Marci Bowers, M.D. of Burlingame, California, is acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of Gender Affirmation Surgery and is the first woman worldwide to hold a personal transgender history while performing transgender surgery. She is also the first US surgeon to learn the technique of functional clitoral restoration after Female Genital Mutilation/cutting (FGM/c).
Dr. Bowers is a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon with more than 32 years’ experience. She is a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate where she was class and student body president. After residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington, she practiced in Seattle at the Polyclinic and Swedish Medical Center.
Dr. Bowers left Seattle in 2003 to apprentice with the legendary Dr. Stanley Biber, considered the “Father of Transgender Surgery.” In 2010, Marci relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area community of Burlingame, CA. She has now performed more than 2250 primary MTF Vaginoplasties and 3900 Gender Affirming Surgeries overall. In 2014, Dr. Bowers was hired to renew transgender surgery at Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel. Subsequently, she initiated trans surgical education programs at Mt. Sinai (New York/2016), Denver Health (2018), the University of Toronto Women’s College Hospital (2019), Northwell Health (2020), and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (2020). The Mt. Sinai Transgender Surgical Fellowship is the first of its’ kind. Dr. Bowers performed WPATH’s first 2 “live surgery” vaginoplasties at Mt. Sinai in 2018 and 2019.
Dr. Bowers is the WPATH President-elect and currently serves on the Trevor Project Board of Directors having served previous terms with GLAAD and the Transgender Law Center. Her gender diverse work has been highlighted by appearances on Oprah, CBS Sunday Morning, Discovery Health and the TLC reality series, “I am Jazz”. She was interviewed in 2021 by Leslie Stahl for the CBS News program 60 Minutes. Dr. Bowers is recognized as one of the 100 most influential LGBT people on the Guardian’s World Pride Power List and one of Huffington Post’s 50 Transgender Icons, was called the Transgender Surgery Rock Star (Denver Post), the Georgia O’keefe of Genitalia (unknown) and the Beyonce of Bottom Surgery (KPFK-FM North Hollywood).
Resume/CV
Upcoming Conferences
Appearances and Articles
Marci’s Kitchen
Marci’s Bookshelf
Marci’s Quotes:
“Where there is diversity, there is hope.” Marci Bowers MD, 2018
“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Martin Luther King, 1853
“There but for the grace of God go I”, John Bradford
“Be kind, we all carry a heavy burden.” Unknown
“Aggression in the name of peace is aggression, not peace.” Marci Bowers MD
“Often, the most powerful weapon is restraint.” Marci Bowers MD
“There are seven human senses, not 5: sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, spiritual and sensual.” Marci Bowers MD, 2015
“The wealth of a nation should be measured not by its riches but by how it cares for its less fortunate.” Marci Bowers MD, 2014
“Peace will remain elusive until the world adopts a more feminine face.” Marci Bowers MD, 2012
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Frederic Douglass, 1857
“With great causes come great enemies.” Marci Bowers MD
“Sensual feeling is a basic human sense.” Marci Bowers MD
“It is morally inconsistent to preach the sanctity of life as a non-vegetarian.” Marci Bowers MD, 2006
“Eat less, Live longer.” Marci Bowers MD, 2003
