Former HMS Professor Sued Over Alleged Malpractice in Gender Surgeries

Former Harvard Medical School professor Curtis L. Cetrulo was sued for medical malpractice in July by two transgender patients who allege their phalloplasties were botched at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The plaintiffs, who filed separate suits anonymously, both reported complications after Cetrulo performed surgeries in 2021 and 2022 to construct their penises using abdominal tissue. They argue the procedures, performed as part of gender affirming care, were too experimental and that Cetrulo had not informed them of the possible risks.

Both patients said they experienced severe pain, permanent scarring, disfigurement, and disability, and had to undergo additional surgeries. One patient also alleges he had to have his penis removed altogether.

They have requested a jury trial and demanded financial compensation for pain and suffering experienced as a result of the surgeries.

Cetrulo, who was a professor at HMS from 2015 to 2023, is a well-known plastic surgeon and led the MGH team that performed the country’s first successful penis transplant. He was the clinical director of reconstructive transplantation service at MGH and an associate professor at HMS before he left in 2023 to join Cedars Sinai as a professor and surgeon. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.

MGH is also named as a defendant for retaining Cetrulo. A spokesperson for Mass General Brigham, which owns MGH, wrote that “no experimental gender-affirming surgeries have ever been performed in our program.”

“We strive to ensure patients are fully informed about risks and complications before procedures, empowering them to make the best decisions for their treatment,” they wrote. “Mass General Brigham’s transgender surgery program has extensive expertise in performing advanced gender-affirming surgery and uses the latest medical technology to ensure optimal outcomes.”

Phalloplasties, which are performed on patients who have experienced trauma or cancer in addition to transgender men, have become more common in the last decade. But unlike the procedures at the center of the suit against Cetrulo, most phalloplasties use tissue from the forearm instead of the abdomen.

The plaintiffs allege the procedures caused them significant mental and emotional distress, including depression and anxiety as a direct result of the defendant’s “negligent conduct.”

–Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at abigail.gerstein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.