Plastic Surgeon Specializing in Gender Affirming Surgery
Dr. Jens U. Berli, MD is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Portland, Oregon who specializes in Gender Affirming Surgery. He joined the Transgender Health Program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in 2016. Dr. Berli is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Head of the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at OHSU. He predominantly focuses on phalloplasty and gender-affirming facial surgery. He also offers chest procedures for transgender and non-binary individuals.
Dr. Berli is from Switzerland, where he went to medical school and graduated with the highest distinction. After graduation, he joined the general surgery program in his hometown of Zürich for two years. In 2010, Dr. Berli joined the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where he specialized in Plastic Surgery. It was at Johns Hopkins where he became interested in transgender health care and decided to dedicate his career to transgender surgery.
Since 2014, Dr. Berli has visited the top centers in the world for transgender surgery: 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.
Top Surgery in Oregon
To gain experience with Top Surgery, Dr. Berli spent three months working with Dr. Beverly Fischer, a Top Surgery expert who has performed over 900 FTM chest surgeries over the years. He also traveled to Thailand in January 2016 to learn techniques from Dr. Preecha. Dr. Berli is actively performing outcome research in Top Surgery.
Phalloplasty Expertise
Dr. Berli’s earliest experiences with Phalloplasty were with cisgender patients with congenital genital deformities at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He went on to supplement his education in Belgium, where he spent time with Prof. Salvatore D’Arpa and Prof. Stan Monstrey, arguably the world’s leading expert on FTM Phalloplasty. In 2015, Dr. Berli started performing gender-affirming Phalloplasty under Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langner at the University of Maryland. The following year, he spent elective time with the reconstructive urologists at Johns Hopkins Hospital to learn more about optimizing Phalloplasty outcomes.
In addition to clinical work, Dr. Berli has written book chapters on gender-affirming procedures, including a chapter on Phalloplasty for Flaps and Reconstructive Surgery, 2nd Edition and a chapter on preoperative preparation for genital surgery for Urological Care for the Transgender Patient, edited by Dr. Dmitriy Nikolavsky and Dr. Stephen Blakely.
Dr. Berli offers multiple types of Phalloplasty: RFF, ALT, combined ALT/RFF and Abdominal Phalloplasty.
Feminizing Surgery in Oregon
Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS)
Dr. Berli spent 8 months of his training focused solely on modern cosmetic surgery, and served as chief resident in cosmetic surgery. During his residency, he performed numerous craniofacial procedures requiring bone adjustments. His deep knowledge of reconstructive principles and cosmetic surgery inform his approach to Facial Feminization. Dr. Berli’s research interests include the effects of FFS on quality of life for transgender women. He is also involved in advocacy for improved access to FFS.
Dr. Berli also offers Breast Augmentation surgery for the trans female population. He uses the full range of available techniques and implants to give the most natural result possible. Adjunct techniques such as liposuction and fat grafting are offered to complement the results of both chest and body contouring.
Consultations with Dr. Berli
The cost of an in-person consultation with Dr. Berli is $75. (If you have insurance, this may be covered.)
Wait List
Dr. Berli has a 12-18 month wait time for a consultation, and depending on the procedure a 3-6 months wait time for a surgery date (depending on procedure) following consultation.
Financing and Insurance
Credit cards, checks and cash are accepted. Dr. Berli is also contracted with multiple insurance companies, including Oregon Medicaid and Medicare.
Surgery Requirements
Dr. Berli is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and follows WPATH guidelines for surgery. Depending on the procedure, one or two letters of recommendation from a mental health professional will be required.
