Patients are feeling distraught after hearing that a Worcester hospital abruptly canceled all appointments with a highly regarded doctor known for performing gender-affirming surgeries.
“I’m crushed. I can’t stop crying,” said one patient, Avery. GBH News agreed to use a pseudonym due to her fear of repercussions for speaking publicly. “This surgery was life-changing because it finally gives me the body that’s right for me. It has been ripped away with no explanation or follow-up plan.”
Avery’s vaginoplasty, or bottom surgery, at UMass Memorial Health was scheduled for next month and booked nearly a year ago. She had spent months preparing and even switched to a more expensive insurance plan that would cover the procedure. After she received a call that the surgery was canceled, she pressed for answers. A hospital staff member told her that all of Dr. Ashley Alford’s appointments had been canceled, without providing any further explanation.
The abrupt cancellations and lack of clarity have left patients scrambling. Some have waited years for the opportunity to undergo bottom surgery and feel comfortable with their bodies. Now, they’re questioning whether Alford’s sudden unavailability means UMass Memorial is shutting down its vaginoplasty program as the Trump administration pressures medical providers to stop engaging in gender-affirming care.
GBH News spoke with six of Alford’s patients for this story. They all said they’ve received calls over the last two weeks that their upcoming appointments at UMass Memorial were canceled, or they’ve been unable to schedule future visits. The patients said when they asked to reschedule, hospital staff told them that’s not possible right now.
UMass Memorial declined to provide a reason for the cancellations or say whether Alford’s patients would be referred to another doctor. But in a statement, the health system denied that it’s curtailing gender-affirming care.
“Although appointments may at times need to be canceled or rescheduled due to the availability of a specific provider, nothing has changed in UMass Memorial Health’s commitment to providing comprehensive, evidence-based health care, including gender affirming care, to all members of our community,” the statement read.
GBH News also contacted Alford. She said she’s unable to comment on this story.
“She’s the surgeon that has given me a new lease on life.”Hannah Garceau, a patient of Dr. Ashley Alford
Alford has been the only surgeon in Massachusetts to provide gender-affirming vaginoplasties outside of Boston. When she joined UMass Memorial in 2023, she introduced a modern surgical technique never before used in New England. The process involved utilizing abdominal tissue and robotic technology to create a more realistic and functional vagina than more commonly practiced procedures.
Several of her patients call her the best vaginoplasty surgeon in New England because of her technique and kind demeanor. They said she made them feel comfortable throughout an intimidating process.
“I just felt so much of a stronger connection with her than other surgeons I’ve met with,” said Danielle, who’s also using a pseudonym and hoped to undergo the procedure later this year. “This is a very big, stressful surgery, but she spoke with a confidence, and it felt not arrogant. It felt very reassuring.”
Another patient, Hannah Garceau, already underwent a vaginoplasty but needs a follow-up procedure. Garceau said she was supposed to meet with Alford in late January to discuss the follow-up surgery.
After the hospital informed her the appointment was canceled, Garceau said she called back asking to reschedule. She recorded the call and shared the recording with GBH. A staffer told Garceau they can’t reschedule right now, and added, “I think there’s been some changes. So I’m not sure exactly what’s going on.”
Garceau said she’s now worried she won’t be able to have the follow-up operation with Alford.
“She’s the surgeon that has given me a new lease on life,” Garceau said. “You want to stay with the same captain on the ship, specifically with bottom surgery because it’s such a vulnerable thing that you’re opening up to a surgeon about.”
The sudden cancellations come as the federal government has pushed medical centers nationwide to stop providing gender-affirming care to children and teens, including proposing rules that would withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding from health care facilities that provide that care.
In response, many hospitals and clinics across the country — including Fenway Health in Boston — stopped providing medical treatments like puberty blockers and hormones to minors.
Gender-affirming surgeries for teens were rare even before the current Trump administration came into office. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently recommended that doctors wait until a patient is 19 years old to perform a surgical procedure.
At UMass Memorial, Alford didn’t perform bottom surgery on anyone under 18.
Still, some patients fear UMass Memorial is especially susceptible to federal funding pressures. Last fiscal year, the health system reported a $159.7 million operating loss, and it cut multiple programs around Central Massachusetts.
Chrissi Bates, an advocate for transgender healthcare who was Alford’s first patient to undergo the surgery, suspects those factors are the reason behind Alford’s sudden unavailability.
“We all love Dr. Alford. We all doubt that it’s her that wants to leave,” said Bates, who planned on seeing Alford for post-op appointments. “It’s really disheartening to hear that UMass is just caving to this unjust kind of healthcare agenda that’s being pushed by the Trump administration.”
Bates and other patients say they’re losing hope that Alford will resume her practice at UMass Memorial, but they want the hospital to at least be more transparent about what’s going on. That way they can know whether they can follow Alford to a new hospital or will have to begin the process of searching for a new surgeon.
Kara Earp — whose surgery with Alford was supposed to be in April before it was canceled — has already scheduled a consultation with a doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. But Earp is worried that Beth Israel and other hospitals could also stop performing bottom surgeries.
“If it is Dr. Alford being pushed out due to concerns from the Trump administration, who’s to say that’s not going to happen in Boston,” said Earp, who moved to Massachusetts from North Carolina a couple years ago to seek gender-affirming care. “I probably won’t actually be happy until I wake up from surgery and it’s all over with.”
