Last week, a de-transitioner filed a lawsuit against her healthcare professionals claiming she was misdiagnosed with gender dysphoria. She also claims that her doctors rushed her double mastectomy after just two brief virtual meetings.
Camille Kiefel (32), stated that she thought she was non-binary at the time she was diagnosed. However, she quickly realized that she had been “mutilated” by the surgery and that she was “unable to breastfeed.”
Kiefel claimed that she shouldn’t have been allowed to undergo the surgery.
Kiefel was represented by Jackson Bone LLP and filed a complaint against Amy Ruff, Mara Burmeister, a mental health therapist, and several other unnamed doctors in Oregon. Brave Space Oregon, Quest Center for Integrative Health, and two other Oregon transgender medical centers are also named in the lawsuit.
Kiefel accused medical professionals and their employers of “reckless misuse” of their “positions of trust and authority.”
Kiefel claims that she suffered trauma as a child which caused her to hate her female body. Kiefel also stated that she experienced anxiety and depression as an infant and teenager. Kiefel stated that she became non-binary after experiencing mental health problems and visiting a “gender-affirming” therapist.
Kiefel stated that she had a trauma history. In sixth grade, my best friend was raped and this happened at her school.” Kiefel spoke out at an October Florida medical board meeting. “Being a woman made me more vulnerable so I began to appear more masculine. This should have been a red alert, but it wasn’t. I had top surgery performed within months.
Kiefel said that she received a recommendation for a double mastectomy soon afterward, with no resistance from doctors. In August 2020, she had surgery. By May 2022, she knew it was a mistake.
Kiefel stated that “the surgery was an abhorrent mistake diagnosis — health care should always aim to get to the root cause of the problem.”
According to the lawsuit, Kiefel “still suffers extreme, excruciating and severe emotional distress including but without limitation feelings of betrayal, humiliation distress, and anxiety over losing her breasts.”
Kiefel claimed that she had a one-hour Zoom call with Ruff in May 2020 and a 40-minute video chats with Burmeister two months later. Kiefel claims that both her medical providers recommended she have a double mastectomy to alleviate her “distress” over her breasts.
David Mepham (Quest Center’s lawyer) told the Daily Mail that Burmeister and the Quest Center employees “always strive to provide quality service for their clients and that this was the case.” We intend to defend the case fully.”
Kate Kauffman (Owner of Brave Space) stated that the group respects the privacy and confidentiality of all clients, current, and past, and doesn’t comment on any pending litigation.
Kiefel requested a jury trial. He is seeking damages up to $850,000.
Kiefel posted on Twitter, “When I transitioned I really believed that I was non-binary.” “Now, I realize that I was suffering from mental illness and trauma in my early years of womanhood. A child can make the same mistake I made as an adult.