Kathmandu–Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) has successfully performed the country’s first gender-affirming (sex-reassignment) surgery on a transgender individual, according to the hospital officials.

A 25-year-old transgender patient from Janakpur underwent the operation. Surgeons utilized the patient’s own penile tissue to reconstruct female genitalia, helping align the individual’s physical characteristics with their gender identity.

The procedure was carried out under the leadership of Dr. Allarija Hamidiyan Jaromi, a visiting plastic surgeon, and coordinated by TUTH’s Plastic Surgery Department chief, Prof. Dr. Jaynman Shrestha. A full team of specialists participated, including surgeons Prof. Dr. Ishwar Lohani, Dr. Sangam Rayamajhi, Dr. Samit Sharma, Dr. Bikesh Rajbhandari, Dr. Himalaya Niroula, and resident doctors Anup Thapa, Sudip Pandit, Ashish Adhikari, Novel, Isha, and Aswin. Dr. Megha Koirala and Dr. Pankaj Joshi administered anesthesia.

Prof. Dr. Shrestha further announced that TUTH has established a dedicated ‘Gender-Affirming Clinic’ to regularly offer such services in the future.

This breakthrough marks a major advancement in transgender health care in Nepal, offering important surgical and support services within the country’s public health system.