Gender Surgery Fellowship

The Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery offers a 1 year fellowship in Advanced Gender Surgery. The fellow will be exposed to the full breadth of gender surgery with a focus on facial and genital gender affirming surgery. The fellowship is unique in that our trainees will also spend significant amount of time with our Urology colleagues and work in close collaboration with the Reconstructive Urology fellow. Our fellows are also exposed to the full multi-disciplinary aspect of gender affirming care through interactions and clinical exposure to: primary care, endocrinology, voice and speech, adolescent endocrinology, gynecology, mental health, social work and if desired fertility counseling and treatment. Participation in programmatic building and community engagement is desired; as well as involvement in monthly multi-disciplinary care discussions. 

Core surgical curriculum: 

  • Facial gender confirmation surgery
  • Laryngeochondroplasty 
  • Chest affirmation surgery 
  • Phalloplasty including erectile device placement 
  • Metoidioplasty 
  • Vagino and Vulvoplasty 
  • Body contouring 
  • Simple and complex genital revision surgeries

Qualifications include broad exposure in residency to microsurgery, facial trauma and aesthetic surgery.

How to apply

To apply, please email your CV, 2 letters of recommendation and personal statement to our program coordinator

Applications are currently being accepted through March 1, 2023 via email and interviews will be held in-person in April. Our interviews and match day are aligned with other academic gender surgical fellowships, so that applicants can apply broadly and evaluate all programs. 

Program Director

Dr. Jens Berli

Dr. Jens U. Berli is the Program Director for the OHSU Gender Surgery Fellowship. He is also the Program Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency Program. He specializes in gender affirming surgery and offers a full range of facial, chest and phalloplasty procedures for transgender individuals.

Dr. Berli received his medical degree from the University of Zurich. His residency was spent in general surgery/ortho-trauma at Triemli City Hospital Zurich, in Switzerland, and in general surgery and plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

He gained his experience in gender surgery by working closely with Dr. Beverly Fischer and Dr. Bluebond-Langner during his time in Baltimore. In 2016, he spent elective time with the reconstructive urologists at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Since 2014, Dr. Berli has been a visiting physician and traveling fellow at the premier centers for transgender health: Ghent University, Belgium; Preecha Aesthetic Institute, Bangkok, Thailand; St. Peter's Andrology Centre, London, U.K.; Belgrade Center for Genital Reconstructive Surgery, Serbia; and FACIALTEAM, Marbella, Spain.

Dr. Berli is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. His research interests include the effects of facial feminization on quality of life and the improvement of current phalloplasty designs. He is also involved in transgender advocacy and improved access for facial feminization.