HIV 101: Will Being HIV-Positive Affect My Ability to Have Surgery?

Will-being-hiv-positive-affect-my-ability-to-have-surgeryx750

When you're HIV-positive you may worry about having surgery -- but do you need to be concerned?

Diane Anderson-Minshall

Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.

Read Full Bio

Diane Anderson-Minshall

December 14 2016 1:34 PM EST

December 16 2016 7:36 AM EST

deliciousdiane

We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.

Short answer: No. First of all, if you are poz but have an undetectable viral load, you don't need to worry that someone can become HIV-positive by coming in contact with your fluids: be they semen, saliva, or blood. New research shows that you cannot transmit the virus while undetectable. Regardless of whether you are undetectable or not, your surgery team still needs to know you're HIV-positive, and they will likely take additional precautions.

Second, although people living with HIV were once thought to be too sick or immune depressed to face the added risks associated with surgery, that hasn't been true in over a decade. A study published in 2006 in The Journal of the American Medical Association compared surgery data for both HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients and found that the two groups had the same level of complications from surgery. If you're trans and undergoing reassignment surgery, you may want to find a surgeon who can work with your HIV specialist.