By Dylana Milobar

Better access to gender-affirming surgeries on the way for Kamloops residents

Nov 16, 2018 | 9:13 AM

VANCOUVER – Kamloops is one of the B.C. communities receiving surgeons specializing in publicly funded gender-affirming surgeries.

In a release today, the B.C Government has announced transgender people in the province will soon have access to these surgeries, as British Columbia becomes the first province in western Canada to offer these procedures next year.

“The trans community has advocated over a number of years for improved access to care, including access to complex lower surgeries within B.C.,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, in a release. “For those seeking lower surgery, people were required to travel to Montreal or to the U.S., resulting in additional medical risks associated with travelling long distance after surgery and in receiving followup care if there were complications.”

The reconstructive, gender-affirming surgeries will be available within Vancouver Coastal Health, starting in 2019.

In addition, trans people throughout the province now have improved access to publicly funded gender-affirming chest and breast surgeries. A total of 14 surgeons will provide these surgeries in Burnaby, Kamloops, Kelowna, Port Moody, Prince George, Vancouver and Victoria.

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Kamloops Pride President Sam Numsen says they’ve heard anecdotally of struggles the trans and gender diverse community faces with local access to inclusive health care.

“While certainly not every trans person or gender diverse person includes surgery as part of their transition, we’re certainly very pleased to hear that people in B.C will have easier access to this vital and affirming health care should they so choose,” He explains, “I think we’ll wait to see how this goes, with the changes to bring these surgeries to B.C in 2019, but I think its a good step forward, and its a real affirming step from the provincial government for our trans folks.”

Trans Care BC’s Medical Director, Dr. Marria Townsend says its great that a local plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Kamloops decided to get more involved with inclusive health care.

“A number of surgeons were trained back in February by the surgeons who have been providing the gender affirming upper surgeries over the last several years. So there was one surgeon from Kamloops who participated in that training, and so that is the one who will be providing care in the region.”

Dr. Townsend says the training was mostly adding on to what the surgeon already had performed and knew how to do.

“So some cultural sensitivity, and additional training around the techniques used for this particular patient population.”

Lorraine Grieves, director of Trans Care BC says with increased access to doctors and medical experts who know about health care for trans people, they have seen an increase in demand for the gender-affirming surgeries.

“When we were planning the Trans Care BC program, we heard from trans communities that training more surgeons and establishing a surgical program for lower surgeries in B.C. was crucial to improving access to this care,” she says. “It’s very rewarding to know that after years of planning and collaboration, people will soon be able to receive gender-affirming surgeries closer to their home communities and support systems.”

In the past, to get publicly funded gender-affirming breast or chest augmentation procedures, patients had to travel to Vancouver or Victoria, while those seeking lower body surgeries had to go to Montreal or out of Canada.

“We are proud to be the first province in western Canada to provide these surgeries,” said Dix in the release. “While B.C. funded these surgeries, they weren’t being delivered close to home and support systems, and that is what we are changing now. This is about bringing care closer to home and offering an enhanced, more efficient, cost-effective solution.”

Around one per cent of the population identifies as trans, which is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of people whose gender differs from their assigned sex at birth. In B.C., an estimated 46,000 people identify as trans or gender diverse. 

The number of people travelling out of the province for lower surgeries has been growing every year, with roughly 100 people going outside of B.C. annually for care.

Trans educator, Gwen Haworth says in the release, this will be an important move for trans people all around B.C

“Having personally travelled out of province to access similar care, this is a significant step forward in improving the patient journey for British Columbians requiring these procedures. Offering services closer to home reduces additional stress, uncertainties and expenses for individuals and their families. It’s reassuring to know that we will have improved access to experienced care providers throughout the entire process, within our home province.”

Over 200 chest and breast surgeries are expected to take place throughout the province in the coming year.

The expanded access to gender-affirming surgeries is part of the Province’s new B.C. Surgical and Diagnostic Imaging Strategy, supported by ongoing targeted funding of $75 million from the Ministry of Health in 2018 and 2019, which will be increasing to $100 million in 2019 and 2020.