Doctor Marci Lee Bowers is a renowned obstetric gynecologist with more than twenty-five year experience. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1986, her Ob/Gyn expertize came during her time in Seattle—University of Washington and after her residency she stayed in the city, working at the Polyclinic & Swedish Medical Center. This was actually where, in 1997, she actually became Doctor Marci Bowers.
A Transgender Surgeon
Before she become Dr. Marci Bowers, she was named Mark Lee, as he had been since birth, but, like many transgender people before her and since, Mark’s identity didn’t fit the body that he was given. Mark grew up knowing that it was all wrong; that he should have been a woman. At the age of nineteen Mark did attempt a transition but because of a lack of money and inner family support the attempt failed. Mark got married at twenty-eight and has three children. However, when he was thirty-nine he finally made that step happen and did a full transition to womanhood and Marci. (continued below)
Originally starting her surgical practice in Trinidad, CO, where she worked with the legendary gender reassignment surgeon Dr. Stanley Biber. Marci now works out of San Mateo, CA, where she is highly regarded and viewed as an innovative force in the area of transgender surgical procedures. Being a pioneer and the very first woman to perform gender congruence surgery and assign the proper body parts to her clients. This work, as well as her FGM (female genital mutilation) work has given her the acknowledgement of being named by the American Research Council as one of ‘America’s Best Doctors’ in 2002-03.
Documentary and TV Work
As part of her not-so-private transition Marci took part in a Discovery Health documentary centered on two transgender women and their own stories. The documentary was titled “Switching Sexes: The Aftermath”. In it, Marci is quoted as comparing the transition to walking on lily pads and it being a very delicate process. Marci and her wife remained married after her sex change and while they are not technically in a relationship they claim to be closer than sisters.
Marci has taken part in many TV documentaries and has even been a guest actor on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in an episode entitled ‘ch-ch-changes’ from 2004. The episode focused on issues of the transgender community and Bowers also consulted on the show’s episode. Most of her work evolves around the transgender process and for her professional opinions as a doctor as well as a transgender woman. She has also made appearances on Oprah, Newsweek, CBS Sunday Morning and many others.
Women’s Healthcare Advocate
Her devotion to women’s healthcare work regularly takes her around the world and she encounters many women who have been physically damaged. She is largely known for her worldwide healthcare projects that involve the restoration of mutilated genitals, mostly of African women. Bowers has extensive experience with FGM—female genital mutilation—work and recently restored the clitorises of four such women who had been ‘cut’. Bowers is also one of the top surgeons to perform gender reassignment surgery in the world and for this, she is called upon regularly and has achieved somewhere in the region of three hundred gender reassignment surgeries, equaling about five each week. People want her services because she is an expert in vaginoplasty and her surgeries are more a work of art for Marci.
After years in practice, Marci Bowers continues to work the hours of a resident but she does take time to play a little golf once in a while. She clearly loves her work on both the women’s healthcare side and the gender reassignment surgery and no one could argue that her experience has led to her expertise, and her expertise is unquestioned.
More Information: www.marcibowers.com