Fury as taxpayers slapped with £6.5m NHS bill for transgender breast removals
Trans mastectomies costing £5,800 per person are on the increase.
Taxpayers are footing a bill of some £6.5million for trans men to have their breasts removed on the NHS. In 2022-23, NHS surgeons carried out 734 trans mastectomies. The number increased to 1,115 in 2024-25.
Estimates reportedly from NHS England show each operation costs £5,800, suggesting over 2024-25 the total cost was £6,467,000. The figures, reported by the Telegraph, show a rise in chest surgery procedures.
Surgery to create an artificial penis have also risen, according to figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request.
In 2022-23, there were 270 such operations, rising to 322 this year. The procedure reportedly costs an average £32,000 per person.
The number of surgeries to make an artificial vagina fell from 420 in 2022-23 to 364 in 2025-26.
In a statement, an NHS spokesman said while overall surgeries fell by 16% last year, the broader increase reflects a global trend in more people coming forward for care for gender dysphoria.
Helen Joyce, Director of Advocacy at the charity Sex Matters, said: "Given that we know the vast majority of elective mastectomies relating to gender identity are performed on girls who haven't reached the crucial age of brain maturity at 25, the sharp rise in the number of these surgeries in recent years is a tragedy.
"These girls are at the peak age of being influenced by cultural and social activism and often cannot grasp the regret that they may later feel.
"We know of detransitioners who have become mothers and grieve that they cannot breastfeed their babies."
