Raichik Scaremongers About Phalloplasty
Chaya Raichik, or LibsofTikTok, is spotlighting the tragic loss of a trans man, Griffin Sivret, to demonize the entire community. She shouldn’t set the tone for this conversation. Let’s hear what Griffin had to say.
by Alyssa Steinsiek
Chaya Raichik, once more using her Twitter account “LibsofTikTok” as a weapon against queer people and those who support us, spent her Sunday targeting Dr. Oren Ganor, who is co-director of the Center for Gender Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ganor specializes in complex reconstructions, microsurgery, and gender-affirming surgeries. The specific (and completely unverified) allegation Raichik is leveling at Dr. Ganor is that one of his patients died on July 23rd, 2024 as a result of phalloplasty. It’s worth mentioning that Raichik has her own history with BCH.
According to Current Obituary, an online obituary repository, Griffin Sivret died on July 23rd at UMASS Memorial Medical Center. No cause of death was given. However, Griffin was very candid about his experience with phalloplasty on his TikTok account, inactive since October of 2022.
In one of his last uploaded videos, posted on July 6th, 2022, Griffin spoke about his experiences undergoing phalloplasty in 2021. He was deeply unhappy with Boston Children’s Hospital and Dr. Ganor, speaking about “urinary issues ranging from fistulas and strictures to complete bladder incontinence that went purposely untreated for months.”
"No matter what symptom I made apparent to them,” Griffin said, “and how severe it was, it was never significant enough for them to want to intervene in time."
In fact, at the time, Griffin suspected that he might not be alive had he not sought a second opinion after experiencing symptoms of “blood clots in [his] legs or in [his] lungs.” He said his post-surgery team “never diagnose [him] for weeks, and never performed any tests or exams or X-rays or scans.”
In a Reddit thread, posted by a user suggested by some to also have been Griffin Sivret, similar complaints were directed toward Dr. Ganor. Replies to the post are a mixed bag, some users praising Dr. Ganor’s work while others share their own negative experiences. The user’s surgery dates do coincide with Griffin Sivret’s own phalloplasty, but he never identifies himself by name, as is typical on the pseudo-anonymous website.
Nonetheless, this post and others, on the r/phalloplasty and r/ftm subreddits, provide a window into trans men’s views on and experiences with Dr. Ganor.
Phalloplasty, at least for trans people, is a complex surgery performed to construct a penis for patients born without one, most often but not always transgender men. Typical goals for phalloplasty include creating a “natural-looking” penis that allows the user to pee standing up and engage in sexual intercourse. Because the surgery is essentially a meshing of multiple surgical techniques to achieve the patient’s desired outcome, complications are very common, though rarely life threatening. 11% of phalloplasty patients reported “wound healing issues” in a study on penile reconstruction, but “nearly all healed with conservative measures.”
Many transgender men opt not to pursue phalloplasty, typically citing fear of complications and cost of surgery as the most salient reasons. For those who do undergo the procedure, less than 2% report regret, with 97% of patients reporting that they are “fully satisfied.”
There is no evidence that Griffin’s death in 2024 was a result of complications with his phalloplasty procedure in 2021. What is clear, however, is that Griffin never regretted his decision to undergo phalloplasty. In a video posted to TikTok he explained, “In no way am I implying that all surgeons who perform phalloplasty are bad; there are great surgeons out there, I just made the wrong choice ... there are surgeons out there who will help you survive and recover in every way possible, and there are surgeons out there that won't try their hardest.”
To others who might be in his shoes, Griffin advised, “If you're thinking about phalloplasty or actively pursuing it, just look for surgeons that have your best interest in mind, that give you complete transparency, and are committed to helping you the entire way through.”
So let’s forget about Chaya Raichik and, in the wake of his death, remember Griffin Sivret and his work to inform other trans people pursuing phalloplasty, and his willingness to share his own trans joy as he lived his life fearlessly and authentically, even when the going got tough.
Alyssa Steinsiek is a professional writer who spends too much time playing video games!
