A person in Canada wants taxpayers to fund surgery to give him a vagina while maintaining a functional penis, in a one-of-a-kind case.
The 33-year-old Ontario resident was born male but identifies as non-binary, meaning they are not exclusively male or female “but literally a mix,” court documents show.
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) initially rejected the application on the grounds that the procedure is experimental and not performed in Canada.
But the patient, referred to only as KS, complained to the province’s appeals board, which overturned the decision, later prompting a cross-appeal.
The case is now in the hands of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which will issue its ruling in the coming months.
A non-binary person in Canada wants taxpayers to fund surgery to make him a vagina while maintaining a functional penis (file image)
It’s unclear how much the surgery will cost, but traditional “reassignment” procedures typically cost between $10,000 and $70,000.
In a similar case last June, OHIP funded the surgery of a 41-year-old public servant who had a penis built without removing her vagina and uterus, even though he initially denied the claim.
The cases reflect a small but growing demand for specific surgeries for people who identify with one of the most complicated gender groups.
According to court documents, KS has suffered from gender dysphoria since she was a teenager. They are non-binary, but they skew ‘transfeminine’ and are she/her-driven.
KS’s doctor, an Ottawa endocrinologist, gave testimony supporting his unusual surgery request.
“Having a vagina is very important to (KS) for his personal interpretation of his gender expression, but he also wants to keep his penis,” the doctor wrote in a letter of support.
“(KS) is transfeminine but not completely on the ‘feminine’ end of the spectrum (and) for this reason it is important for her to have a vagina and at the same time maintain a penis.”
KS argued that removing his penis would only make his gender dysphoria worse.
But critics told the National mail The request illustrates “the extent to which” gender-affirming treatment has gone off the rails.
“Our public health care system is stretched thin and really needs to focus on procedures that are medically necessary,” Pamela Buffone, founder of the parent group Canadian Gender Report, said in an email to the National Post.
‘Is this type of surgery medical care? The patient will not be physically healthier due to the operation, which will likely lead to complications and the need for corrective surgeries and increased demands on the healthcare system.’
If approved, KS will travel to the Crane Center in Austin, Texas, which specializes in various gender non-standard surgeries.
A senior surgeon at the clinic once boasted in a 2021 Facebook video that it offers “everything you can think of.”
In an interview with National Post, they said that around 10 surgeries similar to those at KS are performed at the center each year.
Typically, male-to-female genital surgery involves using tissue from the penis to create a vaginal canal and the organ’s glands become a clitoris.
But in the case of KS, surgeons will use skin grafts from the abdomen, colon or scrotum to create the vagina.
The goal of “phallus-preserving vaginoplasty” is to create a vagina that is “aesthetically pleasing” while “maintaining the original genital structure” of the penis, according to the New Jersey clinic Art Plastic Surgery.
The penis can still be used for sex or urination, he says.
But many doctors warn that the operation is risky and that the techniques used to perform it are not yet well known.