Breast removal operations on NHS surge 50 per cent in two years

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 09:54 · Archive

The number of breast removal operations on the NHS for people assigned female at birth who identify as male rose 52 per cent to 1,115 in 2024-2025.

The number of breast removal operations, known as masculinising chest surgery, on the NHS has risen sharply in recent years. In 2022-2023, 734 such procedures were carried out. This rose to 904 in 2023-2024, then 1,115 in 2024-2025, representing a 52 per cent increase over two years. A further 933 operations have already been recorded in the current financial year.

Each operation costs approximately £5,800 according to NHS England estimates, bringing the total cost for 2024-2025 to around £6.5 million. This represents 0.003 per cent of NHS England's total budget of £187 billion. The figures were obtained through freedom of information requests and reported by the Telegraph.

Procedures are only carried out on adults who have been referred by a specialist in an NHS England-commissioned gender identity clinic after assessment for gender dysphoria. An official review found that most patients accessing these clinics were between 18 and 25 years old.

Operations to construct an artificial penis, known as masculinising genital surgery, have also risen, from 270 operations in 2022-2023 to 322 in 2025-2026, at an average cost of £32,000 per patient. By contrast, feminising genital operations, which involve creating an artificial vagina at roughly £10,000 each, have declined from 420 in 2022-2023 to 364 in the current year. Across all three categories of gender reassignment surgery, the NHS is spending an estimated £21 million annually.

No procedures were performed on patients under 18. An NHS spokesman said that whilst overall surgeries fell by 16 per cent 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, expressed concern about the rise, stating that the majority of elective mastectomies relating to gender identity are performed on girls who have not reached the age of brain maturity at 25.

How it is being reported

• Taxpayer footing £6.5m NHS bill for transgender breast removalsTrans mastectomies costing £5,800 per person are on the increase.Daily Express · 1 Nov, 09:43
• Taxpayers shell out £6.5m NHS bill amid huge surge in trans patients wanting breast removalBritish taxpayers are footing a £6.5million bill for soaring rates of breast removal operations on the NHS, new data has revealed. In the 2024-25 financial year, 1,115 such procedures were performed, a 52 per cent jump from the 734 mastectomies conducted in 2022-23. NHS England estimates each operation costs £5,800, leaving taxpayers with an annual bill of up to £6.5million. The data, secured through freedom of information requests, expose for the first time the steep upward trajectory of what clinicians term “masculinising chest surgery”. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say In 2022-23, 734…GB News · 31 Oct, 19:59
• Number of women having breasts removed on the NHS because they identify as men has soared 50 per cent in two yearsSome 1,115 operations to remove breasts from people assigned female at birth who now identify as male took place on the NHS in 2024-2025.Daily Mail · 31 Oct, 16:57

In this story: NHS England · Telegraph · Sex Matters · Helen Joyce

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log