US clinics have performed breast removal surgeries on 180 girls under the age of TWELVE since 2017, new transgender data shows

Data shows that since 2017, hundreds of girls aged 12 and under have undergone mastectomies in the US.

According to an analysis seen by DailyMail.com, more than 6,000 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 underwent gender confirmation surgery during that period.

This comes after the Biden administration first spoke out against transgender surgeries for children in June, marking a major reversal from its previous stance.

Leading Democrats, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, have previously claimed that sex reassignment surgery “doesn’t happen to children.”

Researchers at the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute conducted what they call the largest-ever analysis of transgender care for minors, reviewing more than 4 billion insurance claims from 155 million people between 2017 and 2023.

In total, they found that between 5,288 and 6,294 children under the age of 18 underwent “top surgery” in the six years they were studied.

A ‘top surgery’ or double mastectomy is a form of gender affirming care in which the breasts are removed to masculinize the chest.

There were also 50 to 179 girls aged 12 and under who they said had undergone the procedure.

The team calculated two estimates, one “conservative” – ​​which included only children who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria – and one “liberal” – which also looked at children who had been diagnosed with other conditions, such as an endocrine disorder, and who subsequently underwent a double mastectomy.

According to the researchers, doctors sometimes register a child suffering from gender dysphoria as having another condition.

However, the team said their figures may be an underestimate because they do not contain procedures paid out of pocket.

Puberty usually begins around the age of 10 or 11 in girls. Breast development is the first physical change that adolescents experience.

The map above shows the states that have banned aspects of gender-affirming care for children

Surgery to remove the breasts leaves long scars on the chest below the nipples, and also puts young people at risk of serious infection or loss of sensation in the breast or nipple area. It cannot be reversed.

At least 23 Republican states have banned the surgery for minors, citing concerns about the health effects and the ability of young people to understand the consequences of the procedures.

But at the federal level, there is no age limit for gender confirmation surgery or other gender-affirming care.

In their analysis, the researchers analyzed insurance claims data from health systems, data aggregators and other health databases across the country.

Data were analyzed from patients diagnosed with gender dysphoria who subsequently underwent double mastectomy or “top surgery.”

A previous research letter published by JAMA suggested that there were only 489 “top surgeries” per year in 2019 – far below the estimates for this study.

But it was based on the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample, which includes only 34 states and an estimated 68 percent of the U.S. population.

In a separate study in JAMAit was suggested that 3,678 children aged 12 to 18 underwent gender confirmation surgery between 2016 and 2020 — or about 735 per year.

This included those who underwent top surgery, as well as facial feminization or masculinization surgery. It is not common to undergo genital surgery.

Another one analysis A study from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Health System found that only 209 minors underwent top surgery between 2013 and 2020. Ten of them were between the ages of 12 and 13.