LGBTQ+

Gender affirming clinics are not doing any kinds of surgery, period. A gender affirming care provider is doing care in the context of the unique health needs of a trans individual. Often this has to do with how hormones affect the body, but in many cases it's just about being able to provide care in an affirming way. A provider with no training might suggest the patient do things which are not in alignment with their gender (such as advising them to stop or adjust hormones in response to lab values which can be managed in other ways) or use language which is offensive or harmful to the patient (misgendering and dead naming for example). Ancillary services such as speech therapy might be offered at these locations, although generally speaking they tend to be pretty primary care focused. Knowing how often you should be testing for various things, like pap smear frequency for trans men, or knowing how to treat pelvic pain in trans men and women are the kinds of care that gender affirming clinics can offer. Understanding to keep a closer watch on hemoglobin levels for trans men and advising that they donate blood or take medication if they get too high, is also something that a normal clinic might miss. Honestly there's far too much to even mention in a single comment, which is why these places exist and why there is so much demand.