The number of teenagers aged under 18 who have had breast removals in Canada has witnessed a sharp rise, according to data compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information for the National Post newspaper.
The new analysis reveals that hundreds of teenagers in Canada have had female-to-male “top surgery” or double mastectomies in the last five years.
The data shows that hospitalists and day surgery visits for bilateral mastectomies for gender reassignment surgery have seen a sharp rise. While 536 such surgeries took place in 2018-19, 985 of these surgeries took place in 2022-23.
There were a total of 4,071 visits involving gender-affirming mastectomies or breast reductions reported in Canada since 2018, with 602 of these procedures involving young people aged 18 and under.
303 such surgeries were performed on teeagers aged 17 and younger, with the youngest being a fourteen year-old.
The National Post, in its reporting of the figures, points out that the numbers are not fully inclusive, and the data excludes hospitals in Quebec along with surgeries performed in private clinics.
The data excludes ‘top surgeries’ performed in the McLean clinic, which states on its website that it has 20+ years experience in performing top surgeries, and has performed 2,500+ ‘gender affirming surgeries.’
One specialist in transgender health issues told the National Post that when applying for OHIP funding for people seeking top surgery, “50 to 70 per cent will go to McLean.” The Canadian clinic describes itself as “one of the leading providers of gender-affirming surgery.”
It explains double incision top surgery on its website, stating: “Through these procedures, we have helped thousands of transgender and non-binary patients live happier and healthier lives by diminishing feelings of gender/breast dysphoria.”
It shows before and after photos of clients who have had their breasts removed, ands explains the procedure in further detail, stating:
“A double incision mastectomy is a top surgery technique. As the name implies, two incisions are created on the bottom border of the pectoral muscle or the chest area. The skin is then lifted to surgically remove the breast tissues underneath. In double incision top surgery, the nipples are removed to be resized and repositioned by grafting to suit the new masculine appearance of the chest.”
“Your plastic surgeon may also recommend adding contouring with your double incision top surgery as a preventive measure for dog ears, which refers to the excess skin and fat that develops on the side of the incision site.
“A double incision mastectomy is an outpatient procedure that takes approximately two hours. General anaesthesia is used to make the process comfortable and painless.”
As the numbers of minors undergoing such procedures rises, public unease seems to be growing in Canada. This month saw protests in 77 Canadian cities over gender policies in schools.
Vancouver was one city which saw more than 1,000 people gather, from both sides of the debate, with heated scenes seen at counter-protests across the country, with many parents in attendance. Concern has been voiced around the impact of allowing teenagers to make irreversible changes to their bodies they may come to regret.
One prominent detransitioner is Chloe Cole, from the nearby US. In an interview with the UK Telegraph at the end of August, Cole said: “I was told transitioning would save me. It destroyed my life.”
The young woman, who has warned Congress about the impact of gender surgeries, is 19-years old. She says she experienced pressure to undergo surgery, and decided she no longer wanted to be male after undergoing surgery to remove her breasts.
The teenager from California underwent ‘top surgery’ when she was just 15 years old. She feels she was “railroaded” by doctors into doing so as a gender confused teen.
According to The New York Times, those who transition and then go on to detransition account for anywhere between 2 and 13 per cent of the transgender population.
“At its core, the issue that I am focusing on is totally apolitical,” she replies. “It is something that should concern everybody, regardless of party lines because it is tearing kids apart from their families, destroying their lives, and infecting institutions from health care to education,” Cole, who has become a household name in the US, told the paper.
The Canadian Gender Report, published in 2021, reported a ten-fold increase in referrals to gender clinics in Canada in the last ten years.
“BC Children’s Hospital, SickKids Hospital, and CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario) are all reporting a 10x increase in referrals over the past 10 years. At most clinics, the numbers of referrals are doubling every few years, if not faster than that. Further, new clinics have been created in this period. The exponential growth is unprecedented,” the report said.
Canada is not alone is seeing such an increase, with the number of children seeking gender identity treament having risen by two-thirds in the UK in less than two years, according to NHS figures from 2022.
Nearly 8,000 children were on a waiting list for NHS gender identity treatment, according to official figures from last year, adding to growing concern voiced by parents, politicians and medical experts.
Last week, Professor Donal O’Shea of Ireland’s National Gender Service warned that the HSE was attempting to establish a new “activist-led” transfender service, something he said would be dangerous for patients.
The leading medic spoke to The Irish Independent, as the HSE began recruitment for a clinical lead for transgender services, who would be responsible for introducing a new model of care and service for children and adults expereincing gender confusuion.
At present, children in Ireland are referred abroad for treatment. Professor O’Shea said he expected to be “silenced and sanctioned” for speaking out, however told the paper he was willing to put his leadership role on the line over his concerns.
“It’s more important to speak out when there is a culture in an organisation that is prepared to lie, intimidate, mislead and [use] funds to put vulnerable individuals at incredible risk,” he told the newspaper.
Back in February of 2023, the doctor said he believed the HSE was being “brainwashed” by transgender activists on the issue of teenagers changing gender.
The senior consultant endocrinologist criticised proposed legislation to allow Irish teenagers to change their sex at 16 without parental consent under ‘self-ID’ certification – adding that politicians are afraid to challenge transgender activists.
Speaking on Newstalk, he described as “incredibly dangerous” proposals to allow 16-year-olds to switch gender without parental consent.
“Giving a 16-year-old a cert that will allow them to access surgery in another country is incredibly dangerous. We know that people do that once they get the cert,” the clinician at the NGS at Loughlinstown said.
And he said that ‘no argument’ can be made sensibly in favour of self-declaration for teens. Self-declaration in this instance is where the Gender Recognition Act would apply to 16 year olds – even without parental consent – so that they can legally change sex by filling out a two-page form and then likely begin a medical process of transitioning or changing sex.