Gender Affirming Surgery

Patient Pathway Information

Throughout your patient journey to gender affirmation, our team is here every step of the way. In addition to providing quality care, we are also here to provide information about the patient pathway.

The patient pathway is a set of steps every patient takes before, during, and after their surgery. To get an idea of what your patient pathway may look like, see below:

1. Contact the Gender Affirming Surgery program at 312.355.6600, to request an appointment.
2. Our team will get you set up in our clinic’s system and learn more about the procedure you are interested in obtaining. Our team will send then send you or your guardian (if you are under 18 years old) a link to set up a MyChart account. When making the account please use your affirmed name, gender, and pronouns, and contact information.
3. Once that is complete, our nursing team will send out a welcome note and relevant documents for the surgery you have expressed interest in obtaining.

   

4. Next depending on the procedure, you have requested, you will need to obtain letters from a mental health provider and primary care providers/hormone prescribers.
5. Our clinical team and surgeons will then review the letters. Occasionally the letter may need some adjustments to fulfill general insurance requirements and WPATH guidelines.
6. All of our pre-operative requirements are based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care, Version 8.
   • Our clinical team can help match you with the appropriate provider for your surgical objectives.
7. Our team will schedule your consultation appointment with one of our surgeons.
8. The surgeon will write the decision for surgery and submit that along with the letters provided by you to your insurance for clearance. Depending on the procedure, you may be required to return for a secondary consultation.
9. Insurance submission is done 3 months before the anticipated surgery date. The billing department will submit the documents when we close to that time.
   • The time frame of the wait between consultation and surgery depends on having all the relevant documents and the specific surgeon's schedule. Once everything is submitted it usually takes about 6-8 weeks for a response.
10. Once the surgical clearance has been received, we will inform you of your intended surgical date.
11. You will need to get a medical clearance for surgery from your PCP within 30 days of surgery. Depending on medical history you may need additional surgical clearances.
12. A few weeks before your surgery date you will come in for a pre-operative appointment.
13. Before your surgery date, you will need to get tested for COVID-19.
14. Once you have received a confirmed negative COVID test you will come to the hospital for your scheduled surgery.
15. After your surgery, you will have post-op follow up depending on the procedure as well as your surgeon's preference.