Patient electronic communication following gender-affirming surgery: implications for postoperative sexual recovery and telemedicine

Patient electronic communication (PEC) allows for rapid communication between patients and healthcare teams. As the use of clinical messaging continues to increase, it is vital to understand the nature of PECs to improve the patient experience, decrease overutilization of healthcare resources, and decrease the clinical workload of the healthcare team due to perceived electronic health records (EHRs) stress. PEC has been extensively studied in primary care.1 However, significant gaps persist in the role of PEC in sexual medicine and gender-affirming care, particularly in gender-affirming surgery (GAS), where procedures are often complex, recovery is prolonged, and postoperative concerns may involve sensitive functional and psychosocial issues. GAS encompasses chest, facial, and genital procedures with distinct recovery profiles and educational needs; however, little is known about the volume, content, or drivers of PEC following these procedures. This study primarily aimed to characterize the quantity and thematic content of PECs following GAS and to additionally identify patient- and procedure-level factors associated with higher message volume, with particular attention to surgeries affecting postoperative sexual health. These descriptive findings provide foundational data to inform future communication strategies in sexual medicine and gender-affirming care.