HIV-infected sue plastic surgeons

09.01.2025

Three Americans with HIV have filed a lawsuit on human rights violations with doctors from Springfield Medical Aesthetic , based in New York.

Men suffered from gynecomastia , so they turned to a plastic surgery institution to reduce the breast glands. Having been refused by doctors because of their HIV status, they demanded that civil rights be restored by filing a lawsuit.

The demand of men was supported by the government of America, since it considered unacceptable such discrimination. The first violation of civil rights, said Mark Milano . The man claims that plastic surgeons refused to do the surgery because of a viral infection.

Mark has been living with HIV for thirty years, but this is the first time he has encountered such obvious discrimination. According to the American, the doctor explained his refusal by saying that he never performed an operation on such patients. The man experienced a strong offense, which he compared with a kick in the stomach. Following Mark, two other failed clients at the clinic went to court with a similar lawsuit.

At the court hearing, representatives of the plastic surgery institution claimed that the doctors had refused the plaintiffs to operate on the basis of general information about the state of health of the patient and the medications they were taking. Surgeons believe that antiretroviral drugs can cause side effects by reacting with medications necessary for surgery. Thus, there can be no discrimination.

The court found unfounded the arguments of the clinic management and admitted the plaintiffs were right. According to the judges, the incompatibility of drugs is not confirmed, which means the reason for the refusal was prejudice. Discriminated men are entitled to financial compensation.

Valeria Sokolova, news editor