The GCC Welcomes Dr. Ari Wes to our Team!

Who is Dr. Ari M. Wes?

The Gender Confirmation Center (GCC) is excited to announce that Dr. Ari M. Wes (he/him) is joining our team in San Francisco! Dr. Ari Wes is a board-certified plastic surgeon whose specialities include craniofacial surgery, top surgery, and surgical outcomes research.

Dr. Wes is originally from Seattle, WA. He was trained at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Perelman School of Medicine. He went on to become the Chief Resident in the Plastic Surgery Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Afterward, he moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to his family.

Dr. Wes fell in love with living and working in the Bay Area for two reasons. Personally, the people, the food, and the surrounding beautiful areas have won him over. Professionally, in his own words, “What excites me most about working in the Bay Area is the combination of strong community and high expectations. Patients here tend to be informed, ask direct questions and are not shy about advocating for themselves. That pushes me to keep improving, both technically and in how I communicate.”

What Do His Patients Say About Him?

According to his former patients, you can expect the following if you choose Dr. Wes as your surgeon:

  • He takes the time in consultations to help patients––with photos, sketches and plain langauge––fully understand their surgical options.
  • When it comes to surgical outcomes, he doesn’t just talk about aesthetics with his patients. He also goes over function and sensation in the consultation, instead of it being an afterthought.
  • Dr. Wes does his best to make sure there are as little surprises after surgery as possible. He’s very direct about the recovery process, potential complications, and revision rates.
  • Dr. Wes stays engaged after surgery. He takes his patients’ questions and concerns seriously as they recover from their procedures.

What’s Unique About Getting Surgery with Dr. Ari Wes?

When we asked Dr. Wes this question, his first response was: “My approach is straightforward. I listen first, then I match surgical options to the patient’s goals, anatomy and tolerance for risk and recovery time. I am clear about what surgery can and cannot do, and I prefer honest, but compassionate, conversations over vague reassurance.

I do not expect patients to fit a particular story about gender. I care about how they feel in their body, what they want to change, and how they hope to feel after surgery.”

Dr. Wes’s approach aligns exactly with the GCC philosophy. As a surgical practice, the GCC has broken with the older model of gender-affirming care whose only interest was in getting patients to conform to narrow ideals of a gender binary. On the contrary, Dr. Wes has this message for his patients:

“You do not need to present a perfect script about your gender to sit in my office. My job is to understand your goals, explain your options clearly, operate safely if we decide to move forward together and stay engaged while you heal.

Whether we ultimately move ahead with surgery or not, my aim is that you leave our interactions feeling informed, taken seriously and more confident in your next steps.

Why Gender Affirming Care?

Like most surgeons that come to the GCC, they join our team because they want to focus their career exclusively on providing gender-affirming surgery. We asked Dr. Wes why he made the shift toward gender-affirming care in his career and this is what he had to say:

“During my training, I took care of trans and nonbinary patients who had waited a long time for surgery or had complicated experiences in the medical system. When surgery finally happened, the impact on their well being was obvious. That stayed with me.

I chose to focus on gender affirming surgery because it combines careful planning, precise technique and a very clear effect on quality of life. It is meaningful work, and it fits the kind of surgeon I want to be: detail oriented, honest and invested in long term results.

The most exciting part for me is seeing how people move differently in their bodies after surgery. When dysphoria eases, you can often see it in posture, eye contact and the way someone talks about their future.

I also appreciate that gender affirming care is very individual. No two patients have the exact same goals, and no one procedure is right for everyone. Working through those details with each person, then seeing the results line up with what they hoped for, is incredibly satisfying.”

Request a Consultation with Dr. Wes

Dr. Wes is now offering free consultation requests remotely and out of our San Francisco office. He will be offering the following procedures:

  • Facial surgery
    • Select gender affirming facial procedures tailored to individual goals
  • Top surgeries
    • Chest reconstruction and gender focused breast reductions
    • Revision chest surgery
  • Breast augmentation
    • Implant based breast augmentation
    • Fat grafting to the chest or breasts