'TikTok surgeon' Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher faces backlash from trans community over alleged botched surgery
The transgender community has turned on Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher, a Miami-based surgeon known for her work in gender confirmation surgeries, after a former patient posted graphic photos alleging a botched operation.
Gallagher, who has been criticized for performing elective surgeries on minors, has earned the nickname “TikTok Surgeon” for her advertising methods on social media. She has faced criticism from both conservatives and liberals critical of gender ideology, but recently, the transgender community has expressed outrage over the allegations of medical malpractice.
As detailed by the Daily Wire, one trans-identified female named Rylan complained of a double mastectomy surgery performed by the surgeon.
“In August of 2022, I flew to Miami, Florida to get top surgery from Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher,” wrote Rylan on Medium. “3 weeks later, a local surgeon had to rush me in to remove over half a foot of dead, rotting tissue. Gallagher dismissed every concern, including hollow cavities that formed on my ripped-open incision.”
Rylan described the ordeal by sharing graphic images of severely infected wounds, and included screenshots of correspondence with Gallagher.
Rylan’s video garnered the attention of more than 4.5 million people, receiving upwards of 100,000 likes and 14,000 comments. Many of those responding expressed their dismay over the botched procedure and called for Gallagher to be taken to account.
Rylan, a resident of Ohio, sought out Gallagher’s services because she is willing to operate on overweight patients.
“She's one of the only gender surgeons with no BMI cap in my country,” Rylan said.
However, after just four days, Rylan began to experience complications from the surgery. When she sent a photo of her wound, which was oozing and had extensive black-and-purple discoloration, Gallagher assured her it was just “bruising.”
On the day of her follow-up appointment, the incision had reopened and was “bleeding significantly.” Rylan alleges that Gallagher minimized the situation and even made a crude joke about menstruation.
“I was confused, because her TikTok page has videos where she says she’s never had an incision break,” Rylan said.
When Rylan emailed photos of her deteriorating condition from the hospital, Gallagher replied the following morning, allegedly minimizing her concerns and instructing her that there was "no need for the ER."
Throughout the ordeal, Rylan sent photos of her gaping wounds to Gallagher, who replied that they were "looking good" and "not infected." Ultimately, Rylan had over 6 inches of infected, necrotic tissue removed from her torso.
“I went under anesthesia 3 days later and woke up to a nurse telling me I could’ve gone septic without the surgery,” said Rylan. “Over half a foot of my left side had been killed by a bacteria that has a high mortality rate.“
As detailed in the blog, Rylan hired a medical malpractice lawyer in Miami who told her that Gallagher opted out of medical malpractice insurance. Florida is one of 32 states that don’t require physicians to have the insurance, which protects them from such lawsuits.
“The payout would not be enough to cover the cost of the case for a law firm, so lawyers are highly unlikely to help me sue her without that insurance,” said Rylan. “I was told she likely utilizes this loophole on purpose, knowing it leaves her victims powerless.”
Gallagher refuses to publicly comment on the issue, telling her audience that she values the confidentiality she enjoys with her patients, stressing that “the confidentiality laws here in the United States are very strict and I cannot discuss medical facts about the case.”

Ian Miles Cheong
Contributor
Ian Miles Cheong is a freelance writer, graphic designer, journalist and videographer. He’s kind of a big deal on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/stillgray