In a first-ever victory of its kind, a detransitioner has won a lawsuit against the psychologist and plastic surgeon who’d allegedly encouraged and approved her gender transition at the age of 16.
Now 22, plaintiff Fox Varian sought and received gender transition surgery in 2019. She later came to deeply regret the decision.
“I immediately had a thought that this was wrong, and it couldn’t be true,” Varian previously testified regarding the immediate moments after she’d received her chest surgery, according to The Epoch Times.
She also testified that the surgery left her with nerve pain that she described as “searing hot … ripping sensations across my chest.”
“Shame — I felt shame,” her previous testimony continued. “It’s hard to face that you are disfigured for life.”
BREAKING: 1st Detransitioner to Take a Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit to Trial Wins $2 Million Judgement
Fox Varian sued her Westchester, NY, area psychologist and plastic surgeon for the gender-transition mastectomy she got at 16.
I was the only reporter to attend the entire… pic.twitter.com/4e89PSgGDg
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) January 31, 2026
During the trial, Varian’s attorneys argued that her psychologist, Dr. Kenneth Einhorn, and surgeon, Dr. Simon Chin, had incorrectly diagnosed her with gender dysphoria.
They pointed to a referral letter that Einhorn wrote in 2019 to Chin in support of Varian’s desire to have gender transition surgery.
“Varian’s attorneys said that since the letter contained some omissions and inaccuracies, Chin didn’t have a clear picture of his patient’s psychological history,” according to the Times.
Einhorn and Chin’s attorneys, meanwhile, maintained that Varian hadn’t ever expressed any regret for the procedure until 2023, the year she filed the suit.
In fact, they alleged she was “happy” after the surgery and continued to live as a trans man for years afterward. As evidence, their attorneys read from an essay Varian had written 10 months after receiving the surgery.
“It’s such an immense relief to wake up and not feel at odds with my body,” the essay read.
While on the witness stand, Varian blamed the essay on “cognitive dissonance.”
She also noted that, prior to the surgery, she’d told Chin’s staff that she’d “felt pressure to decide” on a gender identity “by family, friends, and culture.”
She also admitted to continuing to question her gender identity but being afraid to bring that up because she might “lose credibility.”
“Einhorn said he might not have written the letter had he known; Chin also testified that had he known Varian was unsure of her gender identity, he would not have performed the surgery,” the Times notes.
In coming years the floodgates will open as more go to trial. What was done to these kids is a crime against humanity. An unforgivable evil that must be extinguished from the earth. Never again. The damage these kids carry is heartbreaking. https://t.co/I7RlQSbdNH
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 31, 2026
Einhorn and Chin’s attorneys pushed back by arguing that Varian was the one who’d pushed for a male gender identity, not them.
“[D]efense attorneys argued that Varian, not Einhorn, had spurred decisions like using ‘he/him’ pronouns, cutting her hair short, and changing her name from Isabelle to Gabriel, then Rowan, then Fox,” according to the Times. “They said the decision to wear a chest binder, and later the breast removal, were also her idea.”
But funnily enough, Varian’s attorneys also pushed back by making the case that this blind acceptance of whatever she wanted was the very issue at hand.
“Whatever the kid wants, the kid gets,” they said in closing arguments.
Varian’s mother, Claire Deacon, also took the stand to testify that she had consented to the gender transition surgery out of the fear that her daughter would commit suicide otherwise. Einhorn and Chin’s attorneys pushed back this time by pointing to similar suicide threats Varian had made, and by also noting that the idea of suicide hadn’t come from them.
The jury ultimately sided with Varian, awarding her $1.6 million for pain and suffering, and another $400,000 for any future medical expenses.
“The jurors found that in many respects the surgeon and psychologist had skipped important steps when evaluating if she should go forward with the surgery and had not adequately communicated with each other,” the Times notes.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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