Genital reconstruction surgeon Christopher Salgado, who was featured on the show “I Am Jazz” that followed trans teenager Jazz Jennings, has been fired for violating his patients’ privacy through Instagram posts, reported the Miami Herald.
Salgado was fired from the University of Miami after posting several “highly inappropriate” posts on Instagram featuring several patients’ genitals without their permission.
One such post, according to Gay Star News, was a dissected penis of one of his patients arranged in the shape of a heart with the captain: “There are many ways to show your LOVE.” He also shared videos of a patient’s “MTF vaginoplasty,” a video of him constructing a patient’s “neoclitoris,” and a photo of the cut-open scrotum of a trans man with testicle implants inside. All were shared without patient permission.
He also mocked patients with inappropriate hashtags accompanying the posts, according to TransAdvocate. Posts discussing penis enhancement surgeries were hashtagged #grandebicho (Spanish slang for large penis), #bigfatdick, and #asiancock. In a post of a dildo that have been removed from a rectum, Salgado said, “Could have been avoided if the transman had a real phalloplasty,” with the hashtags #rectumraiders and #realdicksmatter.
His Instagram profile, @sexsurgeon, has since been deleted.
An open letter petition was sent to the American College of Surgeons anonymously demanding they address Salgado’s “blatant disrespect for trans people.”
“Transgender patients are an incredibly vulnerable population as it relates to seeking medical care,” the letter says. “We experience violence, neglect, misgendering, sexual assault, and more. To see a surgeon who claims to specialize in treating transgender patients using racist, homophobic, and transphobic hashtags… is beyond unacceptable.”
A spokesperson for the American College of Surgeons, Dan Hamilton, told the Miami Herald that Salgado is not a fellow of ACS and therefore not subject to any disciplinary action from the organization.
Lisa Worley, a spokesperson for UHealth, said in a statement to the Miami Herald “Dr. Christopher Salgado is no longer employed by the university.”
“The University of Miami is committed to promoting and supporting diversity in its students, faculty, and staff,” Worley said, “and finds any transphobic comments acceptable.”