A surgical legacy built on innovation, compassion and excellence.
The Beginning: Dr. Stanley Biber, Father of Modern Gender Affirming Surgery
The story of Legacy Surgical Partners begins with Dr. Stanley Biber. After graduating from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and serving as a surgeon in a MASH unit during the Korean War, Dr. Biber moved to Trinidad, Colorado in 1954.1
In 1969, he performed what would become the first in a long and world-renowned series of gender-affirming surgeries. At the time, such procedures were exceedingly rare. Insurance did not cover them, and no formal clinical guidelines existed. Drawing on diagrams and written descriptions from early pioneers at institutions including Johns Hopkins, Dr. Biber charted his own surgical path forward.2
Over the course of multiple decades, Dr. Biber performed thousands of male-to-female and female-to-male genital reconstruction surgeries, at his peak completing as many as five per week. Through his dedication, technical skill, and willingness to push surgical boundaries, the small mountain town of Trinidad gained an extraordinary reputation. By the 1980s, it was widely known as the “sex-change capital of the world.”1,3
Dr. Biber’s legacy, however, extended beyond surgical volume. He developed reproducible, functional techniques and practiced long enough to ensure the work could be responsibly passed on. Central to that transition was Dr. Marci Bowers. Dr. Biber once remarked:
“Many came to Trinidad to learn the surgery, but some didn’t have the hands. Some didn’t have the courage. Some didn’t have the heart. Marci [Bowers] was the first to have all three.”
By remaining active until the age of 80, Dr. Biber helped bring gender-affirming surgery out of obscurity and into reproducible medical practice. When he retired in 2003, the torch passed to the next steward of this work.2,4
The Bridge: Dr. Marci Bowers, Surgeon, Educator, and Global Advocate
Dr. Marci Bowers, an accomplished OB/GYN and surgeon, became Dr. Biber’s successor. Having undergone gender-affirming surgery herself, she went on to become both the first transgender woman in the world and the first woman of any kind to perform gender-affirming surgery.5
Before relocating to Trinidad, Colorado, Dr. Bowers had an established career in Seattle delivering babies and practicing obstetrics and gynecology. Under Dr. Biber’s mentorship, she apprenticed in the complex discipline of gender-confirming genital surgery. In 2003, she formally assumed leadership of the practice, preserving its foundation while advancing it into a new era.2,5
Over the years, Dr. Bowers has performed thousands of surgeries. By 2020, she had delivered more than 2,000 babies and completed over 2,000 vaginoplasties, along with many other gender-affirming procedures. Her next milestone is 3,000 completed primary vaginoplasties.6
Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Bowers has been a prolific innovator and educator. She pioneered the first functional clitoral restoration surgeries in North America for survivors of female genital mutilation, extending restorative surgical principles to a global humanitarian context.6
Recognizing the importance of training future surgeons, she helped establish transgender surgical education programs at institutions around the world. These include Sheba Hospital in Israel, Mount Sinai in New York City, Women’s College Hospital at the University of Toronto, Denver Health, and USC-CHLA in Los Angeles.5
At Mount Sinai, Dr. Bowers performed the first live-surgery vaginoplasties under a program sponsored by the leading international standards body for transgender health care. In Africa, she has traveled annually to teach local surgeons the Foldès technique of clitoral restoration, expanding sustainable access to care.5
Through her work, Dr. Bowers significantly broadened both patient access to gender-affirming surgery and the global medical community’s ability to deliver it, ensuring that the legacy of early pioneers would continue and grow.
The Future: Dr. Sven Gunther and Legacy Surgical Partners
Today, Legacy Surgical Partners honors this deep surgical lineage through the work of Dr. Sven Gunther. Dr. Gunther brings advanced training in modern plastic surgery, refined technical skill, and a compassionate aesthetic sensibility to gender-affirming and body-affirming care.
His experience spans top surgery, vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, body contouring, facial feminization, and other gender-affirming procedures. His approach reflects a commitment to function, aesthetics, and patient-centered care, carrying forward the pioneering spirit established by Dr. Biber and Dr. Bowers while remaining grounded in contemporary standards of safety, ethics, and surgical excellence.7
With Dr. Gunther’s leadership, Legacy Surgical Partners continues to build on decades of innovation and care, expanding access to gender-affirming surgery while honoring the physicians who forged this path.
Why Our Legacy Matters
What began with a single physician in a small Colorado town, working without formal protocols or institutional support, evolved into a recognized field of medicine through courage, skill, compassion, and persistence.
This legacy has been preserved through intentional generational transitions, with each surgeon building upon the work of their predecessor, refining techniques, improving outcomes, and expanding access.
From Trinidad to international surgical education programs, the work of Biber, Bowers, and Gunther has helped reshape medical understanding of gender, identity, and possibility.
At the heart of this history are the patients themselves. People seeking congruence, dignity, and healing remain central to everything we do. As Legacy Surgical Partners looks forward, we remain committed to science, medical expertise, and compassionate care as guiding principles for the future.
Sources
- Wikipedia. Stanley Biber. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Biber
- The Washington Post. “Sex-Change Doctor Stanley Biber, 82.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/01/21/sexchange-doctor-stanley-biber-82/6bf407f1-7326-47e0-a0aa-39f382510ac3
- MEL Magazine. “The Tiny Colorado Town That Became the ‘Sex Change Capital of the World.’” https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/dr-stanley-biber-trinidad-co
- Jewish Currents. “May 4: The Sex-Change Pioneer.” https://jewishcurrents.org/may-4-the-sex-change-pioneer
- Wikipedia. Marci Bowers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marci_Bowers
- MarciBowers.com. Dr. Marci Bowers, MD. https://marcibowers.com/transmasc/dr-bowers
- DrSvenGunther.com. About Dr. Gunther. https://drsvengunther.com/about