Consultations are typically optional in order to have surgery unless your transition, medical, and/or social history may impact Dr. Bowers’ surgical plan and/or insurance coverage. Some examples include – if you started hormone replacement therapy before 18, you are interested in a vaginal deepening/re-opening revision, and/or you are *non-binary/gender non-conforming. To schedule a consultation, please call our office at (650) 570-2270.

*We’ve found that our non-binary/gender non-conforming patients experience more difficulty from their insurance companies. Therefore, Dr. Bowers requires a consultation as an additional safeguard and assurance to help us gain insurance coverage should the time come.

In order to set up a surgery date, you must complete our surgery application and submit a non-refundable $1,000 surgery deposit. Despite our reputation of having a long surgery waitlist, with the addition of Dr. Sven Gunther to our practice, we are currently able to find suitable surgery dates, for either surgeon, within one to two years. For those ready to move forward ASAP, please supply all necessary pre-surgical documentation to be added to a swiftly moving cancellation list.

Inpatient Surgery

Please complete the following application if you want to apply for Gender Affirming Vaginoplasty (GAV) or Vaginal Deepening Procedure (VDP). You may also indicate other procedures you would like to undergo along with GAV on this application. Submit along with a non-refundable $1,000 deposit.

This application can also be downloaded as a PDF and viewed with Adobe Reader or compatible software. Please fill out, sign, and date. Fax to (650) 570-2283, mail to Trinidad, CO address, or email to mail@marcibowers.com. See also: Inpatient Surgery Application (Spanish)

Checks should be addressed to Marci L. Bowers, MD. You may also call our office at (650) 570-2270 to run a credit card over the phone.

Outpatient Surgery

Please complete this application if you want to apply for a labiaplasty, orchiectomy, Vaginal Re-opening Procedure (VRP), and/or tracheal shave, NOT GAV. Submit along with a non-refundable $1,000 deposit.

Preparation

While waiting for your surgery date, follow the link to read about what you can do to be as prepared for your surgery as possible such as genital hair removal, psychiatric evaluations, etc.

Insurance

Our office is currently negotiating with insurance companies to be able to accept a reasonable reimbursement for Gender Affirming Surgery. If you expect your insurance to cover your surgery, our office is happy to assist you with filing the claims on your behalf. We must first get pre-approval from your insurance company starting about 6 months prior to your scheduled surgery date. If we are able to get pre-approval, you may be required to pre-pay a portion or the total amount of Dr. Bowers’ surgical fees. You will be reimbursed only anything above your contracted deductible/coinsurance rate which varies and depends on your network status with the insurance company.

Also, please understand that in most cases, Dr. Bowers’ office will not be able to go forward with pre-authorization if you have a Medicare, Medicaid or Medicaid managed plan.

Our office will contact your insurance company for pre-authorization 6 months before your surgery date, and contact you for all of your insurance information at that time. YOU ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE ALL INSURANCE ID CARDS AND INFORMATION, regardless of expected coverage of each plan. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE US WITH ALL OF YOUR INSURANCE INFORMATION, YOU MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FULL CHARGES AFTER THE SURGERY, EVEN IF WE HAVE PRE-AUTHORIZATION.