A New York surgeon defended himself to an LGBTQ media outlet after news broke that he once asked Jeffrey Epstein<\/b>
\nA New York surgeon defended himself to an LGBTQ media outlet after news broke that he once asked Jeffrey Epstein to fund his transgender health documentary.
Dr. Jess Ting of the Mt. Sinai Health System told The Advocate on Monday that he did not \u201crecall\u201d whether Epstein was charged with sex crimes before he treated multiple female patients of his as a plastic surgeon. Ting also accepted $50,000 in breast cancer research funding from Epstein in 2013, visited his private island in that year and asked the late financier to support a film on his \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d transgender surgery practices in 2016, according to emails the Daily Caller News Foundation reported Monday.
\u201cI have taken care of thousands of patients over the years, from all walks of life, from actual prisoners at Riker\u2019s Island to captains of industry and A-list movie stars,\u201d Ting told the outlet. \u201cWhen I am referred a patient, I don\u2019t pass judgment on the patient\u2019s personal life, or on the background of the person referring that patient. I focus only on the patient and how I can help them.\u201d
\u201cI remember reading news reports about [Epstein] being charged with sex crimes, but I don\u2019t recall if that was before or after I treated any of the patients referred by his office,\u201d Ting said. He also reportedly denied engaging in any sexual behavior with any Epstein associate while on his island, and said a reference to playing with \u201ctoys\u201d on the island referred to jet skis and sailboats. He has not been implicated in any of Epstein\u2019s crimes.
Ting switched from plastic surgery in 2016 to become head of Mt. Sinai\u2019s transgender program and asked Epstein for funding in 2016, emails released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) show.
\u201cThat\u2019s right \u2014 Mount Sinai, being the progressive place that it is, saw [an] opportunity and need to take a leadership position in the area of Transgender Health and created the first full-spectrum academic program in the US focused on transgender surgery and care,\u201d Ting told Epstein. \u201cThis was such an interesting and innovative idea, that I thought it would make a good documentary.\u201d
\u201cIf I could just be really forward, I was wondering if you would be interested in supporting this documentary?\u201d Ting asked. The DCNF could not confirm whether Epstein agreed to fund the project.
Ting also told Epstein in July 2017 how passionate he was about surgically removing body parts in an attempt to help people switch genders. Ting is credited with pioneering a specific procedure that castrates men to create fake vaginas.
\u201cI have given up plastic surgery and have jumped into the world of transgend[e]r surgery,\u201d he wrote Epstein. \u201cIt\u2019s the most gratifying, worthwhile, and fascinating thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d
\u201cwow, ill return mid july, lets t[a]lk,\u201d Epstein replied.
The emails also reveal that Epstein consulted Ting about getting a lipoma tumor treated before his 2019 death in jail. Ting referred to Epstein as a \u201cVIP\u201d patient in a 2016 email to Mt. Sinai staff about arranging for him to receive MRI scans. On another occasion, Ting agreed to fit one of Epstein\u2019s female assistants into his schedule to fix a hole in her nose created by a nose ring.
\u201cI\u2019m on vacation for two weeks starting his Friday \u2026 BUT for Mr Epstein anything is possible,\u201d Ting wrote to an Epstein associate.
\u201cThey all were adults,\u201d Ting told The Advocate about the \u201cfew\u201d female assistants referred to him for care. \u201cThere were no concerns about consent.\u201d
Ting\u2019s deference toward Epstein even involved asking an associate for his permission to respond to a January 2015 email from a Reuters reporter that asked if \u201crecent news\u201d about the sex offender had affected his financial dealings with the sex offender. A month prior, a woman made headlines by alleging that Epstein trafficked her to high-profile friends.
\u201cI will ask [the reporter] to email me the questions and then I will forward them to you so Mr. Epstein can vet my responses,\u201d Ting wrote to the Epstein associate after receiving permission to respond.
Ting told The Advocate he first knew Epstein in a \u201cprofessional capacity\u201d around ten years ago. He does not regret anything about spearheading \u201cgender-affirming\u201d procedures, he said.
\u201cSince creating this program in gender affirming surgery, I have been the subject of death threats, bomb threats, stalkers, and protestors,\u201d he told the outlet. \u201cDespite that all, I remain committed to devoting my career to providing care to trans and nonbinary patients.\u201d<\/p>\n