the most common being breast reconstruction. Genital reconstruction accounted for 35.1% of the surgeries, and hysterectomy was the most prevalent procedure at 9.3%.

Interestingly, as the study pointed out, younger patients mainly underwent breast and chest procedures, while genital surgeries were more common in older patients. This might be due to the complexity of genital surgeries and the permanent nature of reproductive organ removal, as explained by the researchers.

Disturbingly, 15% of the patients experienced depression, and a significant number of surgeries were performed at urban, teaching hospitals. It’s also concerning that a considerable number of patients were from the Western United States and the Northeast.

This study sheds light on a concerning trend of increasing gender confusion, which seems to be influenced by factors like peer pressure, mental health issues, and social media. What’s even more worrying is that the impact of hormonal and surgical interventions on the mental health of gender-confused individuals has been misrepresented. It’s disheartening to see that the narrative around these interventions often ignores the potential negative effects, including higher rates of suicidality linked to cross-sex hormone use.

As a mom, I worry about the well-being of our youth and the influence of such interventions. It’s crucial for medical professionals, the media, and society as a whole to take a more balanced and cautious approach when it comes to irreversible procedures that can have such a profound impact on young lives.