Publications by authors named "Jessica Kant"

Article Synopsis
  • Gender affirming surgeries help transgender and gender diverse individuals align their bodies with their gender identities, improving their mental health and overall wellbeing.
  • Regret rates after these surgeries are low, and they can enhance safety for transgender and gender diverse people in daily life.
  • The article reviews the types of surgeries, assessment protocols, and discusses the associated risks and benefits within the current U.S. sociopolitical context.
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As outlined in Estelle v Gamble (1976), the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution requires that states provide adequate care for people who are incarcerated-but what constitutes "acceptable" care under professional guidelines is frequently at odds with the standard of care used by clinicians outside of carceral facilities. Outright denial of standard care runs afoul of the Constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. As the evidence base that undergirds standards of care in transgender health has evolved, people who are incarcerated have sued to expand access to mental health and general health care, including hormonal and surgical interventions.

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Purpose: This study sought to prospectively examine the effects of gender-affirming chest reconstruction on gender congruence and chest dysphoria in transmasculine and nonbinary adolescents and young adults.

Methods: Individuals between the ages of 15-35 who were seeking gender-affirming chest surgery were enrolled as part of a broader, longitudinal study of transgender surgical experiences. Their chest dysphoria and gender congruence were measured at baseline, six months, and one year, using the Transgender Congruence and Chest Dysphoria scales.

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Although in most areas of practice, there is a reasonable expectation that doctors are sufficiently trained to offer care, this is not true in the case of gender-affirming procedures, which are not required learning in any surgical residency. At the current time, the field of gender surgery is too rapidly evolving, with available resources too scarce for fellowship or residency training to be a realistic requirement for offering these procedures, as the demand already outstrips the available workforce. However, patients are currently given too little information about surgeons' history with these procedures to provide truly informed consent.

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During and after the 2016 United States (U.S.) presidential election, discriminatory policies and stigmatizing rhetoric have been increasingly directed toward the transgender community at state and national levels.

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The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C (TNC) has received a lot of attention since its discovery 30 years ago because of its multiple roles in tissue repair, and in pathologies such as chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and cancer. Mouse models with high or no TNC expression have enabled the validation of key roles for TNC in immunity and angiogenesis. In parallel, many approaches including primary cell or organ cultures have shed light on the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which TNC exerts its multiple actions in vivo.

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