Lawsuit alleges UW Hospital surgeons performed gender-affirming surgeries without informed consent

A lawsuit filed in Dane County Circuit Court alleges two UW Hospital surgeons performed gender-affirming surgeries on a young woman without informed consent.

According to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday, Dr. Jay Lick performed a hysterectomy on the patient when she was 19, and Dr. Katherine Gast performed a double mastectomy on the patient when she was 21.

While in her late teens, the woman diagnosed herself with gender dysphoria, a clinical symptom defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics as "a sense of alienation to some or all of the physical characteristics or social roles of one's assigned gender." Gender dysphoria is also recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the guide used by mental health professionals in the United States.

The suit alleges malpractice and failure to obtain informed consent by both doctors, negligence by the hospital, discrimination under the Affordable Care Act against the doctors and the hospital, and the denial of benefits and care that would have been provided to a non-transgender woman, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, which first reported the lawsuit.

Eckland & Blando filed the case on behalf of the woman, now 23. Daniel Cragg, speaking to the Journal Sentinel from the firm's Minneapolis office, said Friday the complaint was under a temporary seal to protect the woman's identity. Cragg is lead attorney on the case. A hearing is set for Wednesday for a permanent protective order to conceal the woman's identity.

The case also names University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, the organization that owns UW Hospital, and the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, which compensates patients who are injured, or the family of those who die, as a result of medical malpractice cases.

The hospital declined to comment on specifics of the pending case but said in a statement Friday that "its providers care deeply for the health and well-being of patients and work hard every day to ensure patients receive the best possible care."

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health recommends that health care professionals assess whether a patient has had a persistent childhood history of gender dysphoria, especially emerging at the onset of puberty, to determine whether gender-affirming care is appropriate.

Any course of action, must include a team of health care professionals, mental health and medical professionals, to reach the best decision, according to the transgender health association.

The lawsuit comes as bills to ban or limit the activities of transgender individuals are increasingly popping up in state legislatures across the country.

A recent effort under way in Wisconsin would bar health care providers from conducting or making referrals for certain medical practices for youth under age 18 "if done for the purpose of changing the minor's body to correspond to a sex that is discordant with the minor's biological sex," according to a summary from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill, "Help not Harm," passed both houses of the state Legislature last month. Gov. Tony Evers has said he will veto the bill.

Jessica Van Egeren is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's enterprise health care reporter. She can be reached at jvanegeren@gannett.com. Natalie Eilbert contributed to this report.