Gender-Affirming Treatment and Transition Care

For More Information 855-855-6484

Overview

Duke Health offers a comprehensive array of health services to transgender, gender-diverse, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people. Our team of experts is trained to provide high-quality, compassionate care to individuals who are considering transitioning, going through the process, or have already completed their transition and require ongoing care. Many of our providers are members of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a non-profit, professional organization devoted to transgender health.

Gender Care Services

Comprehensive Transgender Care

Content

Trained providers offer a range of culturally sensitive, knowledgeable, medical services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community. We can help you if you are considering, going through, or have completed your transition. We provide wellness care that is specific to your individual needs right in our office. We also partner with specialists throughout Duke. Services you may receive at our family medicine clinic include:

Gender-affirming hormone therapy
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at high risk for HIV infection
Gynecological care, including birth control, menstrual suppression, and STD testing
Ongoing cancer screenings including pap smears, cervical exams, and referrals for regular mammograms and colonoscopies.

PrEP for People at High Risk for HIV Infection
If you have a primary care doctor and are at high risk for HIV, infectious disease providers in our specialized PrEP clinic prescribe therapy to prevent infection if you are exposed to the virus.

Transgender Care for Children and Adolescents
Our team of specialists provides quality, comprehensive, and compassionate family-centered care to transgender youth, gender-expansive youth, and children with differences of sex development. Our team includes a pediatric endocrinologist, pediatric urologist, adolescent medicine specialist, pediatric psychologist, and social worker. We work with specialists in gynecology, fertility, and family and community medicine to provide holistic, individualized care that considers all aspects of your child’s life.

Reproductive Health
Duke ob-gyn specialists offer comprehensive care and resources and support for all ages. Our care includes:

Family planning, including contraception and IUD placement
Pregnancy care, including high-risk obstetric care
Bleeding management
Hysterectomy surgery

Infertility Treatment and Fertility Preservation
We support LGBTQ+ people who want to start a family. The first step is a consultation to fully understand your health and priorities for family planning so our fertility specialists can tailor a care plan to meet your needs. It is important to understand your reproductive potential and plan ahead if you are currently transitioning or planning to in the future. Your planning process may include freezing eggs or sperm. Research has shown that both can be frozen and safely preserved, so you’ll have them available when you’re ready.

Medical Weight Management
Our lifestyle and weight management specialists can help you learn to manage your weight if it has been affected by hormone therapy or if you need to reach a weight loss goal to be eligible for surgery.

Call for an Appointment

919-660-5428

Gender Affirming Treatments and Procedures

Content

Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy
Our specially trained endocrinologists and family care providers provide gender-affirming hormone therapy to help transgender adults (ages 18 and older) achieve the changes they seek and live healthy, fulfilling lives.

Gender-Affirming Surgery
We offer several top surgery options to transgender, gender-diverse, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people who want their appearance to align with their internal identity. If, after a consultation with our doctors, you decide to pursue top surgery, we work toward a positive outcome that improves your physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. This may include other cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures.

Orchiectomy (Testicle Removal)
Orchiectomy may be performed to remove one or both testicles in transgender individuals. The procedure reduces the need for feminizing hormone therapy as your body will produce less testosterone.

Physical Therapy
Physical therapists offer personalized exercise plans to help you manage your weight when on hormone therapy, increase muscle strength and mobility, and help with body shaping. Physical therapy can also help you rehabilitate after surgery. It may be recommended to manage lymphedema after top surgery and to help with pelvic pain or discomfort.

Duke Health Supports the LGBTQ+ Community

Learn how Duke Health supports the LGBTQ community.

Learn More

Additional Services

Content

Mental Health Counseling
Transgender-specific counseling can help you manage depression, anxiety, and other conditions that affect your emotional health. It may be needed to confirm a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which can be an insurance prerequisite for some gender-affirming surgical procedures. We also offer support groups for transgender people ages 40 and older who are in the process of transitioning.

Gender-Affirming Voice Services
Our voice therapists and laryngologists offer gender-affirming voice services, including trans-competent voice evaluations and behavioral voice intervention, to transgender and gender-diverse adults and children. In-person and virtual appointments are available. We can help you alter your vocal pitch, intonation, timbre, nonverbal communication style, and more. Our Gender-Affirming Vocal Skills Virtual Group is open to transgender and gender non-conforming adults who want to practice their modified voices in a group setting.

Dermatology Treatments
Our dermatologists offer a variety of services designed to help you look and feel your best. These services may not be covered by health insurance. Check with your plan to determine what your out-of-pocket expenses may be.

Acne treatment: Hormones and other medications used during the gender transition process can cause skin changes, including acne. We offer a variety of medications and procedures to minimize acne.
Hair loss treatment: Hair loss on the scalp (balding) may accompany hormone therapy or result from naturally occurring testosterone -- for example, in transgender women. We treat hair loss as early as possible with oral and/or topical medications.
Permanent hair reduction: Laser hair removal can reduce unwanted hair on the face and body. This service requires multiple sessions.
Nonsurgical cosmetic procedures: Nonsurgical procedures like Botox injections and dermatologic fillers can be performed in our offices.

LGBTQ+ Equality Leader

Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital are recognized as LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and received perfect scores for providing patient-centered care, support services, and inclusive health insurance policies to LGBTQ+ people.

This page was medically reviewed on 03/29/2022